Alien 5

Toothy, acid blooded xenomorph terrorises various citizens of the galaxy, and quite possibly an old nemesis.

Why we’re looking forward to this: After the somewhat lackluster Alien Resurrection and the unforgettable duo of Alien vs Predator films (we’ve tried, believe us!), you’d have thought that the world would have been done with the prospect of any further xenomorph action. Even the video games that have appeared in the last decade or so have been good at best, but never approaching the sheer horror or action of the first two Alien movies. Granted, last year’s Alien Isolation game was the best of the bunch, but even that entertained rather than terrorised us.

So, why the excitement about this latest installment? Two things. Well, two people to be exact – Sigourney Weaver and Neil Blomkamp. Weaver needs no introduction, of course, having carved the strong, determined and downright badass Ellen Ripley into the bedrock of popular culture ever since appearing in Ridley Scott’s original Alien, and Blomkamp is arguably the best of the new wave of science fiction directors to take the helm following his breathtaking District 9 and the upcoming Chappie (which features Weaver). It doesn’t hurt that Blomkamp has spent a long time thinking about a potential Alien 5, evidence of which was shared on his Instagram account, and has been working closely with Weaver herself for the last year on ideas for the film.

As for what we know about the plot, the current answer is next to nothing. We do know that Blomkamp wants the film to be a spiritual successor to Alien and Aliens, and that Weaver wants to give some closure to Ripley rather than having left her floating around in space as she was at the end of Alien Resurrection. There’s speculation that Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection may be ignored, which would open up the possibility of everybody’s favourite Space Marine Corporal Dwayne Hicks returning, fueled by Michael Biehn’s recent comments that it looks like he’s on board.

Much more than this, we’re as much in the dark as everybody else, but the combination of Blomkamp and Weaver is more than enough to have us gearing up for another bug hunt in the not too distant future.

Alien 5 is in production and will likely burst onto cinema screens sometime next year.

RICHARD COSGROVE