Since the unexpected possibility of 'real' Ripley returning onscreen, it's been interesting to read all the different points of view in the recent articles around here.
Some seem to want a continuation of where Ripley clone 8 left off in the open-ended Alien Resurrection...while others want Alien 3 & Alien Res dismissed altogether. And some of those that want Alien 3 & Alien Res dismissed, want them referenced in some way, even if only as 'bad dreams'...while others want them totally ignored altogether. So some of us are going to be a bit miffed it seems, depending on the the outcome.
On top of that, if the characters end up alive and well in this new movie, it seems that some of us would look on this scenario as being set in some kind of 'alternate' universe/timeline along the lines of the latest Star Trek movie reboots. Anyway, call it what you will - reboot, re-imagining, 'alternative' scenario, or 'fan fiction' - one thing's for sure...I never would have guessed in a million years that we end up getting an Alien 5 movie with Weaver playing the ACTUAL Ripley once more after all these years!!
And personally, as someone who prefers to look on the Alien 3 & Alien Res sequels to Aliens as being nothing more than a couple of disturbing 'cryo-sleep nightmares'...the possibility of an 'alternate' onscreen outcome for Ripley, Hicks, and Newt is more than I could have ever hoped for in this franchise.
While there's certainly some watchable moments in Alien 3, it's depressingly downbeat storyline set amongst a cast of mainly unlikeable characters was NOT the way I hoped this franchise would continue after Aliens. It's relentlessly nihilistic tone in drab surroundings was certainly an unexpected and wrong-footing turn of events, I'll give it that...but I'd have much rather spent some more time with Hicks & Newt again - especially as the expectations for this sequel were sky-high at the time, after the previous successes of Alien & Aliens. And of course, the events of Alien 3 unfortunately led to the ridiculous storyline that was concocted for Alien Resurrection...which presented us all with the absolute low-point of the franchise...the 'Newborn'... *shudder*
So yeah, I welcome this 'alternative' sequel to Aliens if it indeed comes about...especially if we get Hick's back for a while too, as Blomkamp's concept art promises. (I sure hope he'll wear an 'eye-patch' though, as that dead eyeball just looks gross in the artwork!)
In the meantime, I'll continue to think of the Aliens sequels as being merely 'bad dreams'...and the 4 main 'continuity anomalies' of Alien 3's intro. scenes make it very easy for me to do so -
1. The fact that there's a mysterious appearance of an egg which is attached to the ceiling (!) of a section of the Sulaco's interior...despite the fact that the Queen had her egg-sac completely ripped off in Aliens. (yes, there's one or two theories, but none that satisfy me)
2. The fact that the lettering on the Sulaco is now WHITE instead of BLACK. (yes, we only got to see the other side of the Sulaco in Aliens, but I prefer to believe that the lettering was black on BOTH sides of the ship)
3. The fact that it's NOT actually Newt in the cryo-tube (it's a different actress altogether - no big deal, but it suits my purpose!)
4. The fact that the cryo-tubes are a totally DIFFERENT design to the ones that Ripley & co. entered at the end of Aliens.
And here's a good article which covers these and a couple of others in depth -
http://www.weyland-yutani-archives.com/archive/1094 But of course, anyone who doesn't like Blomkamp's take on things can equally look on it as being the 'fan fiction' scenario instead, and stick with the original storyline. Just take your pick.