'Alien 5' spoilers news: Sequel will deviate from 'Alien 3' and 'Alien 4,' Sigourney Weaver confirms
"Alien 5," the as-yet-untitled film that will bring "Alien" stars Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn back into the franchise, will reportedly take a detour from "Alien 3" and "Alien 4."
The film, which will be helmed by "District 9" director Neill Blomkamp, has been rumored for many years now, with fans wondering if it will follow the story of "Alien" (1979), "Alien 3" (1992), or "Alien: Resurrection" (1997).
According to Gizmodo, in 2015, Blomkamp confirmed that he has been developing an "Alien" sequel that will feature Weaver, Biehn and others from the first film. But because these characters died in "Alien 3," many were left to ask if Blomkamp meant to completely ignore the events in "Alien 3" and in "Alien: Resurrection" (also known as "Alien 4").
To complicate things, another "Alien" installment, "Alien: Covenant," is also currently in the works. This film, which is slated for a 2017 release, is said to be a sequel to "Prometheus" (2012), itself a prequel to "Alien." "Covenant" will be directed by Ridley Scott and will be the second installment in the prequel trilogy that began with "Prometheus."
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly about the 30th anniversary of "Alien," Weaver confirmed that the upcoming "Alien 5" will essentially be de-canonizing "Alien 3" and "Alien 4."
"It's just as if, you know, the path forks and one direction goes off to three and four and another direction goes off to Neill's movie," she said.
Meanwhile, what may or may not be a major spoiler about the upcoming "Alien: Covenant" is currently making the rounds on the internet. The spoiler, which was first published by The Playlist, seems to have revealed some key information about Katherine Waterston's character in the film.
"Sources close to film and actress tell us the [Katherine Waterston] will be playing Ellen Ripley's mother in 'Alien: Covenant,' which is an amazing twist and true to Ridley Scott's promise that the post-'Prometheus' prequels will eventually lead right up to the first 'Alien' movie," the report said, as quoted by Uproxx. "It should be noted however that Waterston isn't the lead of the movie, and it's an ensemble piece like 'Prometheus.'"
The Playlist has since taken down the spoiler, saying that it was removed at the request of the studio.
The premiere date for "Alien 5" has not been announced.