Here’s some awesome news for your Monday: it sounds like Michael Biehn is returning to the Alien franchise in Neill Blomkamp’s upcoming Alien sequel.
Biehn was Corporal Hicks in James Cameron’s Aliens, and survived the attack along with Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley and Newt. But then, Fox’s nihilistic third entry into the franchise killed off Hicks and Newt, and went on to gain more fame for its troubled production than anything else.
Since Blomkamp’s movie is ignoring Alien Cubed and Resurrection, it makes sense that Corporal Hicks is back. But that didn’t necessarily mean Michael Biehn – the GREAT Michael Biehn – was back on board. Well, in an interview with Simon Thompson at Forbes, Biehn confirmed he was, in fact, returning:
Well, she’s [Sigourney Weaver] doing the movie, Chappie, and he pitches her an idea for another movie in the Alien franchise, which I thought was dead and gone as she probably did too as well as Fox. He tweeted out some pictures of me, he said he’s going take the third and fourth film and act like they never happened and things blew up. It looked like it was all go and then Ridley Scott decided that he was going to do a second and third film in the Prometheus series, but Sigourney says they are still doing their project. I think it would be very embarrassing to Fox if they don’t give Sigourney the movie that she really wants to go out on. I don’t know when it’s going to happen but I know it’s going to happen and I know I’m going to be in it and there’s going to be a new Newt, she’s going to be about 26 or 27 and looks a lot like Jennifer Lawrence to me but I don’t know. Maybe there’ll be a passing of whatever and then the franchise can move on so they can make more money because that’s what it’s all about.
Excellent news. Also, how about the little nugget Biehn dropped in there about the new Newt possibly looking a lot like Jennifer Lawrence? This project is transforming in front of our eyes from some sad attempt at a reboot with the flailing Blomkamp behind the camera, to a thrilling new entry into a franchise that needs a shot in the arm.
