Back at the start of the year, it was announced that Neill Blomkamp (Chappie) would be directing a fifth instalment of the Alien franchise, which would see the return of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, along with Corporal Hicks, who was played by Michael Biehn in 1986’s Aliens.
However, last month it was revealed that Fox has put the project on hold due to Ridley Scott’s Prometheus sequel Alien: Covenant, which is set to start production in February ahead of October 2017 release. Still, Biehn remains hopeful that Alien 5 will see the light of day, with the actor speaking about the project to Icons on Fright this past week.
“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 ,” states Biehn. “The basic idea is acting like Alien 3 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 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.”
SEE ALSO: The Already Troubled Production History of Neill Blomkamp’s Alien 5
“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,” he continues. “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 & 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.”
At this point, it remains to be seen whether Fox will turn its attention back to Alien 5 after Alien: Covenant, especially as Ridley Scott has plans for two subsequent Prometheus sequels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng&v=zo9wUtSEME8
Originally published November 23, 2015. Updated April 13, 2018.
