I”ve already logged my complaints with Neill Blomkamp”s revisionist Alien 5, and truth be told, I wouldn”t mind a bit if the project ultimately fell by the wayside. Needless to say, that viewpoint puts me at odds with series star Sigourney Weaver, who is eager to see Blomkamp's vision realized — though it sounds like it may be awhile before that happens.
“[20th Century] Fox asked us to delay so Ridley Scott could shoot his [second] Prometheus movie [Alien: Covenant],” Weaver told EW in a recent interview. “That was too bad because we would have already done it by now.”
Indeed, as previously reported, Alien 5 was backburnered to make room for Alien: Covenant, the Prometheus sequel/Alien prequel that”s currently shooting in Australia with stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, and Danny McBride, among others (you can watch Drew”s recent interview with McBride and his Vice Principals co-creator Jody Hill below, during which McBride registers his shock at being cast in an Alien movie in the first place).
As far as I'm concerned, the movie's delay is a blessing for a franchise that should be above blatant fan service. For Weaver and many other fans of the franchise, not so much. The actress in particular seems keen on bringing Ripley's journey to a hard-won end.
“It”s a great story and it”s satisfying to me to give this woman an ending,” Weaver added of her character. (It”s worth noting that Ripley already had an ending when she tossed herself into a fiery pit at the end of Alien 3, before being brought back to life as a clone for the series” fourth installment, Alien: Resurrection.) Despite the third and fourth films” lukewarm (at best) reception with fans and critics, she remains bullish on the prospect of having one last dance with the xenomorphs in Blomkamp”s sequel, which she claims “satisfies the, I would say, the primal needs of the aliens.”
“I hope it won”t be a few [years before Alien 5 happens],” she continued. “I hope it”ll be a couple. But we”ll see. Yeah.”
Alien: Covenant is slated for release on August 4, 2017.