Director Fede Alvarez’s contribution to the Alien franchise, Alien: Romulus (you can read our review HERE), was a success – so it was no surprise to hear, just a couple of months after the film’s theatrical release, that 20th Century Studios was working with Alvarez to develop a sequel to the film. Now, Alvarez has had to address a rumor that Alien franchise heroine Ripley, who was played by Sigourney Weaver in the first four films, might return for the Alien: Romulus sequel.

The rumor started with industry scooper Daniel Richtman, who reported, “For the next Alien movie, they’re considering bringing back Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) using de-aging technology.” Alvarez quickly took to social media to debunk the rumor, writing, “Fun gossip. But not true at all.” So don’t expect to see a de-aged Ripley show up in the Alien: Romulus sequel.

It has been said that the story Alvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues crafted for Alien: Romulus is not directly connected to the other films in the Alien franchise (which isn’t exactly true), but it’s not ignoring any of the other entries, either. Alvarez has been clear about the fact that his story takes place within the established franchise continuity. In fact, it slots right in between the events of Alien and Aliens. It has the following official logline: The sci-fi/horror-thriller takes the phenomenally successful “Alien” franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe. The cast includes Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), Isabela Merced (Madame Web), David Jonsson (Industry), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Spike Fearn (The Batman), and Aileen Wu (Away from Home).

Ripley won’t be around, but we can expect the sequel to center on Alien: Romulus survivors Rain (Spaeny) and Andy (Jonsson).

Alvarez recently confirmed to Empire that he and Sayagues are working on the script for the Alien: Romulus sequel and they’re “excited about where it can go. We’ve almost checked all of the boxes of things that I want to see [in Romulus], and brought back a lot of the things I hadn’t seen in a while. Wherever we go now, we can go into uncharted waters. I think it’ll be so exciting to go with characters you know from this movie, to a place in the Alien franchise that we’ve never been before, and to discover things that you’ve never seen before.“

Would you have liked to see Ripley show up in the Alien: Romulus sequel, or are you glad to see that Alvarez has debunked the rumor? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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