Sigourney Weaver hasn’t ruled out returning as Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise.
The 74-year-old actress played the iconic heroine in the sci-fi series from the 1979 original to its fourth installment Alien: Resurrection in 1997 and has now revealed she hasn’t completely closed the door on reprising her role in a future flick, even if she feels it is unlikely.
Speaking to Deadline, Weaver said: “I feel like she’s never far away from me, but on the other hand I have yet to read a script that said ‘You have got to do this.’ So for me, she is in this other dimension, safe from the Alien for the time being. I don’t really think about it, but you know, it’s not completely impossible, and certainly a lot of good filmmakers are inspired by the material.”
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The actress admitted she doesn’t often think about returning as the character and added she is currently too “busy doing other things” that have stopped her from seriously considering playing Ripley again, such as her undisclosed role in the upcoming Star Wars film The Mandalorian and Grogu.
She said: “How much does the public really need or want another Ripley movie? I don’t really sit around and think about it, but if it came up, I would consider it. It has come up a bunch of times, but I’m also busy doing other things. Ripley has earned her rest.”
Reflecting on the legacy of the heroine, the Ghostbusters star explained she loved that Ripley was written as an “everyman character” that everyone could identify with.
She said: “What I love about it, which I think endures, is that the character of Ripley is almost an everyman character. That freed me up from ever having to act like a girl, or dress like a girl. That was very astute of the writers. At a certain point you even forget that it’s a woman. You just know it’s Ripley and you’re hoping she survives.”
When quizzed on the latest entry into the franchise Alien: Romulus — which stars Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, Archie Renaux and Aileen Wu — Weaver revealed “there wasn’t a discussion” about Ripley being a part of the movie, but stressed she wishes the cast “all the best for it.”
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