Alien Resurrection (1997)
- Before Sigourney Weaver was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Jean-Pierre Jeunet's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
- The original script for Alien Resurrection was written over a decade before production finally began in 1997.
Alien Resurrection is a 1997 American science fiction action film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the fourth installment in the Alien franchise. Set 200 years after Alien 3, the film follows a clone of Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, who has been resurrected by military scientists aboard the USM Auriga using blood samples from the planet Fiorina 161. The cloning process has mixed Ripley's DNA with alien genetic material, giving her enhanced strength, acidic blood, and an empathic connection to the xenomorphs.
When the aliens inevitably escape and overrun the ship, Ripley teams with a crew of mercenaries, including Winona Ryder as Call, a synthetic human, to survive. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the visionary French director of Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children, brought a distinctive European sensibility to the franchise, creating images of grotesque beauty. Joss Whedon's screenplay, which he later disowned due to directorial changes, introduced darkly comic elements.
Alien Resurrection earned $161 million worldwide on a $70 million budget.
