There seemed to be a good deal of disappointment going around when Neill Blomkamp‘s plans for an ALIEN sequel were stuck on the shelf, in favor of Ridley Scott getting a clear runway to go ahead and make PROMETHEUS 2 ALIEN: PARADISE LOST ALIEN: COVENANT. Fueled by the enthusiasm for a batch of cool concept art imagery, a segment of fans preferred something more Ripley-based if the series was going to keep going over more Engineers. However, that might not have been entirely the case for what Blomkamp was looking to do with ALIEN 5 or whatever the hell he was planning on calling it.
In an interview with Icons of Fright, Michael Biehn, who had been rumored to return for the film considering he appeared alongside Sigourney Weaver in that artwork, revealed that Blomkamp had something more in mind that would be a passing of the torch in order to keep the ALIEN franchise alive in future years, beyond Ellen Ripley.
I think when they put that out there and have pictures with me as Hicks again, people were excited and though I’m not into online stuff much, my kids saw a lot about it on Reddit. They were excited. They’re planning on bringing me and Newt back and at this point Newt will be around twenty-seven years old. I know that every actress in Hollywood is going to want to play this one, it’s really a passing of the torch between Sigourney and this younger actress who would play Newt. It would keep the franchise alive and the studios would make money, because that’s what the bottom line is now: money. That’s why you end up seeing TERMINATOR 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 10 and THE FAST AND FURIOUS 7, 8, 9, and 10. So when that happens, the ALIENS film, maybe that will be one more movie that I can make a mark with, plus, Neill is such a talented guy. When I saw DISTRICT 9 for the first time, I was glued to my seat, going “wow”. So I’m hopeful for that one.
A returning Newt in a movie that ignores everything from ALIEN 3 on that would lead into future chapters of the series with a new heroine at the center of it all? I get the feeling some of your excitement is waning since you began reading this article.
But for those of you still on-board, Biehn doesn’t think this film is done yet, believing it would be an embarassment for everyone to not figure out a way to get this picture made whenever the window of opportunity for it opens back up.
They’re talking about doing another ALIENS movie, with Neill Blomkamp, and Fox came and announced it and Sigourney (Weaver) has come out and announced it. The basic idea is acting like ALIEN3 and 4 never existed, so if you go on Neill Blomkamp’s site, everyone can see all of the artwork for that. I know Ridley Scott is doing his movie first and is going to be the executive producer on this one, so I’m really looking forward to that. I know that Ridley’s focus is on the second PROMETHEUS (now titled ALIEN: COVENANT) and I’m sure that he and Fox both don’t want that and Neill’s movie to come out right next to each other, because they’re kind of two different worlds, with ALIENS taking place thousands of years later, which is how they explained it all to me, but at the same time, they want to give them a similar feel. I know they’re putting the brakes on Neill’s movie just for a little while, but I really think that it would be embarrassing to Ridley and Fox and Sigourney if they just didn’t make the movie.
Is there still a shot of Blomkamp making this film, or has the moment passed? Do you still want this ALIEN 5 idea, or is the better choice for future exploration ALIEN: COVENANT? Some interesting questions to consider and answer, so feel free to do so in the discussion below.
ALIEN: COVENANT docks in theaters on October 6, 2017.