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Alien 5 Theory: Walter Hill's Script Would Have Erased Alien 3 & 4
While Walter Hill still has yet to reveal the contents of his script for Alien 5, he appears to be hinting at a retcon of parts 3 and 4. In mid-June, Alien franchise star Sigourney Weaver surprised fans by revealing that around 18 months ago, she received a 50-page treatment for an Alien 5, written by Walter Hill. Hill had served as a producer on the first three Alien films, and had also been involved in crafting the stories of Alien and Alien 3, along with creative partner David Giler.
Weaver seemed a bit lukewarm on the idea of reprising the Ellen Ripley role, but Hill later not only confirmed that he'd written a treatment for Alien 5 alongside Giler, but also that their most recent rewrite was completed in March 2020. Hill also made it clear that he really, really wants Weaver to return as Ripley, and thinks she might be underestimating her own ability to reinvigorate the classic character and franchise. It's been a long time since fans got a truly great Alien film, so many would likely agree with Hill's pushiness.
The actual plot of Hill and Giler's Alien 5 has yet to be revealed, but Hill has released the title page, and a couple of things on it seem to be suggesting a plan to remove the events of Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection from continuity. If the pair has their way, Ripley will get somewhat of a fresh start.
Alien 5 Theory: Walter Hill's Script Would Have Erased Alien 3 & 4
On Hill and Giler's title page for Alien 5, there are two references to dreams. On the top of the page, above the title, is "In Space no one can hear you dream," a take on the original Alien's classic tagline. Near the bottom of the page is an oft-referenced quote from Edgar Allan Poe, "All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream." With the fandom's overall tepid opinion of Alien 3, and Hill and Giler's lack of involvement in Alien: Resurrection, these dream mentions lead to one obvious conclusion: this treatment for Alien 5 uses cryosleep to retcon those two contested films out of existence.
Ripley, Newt, and Hicks all ended Aliens in cryosleep, planning to wake up when they reached Earth. Alien 3 sabotaged that plan via a stowaway Facehugger, abruptly killing off Newt and Hicks along the way, to the eternal anger of fans. Thus, an easy way to write both Alien 3 and Resurrection out would be to make them bizarre dreams Ripley had while sleeping. However, even if this is Hill and Giler's intent, they'll still face the problem of time having passed in real life. Weaver is now 70-years-old, and the only plausible way to make her look like her Aliens self would be to use The Irishman-style de-aging, which costs a truckload of money to pull off. For now though, it looks like Alien 5 is just a glimmer in the eye of Hill and Giler.
