Alien's Sigourney Weaver on reprising her role as Ripley

With Disney now owning the rights to the Alien franchise after the 20th Century Fox merger, it seems inevitable the that sci-fi series will find new life. But will it involve Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley?

Speaking to Empire, the actress revealed that she actually received a 50-page treatment from producer Walter Hill for a possible fifth instalment of the franchise. However, she remains uncertain if she should reprise the role of her iconic character.

"I don’t know,” she said. “Ridley [Scott] has gone in a different direction. Maybe Ripley has done her bit. She deserves a rest."

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That different direction Weaver refers to saw director Ridley Scott explore the origins of the Xenomorph in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. With the franchise now under Disney's control, it's remains unclear if there'll be a continuation of that story, but Scott previously suggested they might have to "re-evolve" some ideas.

Though Weaver is unsure if Ripley should return to the action, Weaver made her love for the character clear as she retraced her role in each of the original four Alien movies. "I’ve always felt she was such a partner," she said. "She is always in my stomach."

The actress recently came across some old set photos from the film and explained how she was treated like part of the crew.

Amy Sussman//Getty Images

"Me with the special effects guys," she laughed. "I’d be hanging up in the air and they would pipe me tea laced with rum to keep me going, without my asking for it! I was part of the crew, and that was something I loved.

"I wasn’t dressed in some little dolly dress, trying to keep clean. I was in jumpsuits looking like a grease monkey in the trenches with the crew."

Weaver will next appear in Avatar 2, even though her character Dr. Grace Augustine died in the first film. Expect either flashbacks or for her to be uploaded from a sentient tree.

Alien is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video.

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