The One Very Good Reason Sigourney Weaver Won’t Do ‘Alien 5’

Sigourney Weaver has played the lead role as Ellen Ripley in all Alien films so far since 1979, however, she recently confirmed things will be different with Alien 5. The 74-year-old actress will not be returning to the series for reasons she explained to Total Film magazine. 

Weaver’s role in the hit horror movie earned her multiple recognitions, including Academy Award nominations, a Golden Globe nod, and Saturn Award nominations for Best Actress. “I think I was very lucky. These were men who were creating this woman character, but they liked and respected strong women,” she said,  appreciating director Ridley Scott and writer Dan O’Bannon.

Why did Weaver refuse to play Ripley?

Weaver claims she has moved on from her longtime role, particularly because younger actors are now taking up such parts. “There are all kinds of younger actors taking this kind of role,” she explained. “And there was an Alien film that I really wanted to do with Neill Blomkamp, and we didn’t get to do that, but, you know, that ship has sailed.”

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The Blomkamp-directed sequel was meant to be released in 2015 but never happened because the franchise’s studio backers didn’t want to do it. “It was an idea that evolved from, I believe, a 10-page pitch, and I was meant to be the producer on that. And it didn’t evolve,” Ridley said. “Fox decided that they didn’t want to do it and that was it.”

What is Weaver up to?

During a 2022 interview with People magazine, Weaver revealed she has no plans to retire soon because she enjoys working now more than ever. “I’m fine that I might be the oldest person on the set. Yes, I always have to go through a period of, ‘Oh my god, it’s happening again,’” she shared. “But then, I get the joy and the explosion of letting this person out to live. And it’s the most exhilarating thing in the world.”

The three-time Oscar nominee appeared in 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water and The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart in the following year. She also teased the release of more Avatar sequels, which she promised would be incredible. “Everyone should hold on to their hats,” she assured. Per her personal life, she remains with her longtime husband, Jim Simpson, and they both share an adult child, Char.