The Alien franchise is at a bit of a crossroads. Ridley Scott’s most recent crack at reviving the series, the Prometheus sequel Alien: Covenant, wasn’t very popular with either critics or fans, and didn’t exactly make a ton of money at the box office. Naturally, this has caused some to question whether the franchise would have been better off if it had gone with Neill Blomkamp’s now-scrapped Alien 5 film instead. And while we thought that project was dead, at least one person involved believes it could still get made after all.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sigourney Weaver — star of the first four films in the franchise — revealed that both she and Aliens helmer James Cameron were big fans of what Blomkamp had planned, and she’s not ready to dismiss the possibility of the film being made just yet. “We almost started to do it when I was working with James Cameron. But by the time we were put off by Fox, Neill had gotten so many jobs that we’d have to wait probably,” Weaver said. “I’m busy doing Avatar 4 and 5. I love working with Neill and I think he’d do a terrific job, and James Cameron really thinks it’s a great idea, so you never know. Right now, I think Neill’s got like three projects going at once.”
According to IMDb, Blomkamp does indeed have three projects in the works: RoboCop Returns, the thriller Greenland… and Alien 5. Although the project is not currently in development, there’s a slim chance it could still be revived. While the plot of Blomkamp’s planned sequel was never revealed, it was known to feature the return of Weaver’s Ripley, as well as a grown up Newt, the young girl Ripley rescued in Aliens. Blomkamp has also periodically released some of the concept art from the film on social media, generally alongside a comment expressing his desire to still make the film.
While we don’t yet know if Blomkamp will ever get his chance at making an Alien movie with Weaver, at least you can still check out Rakka, the short film the two made last year. Sadly, it may be the closest we ever get to seeing Alien 5.
