Disney Doesn’t Want To Bring Sigourney Weaver Back For Another Alien Movie?
The Alien franchise is being revived yet again through Disney, but Disney has now stated they have no interest in bringing back Sigourney Weaver.
Producer of the Alien films, Walter Hill says Disney doesn’t want Sigourney Weaver in any new Alien movies. The famed director made the revelation to The Hollywood Reporter, where he also talked about presenting his new film, Dead for a Dollar, at this year’s Venice Film Festival. When asked if there were any plans to collaborate with the actress on Aliens 5, he said the pair took a shot at the idea a few years ago when the franchise was still owned by Fox. But when the property was taken over by Disney, they “expressed no interest in going down that road.”
Hill added that he had an idea for a good story that followed Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley character. But for now, the director is just looking forward to a casual catch-up with her friend in Venice. The entertainment giant acquired the licensing rights for Alien, Predator, and subsequently Alien vs. Predator, following its purchase of 21st Century Fox in 2019. This means the fate of the popular franchise lies solely at the feet of the House of Mouse. Under the terms of the acquisition, Disney will slowly phase out all Fox brand usage by 2024.
Billed as a sci-fi horror movie, Alien was released in 1979 and quickly became a cult classic. Its success quickly led to three sequels, two crossover films, and two prequels. The film is known for its groundbreaking alien designs, special effects (like the chest-burster scene), and its lead character Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver. The role launched the actress into superstardom, with the character becoming one of the most beloved female action heroes of the time. She also served as a template for almost every female hero that followed.
The idea for the Sigourney Weaver-led feature was conceived by screenwriters Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. The duo presented the script to 20th Century Fox as “Jaws in space”. While the studio wasn’t too interested at first, they gave the movie the green light after the success of Star Wars which they also distributed. The story follows a crew on board a spaceship who are confronted by an alien, called a xenomorph, who begins to individually eliminate them. Several directors were considered for Alien before Ridley Scott was hired. He also went on to direct the 2012 and 2017 prequels – Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.
While she may not be starring in an Alien reboot any time soon, Sigourney Weaver recently reprised her role as Dana Barrett for a cameo in Ghostbusters: Afterlife. She will also be returning to the Avatar franchise when the sequel, The Way of Water hits theaters later this year. Since her character, Dr. Grace Augustine died in the first movie the 72-year-old will play a young Na’vi girl named Kiri. According to Variety, she is the adopted daughter of Jake and Neytiri. Speaking about the actress’s new role, James Cameron said “As an acting challenge, it’s big. We’re gonna have a 70-something actor playing a character decades younger than her actual age.” But he added the Alien star thought it was all kinds of fun.
