The Alien movie franchise could use a shot in the arm, and that could come by bringing in Amanda Ripley from the Alien: Isolation video game. When it comes to sci-fi/horror, there are few films on the level of quality and notoriety as Alien, director Ridley Scott's 1979 masterpiece. Unusually, one of its closest competitors in that regard is its own sequel, 1986's Aliens, directed by future box office kingpin James Cameron. Even if there had never been another Alien movie, it would still qualify as an amazing franchise.
Of course, there have been quite a few Alien movies since, with two more mainline entries, two prequels, and two spinoffs that saw the Xenomorph go head to head with the Predator. While those films have ranged from awful (Aliens vs. Predator Requiem), to decent (Alien 3) and divisive (Prometheus), none have even approached the level of quality of the first two entries. It's not necessarily shameful to fall short of classics, but like Terminator, the Alien franchise isn't the box office draw it once was, likely thanks to continual disappointments.
Still, the franchise obviously isn't going away anytime soon, regardless of its spotty recent track record. A Hulu TV show is in the works, and Ridley Scott has teased a new big screen entry too. If and when that film arrives, the new sequel would be wise to take inspiration from Amanda Ripley's harrowing journey through Alien: Isolation.
Amanda Ripley's Role In The Alien Expanded Universe
Amanda Ripley was first introduced, albeit very briefly, as part of a deleted scene from Aliens. After Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is recovered from space and comes out of cryosleep, she's informed by slimy Weyland-Yutani rep Carter Burke that her daughter Amanda passed away during her 57 years in stasis. Amanda was 66 when she died and had previously married, taking the last name McClaren. This scene was restored for James Cameron's Special Edition cut, although it later came out that Weaver was furious Fox demanded it be cut for time, as it formed a big part of her approach to the part.
That was Amanda's small role in the Alien franchise for decades, until a video game called Alien: Isolation came along to blow fans away in 2014. Amanda was the lead in the game and was still trying to find her mother 15 years after her disappearance. While searching a remote space station though, she encounters a Xenomorph and must fight to stay alive. Proving popular, Amanda returned to star in the comic book series Aliens: Resistance and Aliens: Rescue. She also led the mobile game Alien: Blackout, which is set after Isolation and essentially functions as a sequel. Interestingly, Aliens: Resistance is also positioned as a sequel to Isolation, teaming Amanda with Zula Hendricks, the hero of the prior Defiance comic. However, outside of her deleted intro scene in Aliens, one place Amanda hasn't appeared is on the big screen in an Alien franchise movie.
Why Amanda Ripley Would Be Perfect To Lead The Alien Film Franchise
As mentioned above, it's been a long time since an Alien movie really connected with audiences beyond the level of one-off entertainment. While Ridley Scott's Prometheus and Alien: Covenant prequels have their fans, neither are beloved the way the original films were, and no character in them approaches the popularity of Ellen Ripley. The only real connecting character between the two prequels has been Michael Fassbender's android David, and while Fassbender is a great actor and David is an interesting presence, he's also an unrepentant villain. David doesn't offer audiences a hero to root for and emotionally gel with, something Ellen Ripley was always able to do.
Even in Ellen's lesser films, she maintained the empathy of the audience. Amanda Ripley is in a unique position to provide the Alien franchise with a new lead that's capable of the same feats. While they're obviously two different people and don't have identical personalities, Amanda is very much her mother's daughter, especially how Ellen was in the first Alien. When encountering the Xenomorph, Amanda is understandably scared out of her wits, but also has a keen survival instinct, and in order to not become alien chow in Alien: Isolation, she has to employ every bit of intelligence, determination, and resourcefulness she can muster. Like Ellen in Alien, Amanda is a survivor, but she's not a superhero, and she's not a space marine trained for life and death battles. Those attributes are exactly why she'd be the perfect choice to lead a new Alien.
Alien: Isolation Would Be The Perfect Reintroduction To The Series
As the Alien movie franchise has gone on, it's strayed steadily further and further away from what made the first film work. The mythology has gotten more and more complex, and some would argue overly convoluted. After all, Ripley died, then became a clone, and even the Predators got involved. That's not even broaching the huge tonal shift of the prequels, and their addition of mountains to the lore. At this point, many viewers would love nothing more than to see a follow-up that feels like it's a sequel to 1979's Alien, not just set in the same world. That's exactly what an Alien: Isolation movie starring Amanda Ripley could give them.
The primary reason Alien: Isolation worked so well and became a smash hit with fans and critics was just how similar it felt to the Ridley Scott original. Suspense and scares were the order of the day, not mythology exploration, genetic experiments, or intergalactic blood feuds. It was, at least primarily, a survival tale pitting one woman against a force of nature that outclasses her in every physical way. In an age where sequels/soft reboots like Halloween 2018 and Jurassic World seek to freshen up their respective franchises by going back to what worked before, so could an Alien movie based on Isolation, even if it's not a direct adaptation of the game's plot. Fox should put Amanda Ripley in the lead, and possibly even retcon everything past Aliens and remind fans what they loved in the first place.