Why Neill Blomkamp’s ‘Alien 5’ Never Happened
For a few years, every time Neill Blomkamp had a new project out, he’d talk about his proposed Alien sequel. He wanted to make a movie that ignored the events of Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection and returned to the concepts and characters of James Cameron’s Aliens. Sigourney Weaver would have starred as Ripley, of course, but so would Michael Biehn as Hicks, a character who was previously killed off in the opening moments of David Fincher’s Alien 3.
The movie was just a pitch at first, then for a while Fox was actually looking at making it. Eventually, though, enthusiasm for the material faded and Fox instead made 2017’s Alien: Covenant with original Alien director Ridley Scott. His movie was a sequel to his own Prometheus and a prequel to Alien, but it featured none of the characters from the first movie, and certainly didn’t star Weaver or Biehn. To date, neither has reprised their Aliens roles elsewhere.
So perhaps that’s why, in 2021, Blomkamp is still fielding questions about that unmade Alien 5. This time the question came from The Independent, who asked what happened to what was one of the most talked-about movies for a period in the mid-2010s. His response:
It was a case of both projects were moving forward at Fox simultaneously, and one of them was picked. Sigourney was unbelievably supportive and amazing. I have nothing but the best things to say about Sigourney. I’m such a fan of hers on every level. Sh was always into the project, but Fox just clearly doesn’t want it. I haven’t had anything to do with that for years.
It’s somewhat surprising that Fox had the choice between an Alien movie with Sigourney Weaver and an Alien movie without her, and they went with the one without her. Certainly the actual aliens are a huge draw for the franchise, but Ripley is far and away the most beloved character in the entire series.
Blomkamp also said that the project is now “completely dead,” although who knows: With Fox now owned by Disney, it’s only a matter of time before they try to mount some kind of new Alien movie. Who’s to say it won’t involved Sigourney Weaver and Ripley? Stranger things have happened. Meanwhile, Blomkamp’s latest film, Demonic, is now playing.