Blomkamp confirms post-Aliens timeline, Weaver still unknown

It seems that District 9 and Elysium director Neill Blomkamp is not one for keeping fans guessing for long. Just last week he confirmed that he indeed will be taking the helm of the next installment in the Alien franchise. Now, he laying bare the timeline for the film. His film, title still unknown, will indeed take place after the events of Aliens, the second title in the film franchise. But while that answers one question, it keeps some still hanging and even opens up new ones.

"So it is Alien, Aliens, and then this film." It doesn't get any simpler than that. For some of the fans of the first films, the "real" Alien story ended with Aliens. Blomkamp's revelation, which was given over an interview, might subtly hint that he is of the same camp. And apparently, he is not the only one.

Sigourney Weaver, who takes on a role in Blomkamp's upcoming film Chappie, seems to make the same hint. She says that she doesn't want to leave Ripley, her character, in orbit, which is where Aliens ended. She wants to give the heroine a proper ending, again hinting that her "death" in Alien 3 (she gets cloned in the sequel) was unsatisfying, to her and to the fans.

Now that we know where the film will take place, where does that leave us? A lot of questions! First of all, is Weaver reprising her role as Ripley? She does seem quite interested in the prospect of this sequel but does not give any formal indication that she's on board. Will the actress, who is turning 66 later this year, still be up to the usually physically taxing role? Given the tone of their words, it also seems that Ripley will still end up dead in this sequel. But perhaps, something that gives more closure.

Whatever the answers to these questions, it seems that Blomkamp is gearing up for a rewrite of the existing timeline, which gives him a bit more breathing space for changing things. If so, the next alien film will definitely be an interesting one to look out for, and one that Alien/Aliens fans might consider to be a better cannon.

VIA: Games Radar