The 1997 Sigourney Weaver movie nobody wanted to exist: “We tried to stop them from making it”
Alien Resurrection, the 1997 fourth instalment in the Alien series, was made despite opposition from Sigourney Weaver and key producers David Giler and Walter Hill. The film mattered because it revived Ellen Ripley after her apparent death in Alien 3, setting a precedent for the franchise to continue by altering its established ending.
Set 200 years after Alien 3, the film presents Ripley as a clone created by military scientists seeking to recover an alien queen embryo. Weaver was initially surprised by the proposal and had hoped Alien 3 would free the series from Ripley, while Giler said the original producers tried to prevent the sequel; Fox proceeded with a script by Joss Whedon.
- Alien Resurrection continued the franchise despite internal opposition.
- Ripley returned as a clone 200 years after Alien 3.
- Fox commissioned Joss Whedon to devise her return.
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Alien Resurrection is the fourth film in the Alien science fiction series, released in 1997. It brought back the character Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, even though the previous film had killed her off in what was meant to be a definitive ending. In this instalment, Ripley returns 200 years later as a clone, created by military scientists who want to extract an alien creature growing inside her.
The making of the film was contested behind the scenes. Weaver has said she was surprised when the idea was put to her, having expected the third film to close the door on the character for good, while producers David Giler and Walter Hill have said they tried to stop the sequel from happening at all. The studio, 20th Century Fox, pressed ahead regardless, using a script written by Joss Whedon, who would later become known for other major film and television work.
The film matters within the franchise's history because it established that Ripley's death did not have to be the end of the series, opening the door to further sequels and spin-offs built around reviving or reinventing the character.