No More Ripley in Alien – Did You Hear? Week of Friday, July 2nd, 2021

Did You Hear? is a weekly examination of headlines in the entertainment industry and a take on what they could mean for the future of the industry and (often), the little geeky bubble that we occupy!

Alien Show Will Not Star Ripley

Vanity Fair confirmed earlier this week that feminist icon, Ellen Ripley, will not be appearing in the upcoming Alien television show. Noah Hawley (Legion, Fargo), has previously been announced as showrunner.

Is there anything else you can share about it? Is it part of the Ripley story, or will it be original characters in a different time and place?

… asked Vanity Fair. To which Hawley answered:

It’s not a Ripley story. She’s one of the great characters of all time, and I think the story has been told pretty perfectly, and I don’t want to mess with it. It’s a story that’s set on Earth also. The alien stories are always trapped… Trapped in a prison, trapped in a space ship. I thought it would be interesting to open it up a little bit so that the stakes of “What happens if you can’t contain it?” are more immediate.

Given the shadow of Prometheus – which also did not involve Ripley – reactions have been predictably mixed to this news. This obviously doesn’t take into account the litany of Alien movies which do feature Ripley and did not live up to the legacy of the initial installment. Hawley has previously taken unknown characters (I’m looking at you, Legion), and elevated them to popularity and critical success. A fresh start for the franchise may help this new format to succeed.

Black Widow Early Reviews Are Here

If you listened to this week’s Major Spoilers Podcast or have been anywhere on Twitter lately, you’ve probably noticed the Black Widow embargo lifted, despite the film not releasing publicly until July 9th. The premier was also held this week with Florence Pugh (who plays Yelena Belova in the movie), making a splash on the red carpet:

Review of Black Widow are fair to mixed with critics agreeing Pugh runs away with the movie. Her performance even has outlets like Variety asking if she will join movies like In the Heights and Luca presently enjoying early Oscar buzz.

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