linkIn 1979, Ridley Scott brought the Xenomorph (which would become one of the most famous and horrific science fiction monsters of all time) to the big screen in his film Alien. James Cameron took over for the sequel Aliens, ramping up the action and introducing Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) to Colonial Marine Corporal Dwayne Hicks (Michael Biehn) and Newt (Carrie Henn), a child who survived an alien attack on her colony.
Biehn has been rumored to reprise the role in Alien 5, joining Sigourney Weaver in director Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming entry in the series. The character was thought to be dead at the beginning of Alien 3, when the escape ship carrying himself, Ripley and Newt crashes and Ripley is pronounced the only survivor. That decision has long been derided for ending Hicks’ storyline too abruptly, and the concept art released by Blomkamp seems to confirm the director agrees: Hicks’ story isn’t over.
The most recent concept art released online by Blomkamp (see below) clearly features Hicks alongside Ripley. In continuity, the photo must take place after the events of Aliens, as Hicks’ face was disfigured at the end of that film by the Xenomorph’s acidic blood.
In 1979, Ridley Scott brought the Xenomorph (which would become one of the most famous and horrific science fiction monsters of all time) to the big screen in his film Alien. James Cameron took over for the sequel Aliens, ramping up the action and introducing Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) to Colonial Marine Corporal Dwayne Hicks (Michael Biehn) and Newt (Carrie Henn), a child who survived an alien attack on her colony.
Biehn has been rumored to reprise the role in Alien 5, joining Sigourney Weaver in director Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming entry in the series. The character was thought to be dead at the beginning of Alien 3, when the escape ship carrying himself, Ripley and Newt crashes and Ripley is pronounced the only survivor. That decision has long been derided for ending Hicks’ storyline too abruptly, and the concept art released by Blomkamp seems to confirm the director agrees: Hicks’ story isn’t over.
The most recent concept art released online by Blomkamp (see below) clearly features Hicks alongside Ripley. In continuity, the photo must take place after the events of Aliens, as Hicks’ face was disfigured at the end of that film by the Xenomorph’s acidic blood.
The biggest question about the decision to include Corporal Hicks in the film is how the continuity of the universe is laid out. In the beginning of Alien 3, Hicks is said to have died in a crash landing. However, the events of the 2013 video game Aliens: Colonial Marines revealed that Hicks was never in the crashed ship. Instead, he had been awoken from stasis to help fend off an attack from Weyland-Yutani mercenaries. During the ensuing battle, Ripley and Newt are accidentally ejected from the ship, crashing onto the planet Fiorina 161, the planet where Alien 3 takes place.
It seems unlikely that Blomkamp is going to want to include events from the game in his story, considering the poor critical reception for Colonial Marines. Still, the game does set a precedent for the character’s survival in the series. It seems that Alien 5 may also re-examine the crash and reveal that Hicks was never killed in the first place. After the franchise’s recent lackluster offerings, it’s hard to imagine any fans would complain if Hicks was brought back with minimal backstory.
Blomkmap has previously gone on the record stating that he considers his film to be a successor to Aliens – calling it “the genetic sibling of Aliens” – and as such the timeline would be “Alien, Aliens, and then this movie.” However, with the obvious aging of the characters, it would be hard to imagine that this film somehow took place between Aliens and Alien 3. He’s also told media outlets like AlloCiné that he doesn’t want to undo the events of the last two Alien movies:
“My favorites are the first two movies, so I want to make a film that’s connected to ‘Alien’ and ‘Aliens’. That’s my goal. I’m not trying to undo ‘Alien 3′ or ‘Alien: Resurrection.’ I just want it to be connected to ‘Alien 1′ and ‘2’.”
Hicks has been repeatedly showing up in the concept art for Alien 5, so it’s more likely than not that we’ll be seeing him in the upcoming film. While Blomkamp can’t remove Alien 3 from continuity, the safest bet is that Hicks will be ret-conned to have survived the crash that begins the film. There are certainly other possibilities (some kind of cloning experiment a la how Ripley returned in Alien: Resurrection?), so feel free to share your own theories below.
linkIn a post on his Instagram account, the director stated that his next movie will indeed be an entry into the Alien franchise:
Shortly after Blomkamp shared his news, sources from Variety confirmed that Fox has closed a deal with him to call the shots on a new Alien movie. So anyone who thought that the Instagram image was nothing more than Blomkamp’s wishful thinking need not take those grains of salt. This is really happening.
With a new Alien film so early in development, it’s also impossible to say what exactly the plot will entail. Blomkamp’s post, however exciting it may be, is scarce on other details. Weaver’s previous quotes would indicate that the Ellen Ripley character will be involved in some capacity, but right now only Blomkamp knows what her next mission could be. However, story details could emerge shortly, given that Fox has put this project on the fast track.
Though it looks like Alien 5 has come together rather quickly, there has been talk about the possibilities of such a film for a while. Weaver has gone on record stating that she thought there was still more story to tell and that longtime fans of the franchise would want to see her character’s (Ellen Ripley) arc completed in a new installment, following the events of Alien: Resurrection. Whether those were clues that this news was on the horizon or not, Weaver seems to be getting her wish granted.
The one question on everyone’s minds will be how this new film relates to Ridley Scott’s Prometheus 2, which is coming through the pipeline for a possible 2016 release. As we’ve speculated before, the two movies will co-exist and not cancel each other out. Justin Kroll of Variety tweeted that Alien 5 is a separate entity, and the Prometheus sequel is still happening. It seems that Fox has another blossoming shared cinematic universe to go with its Marvel Comics properties.
Now that it’s officially happening, Alien 5 is just the latest film in a long list of productions that will look to revive long-dormant Hollywood franchises and introduce them to a new generation of moviegoers. The box office numbers for 2015 will be a strong indicator as to how long this trend will go on, but given the levels of excitement surrounding some of these films, there is a strong chance that this business strategy proves to be as successful as the superhero movies. Some may frown upon the studios returning to the well after so many years, but if a creative eye like Blomkamp is behind the camera, we doubt too many will complain.
