Sigourney Weaver Hates One Entry In The Alien Franchise
For decades, Sigourney Weaver has been at the forefront of sci-fi hits like Alien, Ghostbusters, and Avatar. Her characters have become icons of female empowerment, but none more than Ellen Ripley in the Alien films. However, in a report by The Independent, Sigourney Weaver expressed her contempt for one member in the long lineage of Alien films: Alien vs. Predator.
Sigourney Weaver is proud of the Alien films, and a mashup with the Predator was not something the actress was ever interested in. The idea for an AVP film was getting tossed around in the early 90s, and Sigourney Weaver was so opposed to participating in the film that she asked Alien 3 director David Fincher to kill her character off. “It’s like making Alien Meets the Wolfman,” Weaver remarked.
The Alien and the Predator, two movie monsters that had ascended to cinematic fame by the late 80s, first crossed paths in Dark Horse Comics’ crossover book in 1989. The warring species have torn each other to pieces in the pages of comic books ever since, but the battle didn’t hit the big screen until 2004. The ensuing film marked the first cinematic outing for Aliens that did not feature Sigourney Weaver.
Helmed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the director behind Resident Evil (2002) and Mortal Kombat (1995), Alien vs. Predator was met with devastating reviews from fans and critics alike. The first PG-13 rated entry for either Alien or Predator, AVP managed to gross over $177 million worldwide. Despite the film’s reception among fans, and its lack of original stars like Sigourney Weaver or Arnold Schwarzenegger, the box office return more than justified the film’s budget and beget a sequel: 2007’s Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, which produced an even worse reaction from the fanbase.
Ridley Scott, the director of the original Alien film in 1979, has attempted to right the ship over the years with his prequel films Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, which generated mixed responses from fans of the franchise. A planned followup to Alien with Sigourney Weaver was in the works from District 9 director Neill Blomkamp, but the project has since dissipated. An Alien series from Ridley Scott is in the works at Hulu, and another at FX, but Disney, who now owns Fox, has no interest in reuniting with Sigourney Weaver with Alien at this time.
While her days as Ripley seem to be over (at least for now), Sigourney Weaver is still making waves in James Cameron’s Avatar films. Avatar: The Way of Water opened to solid reviews from fans and critics, and is slowly recouping the massive expense incurred by the film’s unique production process. Weaver is set to continue her team up with the Aliens director for future Avatar sequels, assuming The Way of Water succeeds enough to warrant its planned follow ups.
Sigourney Weaver played Dr. Grace Augustine in the original Avatar back in 2009, but her character met her demise in that film. She returned to The Way of Water to play a new character, the teenage daughter of Jake Sully and Neytiri. As her career continues, Sigourney Weaver keeps expanding her acting chops and taking on new challenges in game changing films; even if there are dark spots on the legacies of the franchises she helped build, there is still plenty for Sigourney Weaver to be proud of.
