It’s been 24 years since we last saw Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley, and at this stage, any sort of continuation of the series kicked off by Ridley Scott with 1979’s Alien looks increasingly unlikely, especially when Neill Blomkamp’s proposed fifth installment was shelved indefinitely a few years back in favor of Scott’s own prequels.
The two Alien vs. Predator crossovers and the Prometheus/Covenant double header, along with the Hulu series that’s in the works, means that a canonical Alien 5 will probably remain a pipe dream, even if Weaver has never ruled out the possibility of a return. If it was going to happen, though, then surely the fates would have aligned a long time ago, especially when several big name filmmakers have taken a crack at it over the last two decades.
Joss Whedon wrote a spec script in the early 2000s that would have taken place on Earth, but the leading lady made it clear she wasn’t interested, and would only reprise her iconic role if she was sold on the story. James Cameron, who delivered the stone cold classic Aliens in 1986, was also circling the franchise around the same time with a slew of fresh ideas, and even admitted that he was considering throwing Arnold Schwarzenegger into the mix to team up with Weaver.
As we’ve seen in the first two Terminators and Aliens, Cameron is more than capable of bringing out the very best from both stars in a sci-fi environment, which would have made his pitch for Alien 5 a mouthwatering prospect had it come to fruition. Unfortunately, though, when Fox announced their intentions to move forward with the AvP crossover instead, Cameron simply downed tools and walked away from the franchise altogether.
