Sigourney Weaver Teases Ripley Comeback: Will Ellen Ripley Return to Alien?

Sigourney Weaver is talking Pandora on one side and LV-426 on the other. While doing press for Avatar: Fire & Ash, she quietly nudged the door open for Ellen Ripley to suit back up. Yes, that Ripley. Facehuggers, airlocks, the whole nightmare. It is not happening tomorrow, but the wheels are definitely turning.

Ripley on the horizon - cautiously

Weaver, the face of four Alien movies, says the hush-hush project she first teased in October is still in the very early stage, but interesting enough that she wants to keep exploring it. Speaking to Variety, she kept expectations in check:

'You know, we are just taking it one step at a time. It is very interesting. I hope we do it, because I think it will be wonderful. I think the fans will enjoy it, but it is very early days.'

The secret script she has been circling

Back in October, Weaver revealed the spark came from longtime Alien producer Walter Hill. He handed her a lean, 50-page draft built around a provocative setup: Ripley gets yanked back into the fight after being locked away by a society that sees her as a problem precisely because she tried to protect humanity from the xeno threat. Weaver has said she never felt an urgent need to bring Ripley back - her stance was basically let Ripley rest, let her heal - but Hill's take felt uncomfortably true in a way that got her attention. She called those first 50 pages strong and said she is considering teaming with Hill to figure out where the rest of the story goes.

• Writer: Walter Hill, veteran producer of the Alien franchise
• Pages so far: a 50-page draft - think treatment-plus, not a full script
• Premise snapshot: Ripley is sidelined by authorities for trying to keep humanity safe, then pulled back into the mess
• Weaver's shift: she once wanted to let Ripley recover, but Hill's angle feels honest enough to reconsider
• Status: very early - Weaver wants to explore the rest of the story with Hill
• Where it could go: a return to LV-426 is on the table, with Ripley tangling with facehuggers and sending any newborn nightmares toward the nearest airlock

Why now actually makes sense

The Alien brand is in its best shape in a while. Alien: Romulus did the big-screen part proud, and Noah Hawley's TV series Alien: Earth is giving the universe fresh oxygen on the small screen. On top of that, the Predator corner of the sandbox is stirring again, with Predator: Badlands hinting at franchise cross-pollination potential. If you are going to bring Ripley back into the mix, this is not a bad moment to try.

The takeaway

Temper the hype. Weaver likes what she has read, she wants to see where it leads with Walter Hill, and she thinks fans would be into it - but the project is basically at the starting line. If it moves forward, though, do not be shocked if Ripley finds herself back on LV-426, doing what she does best: outsmarting facehuggers and making sure their offspring get a one-way trip to open space.