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Weaver Fever: Sigourney Weaver Finally Returns As Ellen Ripley In 'Alien' Spoof

Fate is a cruel mistress and Ridley Scott's Prometheus/Alien: Covenant universe has effectively scuppered all of Blomkamp's plans.

By Tom ChapmanPublished 6 years ago 2 min read
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'Alien 3' [Credit: 20th Century Fox]

Can you believe it? It has been 20 years since 20th Century Fox saddled up the crew of the Betty for an acid bath and we waved goodbye to #SigourneyWeaver's iconic #EllenRipley for Alien: Resurrection.

We were originally supposed to see Ripley again in Neill Blomkamp's Alien 5, which was originally scheduled for this summer. However, fate is a cruel mistress and Ridley Scott's Prometheus/Alien: Covenant universe has effectively scuppered all of Blomkamp's plans.

'Aliens' [Credit: 20th Century Fox]

While Scott remains open to bringing Weaver back to his universe through some clever use of CGI, for the time being, it looks like Ripley is left stranded on Earth in the year 2379. Ripley returning to the main franchise may just be a pipe dream, but the #horror gods have answered our prayers. In a welcome addition to 2017, Weaver just reprised the role as the no-nonsense ass-kicker after two decades in hypersleep.

Back To The Future

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert [Credit: CBS]

Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, it seems that Ripley has swapped fighting Xenomorphs in favor of fighting the healthcare system in 2434. Colbert introduced Weaver as "one of the first female action heroes" and went on to make a divisive comment on gender equality:

"This is so inspiring. I mean, it gave us all hope that at some point in the distant future women might be allowed to be in charge of something."

In the sketch, Colbert plays Randy, a worker at the Weyland-Yutani medical bay — their slogan is, "Where the only thing alien to us is customer service." The five-minute sketch is overflowing with references to the original Alien quadrilogy and even features a sluggish computer that is aptly named MU-TH-UR (the name of the ship's operating system from Scott's 1979 classic).

We see Randy reading "Facehugger Fancy" in reference to the monstrous aliens that latch to your face, we hear the original film's tagline, "In space, no one can hear you scream," and the late Bill Paxton's Hudson get's a shout out from Aliens: "Nothing, it's game over, it's game over. I got nothing."

However, hands down the best reference of all is Weaver once again getting to spit venom as she faces off against a tiny Xenomorph, reminding us of one of the best lines from '80s cinema:

"Hey, listen, you. I was next in line. Get away from him, you bitch!"

It may be little solace to fans of the hardened heroine to get such a fleeting reprisal; however, the video proves that even at 67, Weaver is more than capable of lacing up her Reebok Stompers and taking on the Xenomorphs again. It clearly showcases what Scott is missing out on by not featuring Weaver in his ongoing Alien prequel trilogy. While it may be hard to shoehorn Ripley in before her mission on the Nostromo, it has to be done somehow.

Scott's upcoming #AlienCovenant promises to further bridge the gap between 2012's Prometheus and his first Alien film, but with the acclaimed director planning up to five more Alien films, don't count Lieutenant First Class Ripley out just yet.

Even if Scott fails to bring back his screen legend, there is plenty of life in the character yet. Let's just hope that Blomkamp is out there taking notes, because the return of Ripley to cinemas has our chests bursting with excitement.

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About the Creator

Tom Chapman

Tom is a Manchester-based writer with square eyes and the love of a good pun. Raised on a diet of Jurassic Park, this ’90s boy has VHS flowing in his blood. No topic is too big for this freelancer by day, crime-fighting vigilante by night.

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