What If... Ripley, Hicks, and Newt didn't die on Fiorina 161?

Ever since Neill Blomkamp posted concept art showing off his vision for a new installment in the Alien franchise fans have been speculating as to how the South-African director could plausibly resurrect not just the franchises anchor Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), but also her surviving comrades from James Cameron's 1986 sequel Aliens, Corporal Dwayne Hicks (Michael Biehn ) and Rebecca "Newt" Jorden (Carrie Henn). Considering that none of these characters survived David Fincher's Alien 3 and that Blomkamp's concept art shows that characters to have aged accordingly as though the events of Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection never occurred many fans have assumed that Blomkamp's movie would retcon the latter two installments from the franchise, despite Blomkamp's assertations that this is not the case.

While fans share Blomkamp, Weaver, and Biehn's excitement about what the former has in store for his addition to the Alien franchise, Ridley Scotts insistence that his next movie Alien: Covenant take priority over Blomkamp's hotly anticipated addition has been interpreted by many fans and critics as a greedy move by the aging British director. Scott, who helped launch the franchise back in 1979, is currently expanding the mythos behind the "Space Jockey" dead alien pilot seen in the first movie and its relationship to and with the Eggs discovered beneath his tomb. Scott's first attempt at establishing that mythology started with 2012's Prometheus, but after a divided reception from audiences can Scott really justify that his new Alien movie is more "important" than Blomkamp's.

Blomkamp's vision for the next "true" Alien movie has ignited flames of speculation among many fans with many wildly theorizing how beloved characters Hicks and Newt could possibly return to the big screen. With such rife speculation, fans have suggested far-reaching science fiction tropes such as time travel and alternate realities, while Blomkamp keeps his cards close to his chest about the movies narrative, which has been described as a fond farewell to Ripleys character while also allowing the story to continue as it should have after James Cameron's Aliens. Interestingly, however, the South African director's assurances that he will not be retconning David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's less favored installments has fans somewhat perplexed.

For months we have all postulated the possibilities of how Blomkamp's Alien movie will fit within the franchise as organically as he claims, although in all honesty none of these theories hold any weight under even the slightest scrutiny - until now. Blomkamp has released concept art showing Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, and Carrie Henn, as they look today, as though their characters have aged 30 years along with the rest of us. This is the most obvious clue to what I choose to believe (sorry) are the secrets behind Blomkamp's narrative, hidden in plain sight. If these characters have aged 30 years and are still alive in what would be circa 2209 then ergo none of these characters died on Fiorina "Fury" 161. Of course, this flies against the evidence of what we saw in Alien 3 unless the events of that movie were not as they seemed.

Where am I going with all this? The answer, the secret behind the "on hold" Alien movie is actually quite simple and in its simplicity quite ingenious of Blomkamp to have imagined this outcome. Alien 3 was not a bad dream, and Blomkamp's movie is not the result of mankind's meddling with the space-time continuum - if Ripley, Hicks, and Newt are to have survived and have aged then they did not die on Fiorina 161. Those that did die on the derelict penal colony were not the characters we believed them to be because they were... clones.

I believe that the events that occurred on Fiorina 161 were an elaborate ruse by a third party to make the Weyland-Yutani corporation believe they had lost access to the Xenomorph. Throughout the narrative of the first three movies, there is a sense of cloak-and-dagger, of subterfuge, in which the Weyland-Yutani corporation are attempting to acquire specimens of the deadly alien creature covertly. Such covert actions suggest that Weyland-Yutani has been disallowed direct action by a superior body or organization one of which watches all of Weyland-Yutani's dealings, exchanges, and transports.

One would imagine that such a powerful force, possibly governmental would have become aware of Weyland-Yutani's repeated interest in Acheron LV-426 and the surviving member of the USCSS Nostromo, Ellen Ripley, possibly forcing their hand into taking direct action to ensure that Weyland-Yutani never acquires a specimen of the Xenomorph by elaborately staging the untimely death of Ellen Ripley while securing the source of the deadly alien creature, as evidenced in some of Blomkamp's concept art.

To clarify, and to elaborate for those wanting more detail, the theory I am suggesting is as thus...

After the events of "Aliens" the USS Sulaco is boarded and Ripley, Hicks, and Newt are woken from hypersleep. While they are still groggy a team of "white coats" take blood samples before drugging our survivors. The trio is taken aboard another vessel, with Ripley accompanying the whitecoat's whom, using advanced technology (possibly Engineer in origin) use the collected blood samples to produce clones, with Ripley's brainwaves and memories being imprinted onto her clone. These three clones are then taken aboard the USS Sulaco were a team is finishing up reprogramming the remains of the ships Bishop android.

Two Xenomorph eggs (taken from the derelict on LV-426) are then brought on board the Sulaco, one placed in the hypersleep room, the other in the EEV. Newt is drowned and Hicks is otherwise killed, ensuring one of the Facehuggers will use Ripleys clone as a host and the Sulaco is sent on its way to Fiorina 161 with no record or evidence of the secret boarding. The events of Alien 3 occur with the Weyland-Yutani corporation thinking they have lost all access to the Xenomorph.

Who would go to such lengths and why? W-Y's actions thus far suggest they are not allowed to pursue Engineer technology, probably because of the events of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. With Engineer tech being so inherently dangerous it has been ordered by powers greater than W-Y, such as a governmental body (possibly Korean or Japanese from Blomkamp's art), that the discovery of any such tech must be reported to this body to be destroyed. Having originally discovered this tech on LV-223, and already smitten by the possibilities it offers W-Y have acted covertly to obtain the tech instead of reporting it (Alien - Alien 3). Thus this governmental body uses clones of the Sulaco survivors in an elaborate ruse to make W-Y believe they have lost all access to the Xenomorph creature they are so desperate in obtaining.

In Short (as there seems to be some confusion) The Ripley, Hicks, and Newt that will appear in Blomkamp's movie are the same characters as those from Aliens, just older. The clones mentioned in the theory above where planted aboard the EEV. This is why Hicks remains were so unrecognizable, it saved the perpetrators the trouble of recreating his facial scar. The Hicks in the concept art has the facial scar because it was burnt to his face during the events of Aliens. The clones were planted on the EEV in an elaborate ruse explained in more detail above by whoever is the human "power that be" in the Alien universe.

Of course, Blomkamp's concept art suggests that this governmental body has no intention of destroying Engineer technology and wants to obtain it for themselves and is successful in doing just that. Though how and why this leads to Ripley becoming part Xenomorph I have yet to imagine a viable theory. The possibilities of Blomkamp is bringing to the table has rekindled by faith in this franchise. But does my theory stand up to your scrutiny?