Sigourney Weaver's been pitched a fifth Alien film, but isn't so sure Ripley needs to burst forth again

Ridley Scott's Alien prequel trilogy may be deader than a Xenomorph victim, but that doesn't mean the franchise can't move forward in another way.

During an interview with Empire Magazine for the publication's July issue, Sigourney Weaver revealed original Alien producer Walter Hill sent her a 50-page treatment for a fifth, Ripley-centric movie about a year and a half ago. There's a decent chance the project will never get made, especially since Weaver remains on the fence when it comes to bringing back the famous sci-fi heroine.

"I don't know," she told the magazine without going into details about the treatment or its author. "Ridley has gone in a different direction. Maybe Ripley has done her bit. She deserves a rest."

Don't forget, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection weren't exactly hailed as masterpieces. Many fans feel that the series suffered a rapid decline in quality after the first two movies. District 9 director Neill Blomkamp got pretty far into development on an Aliens sequel that would've ignored the events of Alien 3 (meaning Newt and Hicks would have remained alive), but it was pretty much axed when Scott decided to make 2012's Prometheus. Blomkamp's vision may have been our last chance to see Ellen Ripley in action, as Weaver "was game" to star in it before "Fox lost faith," writes Empire.

With Disney now in possession of Fox's film properties, all bets are off. The good news is that Scott still thinks "there's a lot of mileage" left in the franchise and Weaver, despite some ambivalence about returning, isn't looking to end her character's pop culture legacy anytime soon.

"I'm so glad she continues to resonate with people. I admire her, too," the actress said. "She gets things done ... I've always felt she was such a partner. She is always in my stomach."

The only real question is this: can they get Jonesy the cat to come out of retirement?