Ripley returns: ‘Alien’ star sigourney weaver says she’s read 50 pages of a new sequel

Sigourney Weaver’s “Alien” journey might not be over.

During a New York Comic Con panel, the actress let slip that Walter Hill, one of the producers on the original film and a series mainstay, has written a sequel script. And not only that – but Weaver has read it.

Disney has also confirmed that the new film is in development.

Weaver says Walter Hill is a very good friend of hers, and he wrote 50 pages where Ripley would be now, and they are quite extraordinary. I don’t know if it’s going to happen, but I have had a meeting with Fox, Disney, or whoever it is now,” Weaver told the NYCC crowd on Friday. “I said I have never felt the need. I was always like, let her rest, let her recover. But what Walter has written seems so true to me as very much about the society that would incarcerate someone who has tried to help mankind.”

She continued: “She’s a problem to them, so she’s sort of tucked away. Anyway, I think it’s a very strong first 50 pages, and I’m thinking about working with Walter to see what the rest of the story would be.”

The last time Weaver portrayed the character of Ellen Ripley was in the 2014 video game, “Alien: Isolation.” Before that, she starred in 1997’s “Alien: Resurrection” as a clone of Ripley. Her role in Ridley Scott’s “Alien” (1979) led to her starring in James Cameron’s sequel “Aliens” (in 1986), which earned her a Best Actress nomination at that year’s Academy Awards. She also starred in David Fincher’s “Alien 3” (1992).

There have been attempts made, over the years, to bring back Weaver’s Ripley, perhaps most notably by South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, who worked with Weaver on 2015’s “Chappie.”

Hill’s last film was 2022’s “Dead for a Dollar.” He is also the auteur behind “48 Hrs.,” “Streets of Fire,” “Last Man Standing” and many, many more.