Original ‘Alien’ Icon Shares Honest Opinion of ‘Alien: Earth’

When asked what shows she was currently watching, Weaver had no hesitation in mentioning Noah Hawley’s brilliant entry in the Alien saga, which takes place just before the events of Ridley Scott’s original 1979 classic that made Weaver’s Ellen Ripley one of cinema’s most badass modern female leads. Speaking about her thoughts on the series, Weaver said:

“What I admire about it is it’s not Alien-centric. It is about what world we will be living in in 100 years. I think the scope of it is so much bigger than an Alien project. Fascinating. Much more about our world, what’s going to be happening to it, what’s going to be important, the role of greed. It’s just exploded some of the themes that have always been part of the Alien series, and I think it’s beautifully cast and beautifully done. I can’t believe it’s television, frankly.”

Weaver added that, just like everyone else, she is tuning in every week for the next installment, and has to do so with her husband for a hilarious reason. She added:

“I’m watching it like a real person. I have to make a date with my husband because I don’t want to see it by myself in case one of those things comes out of the screen. So we have to set it up. So I’m behind seeing it, but the ones I’ve seen are fascinating.”

Could Sigourney Weaver Return to the ‘Alien’ Franchise?

20th Century Fox

While Weaver recently returned to another of her popular older franchises, with an appearance in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, a return as Ellen Ripley doesn’t seem likely. While there was talk for several years of Neill Blomkamp’s long-lost Aliens sequel potentially moving ahead, with Weaver returning as Ripley in an alternate entry in the timeline, that project fell apart. Recently, Weaver suggested there is a never say never feel about her having some future role in the Alien saga, telling Deadline :

“I feel like she’s never far away from me, but on the other hand, I’ve yet to read a script that said ‘you have got to do this.’ So for me, she is in this other dimension, safe from the Alien for the time being. I don’t really think about it, but you know, it’s not completely impossible, and certainly a lot of good filmmakers are inspired by the material.”

Bringing Ripley back in some way would be a challenge for several reasons, but it is hard to completely rule out anything these days. While it doesn’t seem likely that Ripley is going to make a surprise appearance in Alien: Earth, everyone thought the same thing about seeing a robot with Ian Holm’s face showing up in Alien: Romulus. Impossible is rarely an option in Hollywood.