5. Sigourney Weaver's Ripley
It is one of the great crimes in all of cinema that there are so few female franchise roles that can be considered iconic. There are even fewer when one only counts lead roles. Sigourney Weaver carved out her own place in history as Ellen Ripley in the
Alien franchise. There has not been a stronger, more effective female lead in a franchise since. Weavers legacy in the Ripley role is assured. The presence of a film like last years
Prometheus, however, opens up the possibility of the
Alien franchise doing its own version of what
Star Trek did in 2009 by making a prequel, sequel, and reboot all rolled into one. Do not expect divergent timelines that keep everything in continuity, but a string of
Prometheus sequels could lead to a place where a modern spin on the original
Alien film is called for. If that happens, a new Ripley will be needed. This is incredibly difficult for reasons beyond Weavers great performances. Weavers status as an iconic female franchise lead adds another degree of sensitivity to recasting her role as Ripley. This is the signature female role in franchise filmmaking and is hailed as the example as to why women should have similar opportunities in new franchises (like a Wonder Woman film, for example). A new actress in the role will undoubtedly pay tribute to Weaver, but that will not ease the scrutiny from the audience. Any and all missteps will be pointed out and even exaggerated. No flavor of the month actress will be accepted and audiences will be watching closely to make sure Ripley has not been reduced to the scream queen status that is so common in horror and science fiction films.