Alien: Romulus' Disappointing Sequel Update Leaves Only 1 Way A Franchise Icon Can Return

A critical update about the upcoming sequel to Alien: Romulus means that there is only one path remaining for one of the franchise’s most significant stars to return. Director Fede Álvarez’s surprise smash hit Alien: Romulus brought the claustrophobic space horror franchise back to the front of the horror industry, and spawned newfound interest in the ongoing narrative and lore surrounding the vicious xenomorphs and the people who battle them. As a result, a sequel to Alien: Romulus is in development, along with a TV series titled Alien: Earth that will fall just before Alien in the franchise timeline.

Alien: Romulus is technically set between the events of Alien and Aliens, and, as such, operates as a totally stand-alone entry in the franchise. While there are plenty of Easter eggs to go along with the facehugger eggs, Romulus does not connect directly to the other major movies in the main continuity. Álvarez recently provided an update on the direction that the Romulus sequel will take based on who’s included in the cast, and it appears that the stand-alone story will continue to be just that. However, that leaves only one way for the franchise’s greatest star to return.

2:39

Could Michael Fassbender’s David Return in Alien: Romulus 2?

Alien: Romulus is set to get a sequel, but could Michael Fassbender’s David return?

Alien: Romulus 2 Will Not Bring Back Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley

The Movie Will Pick Up With The Characters From The First Movie

Sigourney Weaver as Ripley wears a space suit in Alien 1979

Fede Álvarez shot down a rumor about Sigourney Weaver, who played warrant officer and xenomorph nemesis Ellen Ripley (and her clone) in the first four Alien movies, returning for the sequel to Alien: Romulus. Following her first battle with the xenomorphs in Alien, Ripley went into cryostasis and woke up 57 years later for the events in James Cameron’s epic sequel Aliens. She returned for more action in Alien 3, but that movie saw her character die to prevent the birth of a new xenomorph queen. She was then cloned for a return 200 years later in Alien Resurrection.

The much-maligned cross-over movies Alien vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem are not considered canon in the main Alien franchise timeline.

Weaver’s Ripley is easily the most iconic and beloved character in the Alien franchise, so naturally, the release of Alien: Romulus had many on the lookout for a cameo at the very least, especially given where the movie fell on the franchise timeline. That speculation began again with the announcement of a sequel in development, as Romulus set the table for another time jump thanks to cryostasis. However, Álvarez’s blunt response to the rumor that Weaver would return has effectively closed the book on the matter.

Ripley Can Still Return In Ridley Scott’s Next Alien Movie (& Should)

Scott Revealed He Was Developing A New Movie Following Romulus’ Success

Ridley Scott returned to the franchise to direct both the prequel movies Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017), the latter of which notably ended on a cliffhanger. The two prequels dive deeper into the lore of the Alien universe, exploring the origins of both humanity and the xenomorphs, and act as two parts of what was clearly a planned trilogy before the third chapter was canceled. Ridley Scott teased that the next Alien sequel he made would pick up where Alien: Covenant left off, and if that’s true then it’s the perfect opportunity for Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley to return.

Alien Franchise – Timeline Order
Movie	Release Date	Timeline Year
Alien: Earth	2025	2092
Prometheus	2012	2093
Alien: Covenant	2017	2104
Alien	1979	2122
Alien: Romulus	2024	2142
Aliens	1986	2179
Alien 3	1992	2180
Alien Resurrection	1997	2379

In the Alien timeline, Alien: Covenant is set roughly 18 years before Ripley’s first showdown with the xenomorphs aboard the Nostromo. As Scott himself has said, Covenant‘s cliffhanger ending is the perfect setup for the beginning of the next movie, which would theoretically be set before the events of Alien. It provides the perfect window of time for Ripley to return and finally connect the thread between Scott’s prequel movies and the original Alien movies, and could be accomplished fairly easily with de-aging technology. It may be the only chance Ripley has to return, but it’s also the perfect opportunity.

Ripley Appearing In Ridley Scott’s Alien Movie Makes More Sense Than Romulus 2

A Romulus Appearance Could Feel Forced

The xenomorph on a spaceship in Alien Covenant

Ripley’s return to the franchise is far better off in Scott’s forthcoming sequel, not only due to where it falls on the timeline, but just in the flow of the overarching narrative. Alien: Romulus was set up as a stand-alone story, much to its benefit; the self-contained story does not rely on its predecessors for narrative threads, and as a result it’s a tight, well-paced movie that reignites the claustrophobic terror of the original movie. If Ripley had made an appearance, there was a good chance it would have felt forced, and acted as little more than fan service.

That same logic follows for a Ripley appearance in the sequel to Alien: Romulus. With so much of the timeline on either side of Romulus already established, writing Ripley into the trajectory of Rain and Andy runs the risk of coming off as convoluted, and unnecessarily retcon existing lore. With such a perfect setup in place for Ripley’s return in Scott’s third prequel chapter, it makes no sense to shoehorn her into the Alien: Romulus sequel for no reason other than a forced cameo.