10 Actors Who Said They'd Never Go Back (But Did It Anyway)

The next entry on this list has some similar traits to Nimoy's return, with Sigourney Weaver's iconic Ellen Ripley being killed off at the end of the third Alien film. While the first two movies in the franchise are proclaimed today as two of the greatest films of both the sci-fi and horror genres, the third instalment is widely recognised as a complete and utter mess.

The one moment that did work in the third and supposedly final outing was Ripley's death, who sacrifices herself moments before an alien explodes from her chest. While the movie may not have been the idealic manner for Ripley's departure, her death at least was befitting of one of the great female characters in cinema history.

Despite Ripley's character arc being tidied up nicely, Weaver was convinced to once more return to the role in 1997's Alien Resurrection. The explanation given for Ripley and the alien xenamorph's return involved replicating of DNA and cloning, with a slightly maladjusted version of our hero returning.

This was most definitely a case of going to the well once too often, with Resurrection receiving mediocre reviews and box office returns. There have been two prequel movies that have continued this mediocre trend, and one strongly doubts Weaver will wish to reprise Ripley again, no matter what ret-conning the producers can come up with.