Sigourney Weaver Reveals Her Favorite Alien Film

Sigourney Weaver’s time in the Alien franchise made her a seminal sci-fi hero, having appeared in four different installments, though the actress confirms she thinks 1986’s Aliens is the best entry. Directed by James Cameron, Weaver surely wouldn’t be alone in picking the film as the best entry, as its popularity easily rivals the renown of the debut 1979 film. While original director Ridley Scott might have helmed three different films in the franchise, Weaver’s tenure extends further, debuting as Ripley in the first film and seemingly concluding her time with 1997’s Alien: Resurrection, yet Weaver was reportedly open for a return to the series with a sequel that Neill Blomkamp was attempting to develop.

“Oh, goodness, that’s difficult. The best-constructed story for the character to tell was in Aliens, just because Jim has such an amazing sense of structure of story,” Weaver confirmed with Collider when asked of her favorite entry. “To take this character out of hyper-sleep, have no one believe her, have her be exiled into this limbo land where no one believes her and her family’s dead. The whole set-up for Ripley in Aliens and then what she ends up doing and what it, finding this new family by the end. The whole structure of that story, to me, was gold. I always felt that I could jump up and down on it. It was such a great, supportive, arc for the character. In that sense, the second one for Ripley is probably the most satisfying.”

The last film in the franchise was 2017’s Alien: Covenant, which was slated to have a sequel that never came to fruition, with the series now developing a TV show inspired by the mythology. While there might have been hope at one point for Weaver to return to the franchise in some capacity, it now seems entirely unlikely.

“I don’t know,” Weaver shared with Empire magazine last summer about Ripley’s possible return. “Ridley has gone in a different direction. Maybe Ripley has done her bit. She deserves a rest.”

Whether Covenant gets a sequel or if the franchise puts more emphasis on TV series, these would all likely take place before Ripley’s introduction in the debut film, so if the character were to return, it likely wouldn’t be Weaver playing her regardless of Weaver’s interest.

Stay tuned for details on the Alien franchise’s future.

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