Neill Blomkamp's Alien 5 is currently on hold, but that doesn't mean the film won't get made. It also won't stop actors from discussing the film's basic plot outlines, either! Aliens actor Michael Biehn recently sat down with Icons of Fright and speculated that the primary focus Neill is planning for his new Alien movie - which would be set after the events of James Cameron's Aliens but before the events of Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection.
During the interview he speculates that Alien 5 will focus primarily on the character Newt, who would be about 27 years old, which means Alien 5 will take place roughly 20 years after the events of Aliens. He mentions that the film would act as a 'passing of the torch' from Ripley to Newt - insinuating that Newt could take over the franchise as the next badass heroine. Read on for excerpts of the interview where Biehn talks Alien 5:
"They’re talking about doing another ALIENS movie, with Neill Blomkamp, and Fox came and announced it and Sigourney (Weaver) has come out and announced it. The basic idea is acting likeALIEN3 and 4 never existed, so if you go on Neill Blomkamp’s site, everyone can see all of the artwork for that. I know Ridley Scott is doing his movie first and is going to be the executive producer on this one, so I’m really looking forward to that. I know that Ridley’s focus is on the second PROMETHEUS (now titled ALIEN: COVENANT) and I’m sure that he and Fox both don’t want that and Neill’s movie to come out right next to each other, because they’re kind of two different worlds, with ALIENS taking place thousands of years later, which is how they explained it all to me, but at the same time, they want to give them a similar feel. I know they’re putting the brakes on Neill’s movie just for a little while, but I really think that it would be embarrassing to Ridley and Fox and Sigourney if they just didn’t make the movie."
"I think when they put that out there and have pictures with me as Hicks again, people were excited and though I’m not into online stuff much, my kids saw a lot about it on Reddit. They were excited. They’re planning on bringing me and Newt back and at this point Newt will be around twenty-seven years old. I know that every actress in Hollywood is going to want to play this one, it’s really a passing of the torch between Sigourney and this younger actress who would play Newt. It would keep the franchise alive and the studios would make money, because that’s what the bottom line is now: money. That’s why you end up seeing TERMINATOR 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 10 and THE FAST AND FURIOUS 7, 8, 9, and 10. So when that happens, the ALIENS film, maybe that will be one more movie that I can make a mark with, plus, Neill is such a talented guy. When I saw DISTRICT 9 for the first time, I was glued to my seat, going “wow”. So I’m hopeful for that one."
Alien 5 is currently on hold pending the release of Alien: Covenant (Prometheus 2) but the film will be getting made. Fans can let out a sigh of relief knowing that the continuation of the Alien saga is not over, but merely in cryosleep for the time being. It's likely Fox will pick Alien 5 back up in a year and aim for a 2018 release date - giving both films enough time apart to not confuse audiences.
Source: Icons of Fright
