With Neill Blomkamp firmly nestled at the helm of Fox’s next Alien sequel, the matter of who will appear in the much-anticipated follow-up has stirred up considerable intrigue.
Based on the gallery of concept artwork that the director unveiled earlier this year, his proposed movie takes place sometime after the events of the 1986 sequel Aliens. Those snaps included imagery of Lt. Ellen Ripley and Corporal Dwayne Hicks; the latter replete with scars from his final tussle with a xenomorph. While it’s expected that Sigourney Weaver will be back, what sparked the most excitement was the very presence of the steely marine. Partly because – and this is a big one – he dies offscreen before the events of Alien 3.
But hey, this is Hollywood! Anything goes in a creative industry, and Blomkamp’s enthusiasm for the first two instalments saw him focus his efforts on developing a movie that will carry on after Aliens as its ‘genetic sibling.’ He’s since confirmed that his future sequel won’t ignore the events of the third and fourth instalments, leading many to believe it could be a side-quel.
However he chooses to forward the story, it’s now confirmed that Michael Biehn, who played Hicks in the James Cameron-directed actioner, will be back to reprise his role. Biehn dropped the news via his new Instagram account as Cult Cinema Sunday led a chat during which the actor revealed that he is now contracted for the movie:
Calling it ‘Aliens’ doesn’t necessarily mean this is the movie’s official title. Until Fox announces the full monicker, there’s no doubt it will be referred to in a number of ways. Title talk aside though, the most revelatory tidbit here is talk of a shooting date.
While there’s been no official title announced, release date, or even confirmation that the studio has issued the greenlight, it looks like principal photography will commence this summer. Sheffield’s Comic-Con takes place on the 15th and 16th of August this year and if Biehn’s comments are correct, then production will begin roughly around that time. By the sounds of it, unlike the first two Alien movies, Blomkamp’s version won’t be lensed in the UK.
There’s a fair bit of information to chew over here, and as previously mentioned, none of these specifics have been confirmed by Fox. Still, if we hold back on the pinch of salt and take this at Biehn’s word, we could see the next Alien movie hit cinemas in late 2016.