The Neill Blomkamp Alien Movie We Never Got To See
There have been a lot of stalled "Alien" projects over the years. The most elusive thing of all, it seems, has been any development on a proper "Alien 5." Back in 2009, Sigourney Weaver told MTV News that Joss Whedon had written a treatment. At a different point, "Aliens" director James Cameron actually considered working together with Ridley Scott on a sequel, according to Screen Rant, but stepped away when he learned that "Alien Vs. Predator" had been greenlit. There was also the time that Weaver and Scott seemed to be at work on a movie chronicling Ellen Ripley's exploits, according to MTV News, but those plans never came to fruition, either.
Perhaps it has been "District 9" director Neill Blomkamp's canceled "Alien" sequel that has gotten the most press over the years, and for good reason. His famous attempt at reviving the series still has fans buzzing, despite the fact that the project was shelved as far back as 2015, a few years before the Fox/Disney merger, as Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" sequel (later titled "Alien: Covenant") was seen as the franchise priority, according to Empire Online.
However, while Blomkamp's movie will probably never happen, many feel it could've been the "Alien" sequel that everyone has always wanted.
Neill Blomkamp would've brought back Ripley and Hicks
Neill Blomkamp's vision for "Alien 5" has never been fully revealed, and as Empire Online explained, there has also never been reports of a script. What is clear, though, is that Blomkamp not only wanted to get Ripley back onboard, but his concept art — archived by Syfy.com, and originally posted on Blomkamp's social media — also featured Michael Biehn's Dwayne Hicks, depicted with a scarred face. Other concept art pieces showed Ripley in a Xenomorph-like suit, and a new version of a facehugger.
This is a big factor in why fans, many of whom have always been disappointed by the deaths of Hicks and Rebecca "Newt" Jorden (Carrie Henn) in 1992's "Alien 3" — a plot development that has long been a contentious subject, to say the least — clamored for the movie to be made, since it seemed like Blomkamp's approach would be to ignore the events of the third chapter, as well as "Alien: Resurrection," leaving only the first two movies as canon.
The Alien: Covenant reception prevented Neill Blomkamp's Alien 5
However, as excited as fans may have been by the concept art, getting Neill Blomkamp's film into production hinged on one thing, according to a tweet by Blomkamp — the success of the "Prometheus" sequel, aka "Alien: Covenant" (2017). Sadly, the film underperformed to the studio's expectations, making $240 million plus on a $97 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). In 2020, The Independent reported that the film was on hold "indefinitely."
That might not be the end of things. "Alien" producer Walter Hill told Syfy in June of 2020 that he and fellow "Alien" producer David Giler ad teamed up to create a 10 page treatment for "Alien 5." Sigourney Weaver, according to Empire Online, apparently was given the treatment, but said, "I don't know. Ridley has gone in a different direction. Maybe Ripley has done her bit. She deserves a rest."