Rogue One: A Star Wars Story proved that trepidations over de-aging actors, and even bringing them back to life from the dead, is firmly in the past. Ever since both Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher were seamlessly incorporated into the blockbuster set in a galaxy far, far away, there have been rumors that a myriad of other actors might get the same treatment. Sir Ridley Scott has now even been quizzed about de-aging Sigourney Weaver for a future Alien prequel, and the legendary director has far from ruled it out. In fact, the Alien: Covenant director admitted:
You could do it.
Sir Ridley Scott has long admitted that the current plan for the new batch of Alien prequels is to oversee two more films that then link-up to the 1979 original. As the conclusion to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story demonstrated, which saw a younger Carrie Fisher being incorporated to link it up with the beginning of Star Wars: A New Hope, you can solidify a connection between films by using de-aging techniques. Of course, since a younger Ripley almost certainly wouldn't be introduced until the final film that links to Alien (which is at least 5 years away), those involved will be hopeful that the de-aging technology will be even more impressive by this point, too.
That's especially because so many more studios and franchises are now interested in using it. Not only did Leonard Nimoy's son, Adam Nimoy, recently admit that he'd have no qualms if his father was brought back to life on the big-screen, but it was previously confirmed that Martin Scorsese's The Irishman will create younger versions of Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, too. It also helps that Hollywood is constantly looking to reboot and remake established properties from decades ago, while at the same time linking to their illustrious pasts in order to appease and still appeal to its fan-base. De-aging past stars is a perfect way to do just that, so expect this technology to be honed and become more proficient over the ensuing years.
Rumors have been abound for a couple of months that Sigourney Weaver's Ripley will be teased, or that there's even an appearance from the character, in Alien: Covenant. Some have even suggested that Ripley is actually the daughter of Katherine Waterston's Daniels. While that seems like a bit of a stretch, it's very clear that Ripley will at least be mentioned, and is now likely to actually pop up, in the future Alien films. Especially after Sir Ridley Scott admitted in the above interview with Empire, "We know where we're going with it," which further underlines that their endgame with the Prometheus saga is the first film, and thus re-introducing us to Ripley.
We'll see if that's the case when Alien: Covenant is released on May 19. The success of the sci-fi horror film will dictate whether or not we get any more sequels, so those of you who want to see a younger version of Ripley need to make sure that you head to your local theater to see it.
