Blomkamp originally planned to an ''[[Alien (franchise)|Alien]]'' film in which [[Sigourney Weaver]], [[Lance Henriksen]] and [[Michael Biehn]] would reprise their roles as [[E;;enEllen Ripley]], Bishop II and Dwayne Hicks respectively.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ankers-Range|first=Adele|title=Alien 5: Concept Art for Neill Blomkamp's Unmade Sequel Revealed|date=June 15, 2021|website=IGN|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/alien-5-concept-art-neill-blomkamp-unmade-sequel-revealed|accessdate=November 12, 2023}}</ref> Blomkamp said in 2021 that the film was never made because [[20th Century Studios|20th Century Fox]] chose to produce ''[[Alien: Covenant]]'' (2017) instead.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sharf|first=Zack|title=Neill Blomkamp No Longer Sure He’d Direct ‘Alien 5’ If Given the Chance: ‘It’s Completely Dead’|date=September 1, 2021|website=IndieWire|url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/neill-blomkamp-skip-directing-alien-5-1234661306/|accessdate=November 12, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Singer|first=Matt|title=WHY NEILL BLOMKAMP’S ‘ALIEN 5’ NEVER HAPPENED|date=September 2, 2021|website=ScreenCrush|url=https://screencrush.com/why-alien-5-didnt-happen/|accessdate=November 12, 2023}}</ref> The box office failure of ''Alien: Covenant'' also served as a factor as to why Blomkamp's film was never made.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lemieux|first=Melissa|title=The Neill Blomkamp Alien Movie We Never Got To See|date=February 8, 2022|website=Looper.com|url=https://www.looper.com/400538/the-neill-blomkamp-alien-movie-we-never-got-to-see/|accessdate=November 12, 2023}}</ref>
In April 2023, Weaver confirmed that she would no longer reprise her role as Ripley and admitted that she wanted to do the film with Blomkamp.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Sharf|first=Zack|title=Sigourney Weaver Says ‘Ship Has Sailed’ on Fifth ‘Alien’ Movie and Reprising Ripley: ‘I Really Wanted to Do It With Neill Blomkamp’|date=April 26, 2023|magazine=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/sigourney-weaver-retires-ripley-alien-5-wont-happen-1235595673/|accessdate=November 12, 2023}}</ref>
