Back in February, it was confirmed that 20th Century Fox is moving forward with Alien 5, which has Neill Blomkamp set to direct and Ridley Scott producing. Unfortunately, we reported last month that Alien 5 has been put on hold indefinitely, so the studio and Ridley Scott can focus on making a sequel to Prometheus, now entitled Alien: Covenant. We first heard about Alien 5 in January, when Neill Blomkamp shared concept art illustrations that featured Sigourney Weaver's Ripley and Michael Biehn's Hicks from the 1986 sequel Aliens, with Michael Biehn revealing himself in March that he may come back as Hicks. The actor recently spoke with Icons of Fright, where he revealed that Alien 5 will feature an adult version of Newt, played by Carrie Henn in Aliens.

"I think when they put that out there and have pictures with me as Hicks again, people were excited and though I'm not into online stuff much, my kids saw a lot about it on Reddit. They were excited. They're planning on bringing me and Newt back and at this point Newt will be around twenty-seven years old. I know that every actress in Hollywood is going to want to play this one, it's really a passing of the torch between Sigourney and this younger actress who would play Newt. It would keep the franchise alive and the studios would make money, because that's what the bottom line is now: money. That's why you end up seeing Terminator 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 10 and The Fast and the Furious 7, 8, 9, and 10. So when that happens, the Aliens film, maybe that will be one more movie that I can make a mark with, plus, Neill is such a talented guy. When I saw District 9 for the first time, I was glued to my seat, going 'wow.' So I'm hopeful for that one."

This is the first we've heard about Newt's involvement in Alien 5, and it seems that whoever lands the Newt role will carry the franchise forward into the future. Carrie Henn made her acting debut as Newt in 1986's Aliens, and she hasn't acted since, although she is currently attached to a project entitled Triborn, which is currently in pre-production. Newt was the only survivor from the Hadley's Hope settlement on Acheron following a Xenomorph infestation at the colony, who grew close to Ripley in Aliens. Shortly after Alien 5 was announced, Neill Blomkamp revealed that the story would be connected to the original Alien and its 1986 follow-up Aliens, although the director clarified that he isn't trying to "undo Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection." Michael Biehn revealed in his interview that the story will pretend that both of those sequels "never existed," while also clarifying why this project was put on hold, in favor of Alien Covenant.

"They're talking about doing another Aliens movie, with Neill Blomkamp, and Fox came and announced it and Sigourney (Weaver) has come out and announced it. The basic idea is acting like Alien 3 and Alien 4 never existed, so if you go on Neill Blomkamp's site, everyone can see all of the artwork for that. I know Ridley Scott is doing his movie first and is going to be the executive producer on this one, so I'm really looking forward to that. I know that Ridley's focus is on the second Prometheus (now titled Alien: Covenant) and I'm sure that he and Fox both don't want that and Neill's movie to come out right next to each other, because they're kind of two different worlds, with Alien 5 taking place thousands of years later, which is how they explained it all to me, but at the same time, they want to give them a similar feel. I know they're putting the brakes on Neill's movie just for a little while, but I really think that it would be embarrassing to Ridley and Fox and Sigourney if they just didn't make the movie."

​Alien: Covenant was recently given an October 6, 2017 release date, putting it up against Warner Bros.' The Jungle Book: Origins. 20th Century Fox hasn't announced when Alien 5 may hit theaters, but it's possible that it may arrive in either 2018, 2019 or possibly 2020, depending on how long the studio may want to space out the two movies. What do you think about the news that Newt will return in Alien 5, along with Ripley and Hicks? Who do you think would be the best actress to play the 27-year-old Newt?