As Neill Blomkamp's previously released concept art strongly suggests, both Ripley and Hicks - or some version of both of the characters - are planned to make appearances in his untitled Alien movie, whenever Fox lets him start production on it. It's been a weird and winding road for both the Prometheus sequel (which was once titled Alien: Paradise Lost but is now known as Alien: Covenant) and the beleaguered Aliens installment, but equally tortuous is the ongoing saga of one Corporal Dwayne Hicks. The character was first introduced in 1986's Aliens, continued his story in the 2013 video game Aliens: Colonial Marines, and will get a chance to soldier on in Blomkamp's eventual follow-up.

Michael Biehn himself confirmed that he's expected to return as Hicks in the new movie, and shared a bit more about the behind-the-scenes pre-production process in an interview with Icons of Fright. During their chat, Biehn summarized the state of things as far as the Prometheus sequel and the new Alien installment are concerned, gave context for the time during which each film occurs, and expresses confidence that it's in the best interest for Ridley Scott, Sigourney Weaver and Fox to find a way to get the latter movie made.

Here's Biehn's take on the state of the Prometheus/Alien film universe:

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 ALIEN3 and 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 ALIENS 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.

He certainly seems to be in line with the fans of the franchise, probably moreso considering he only has a role in the Aliens movie, which is the one that's in a state of indefinite hypersleep at the moment. However, he did reveal that not only will Hicks be appearing in that film, but a 27-year-old Newt will as well!

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 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.

So let's pretend for a moment that the Aliens film is definitely going to happen rather than being a casualty of studio expectations and budgetary concerns. Who would you like to see take on the role of Newt and metaphorically step into Ripley's hydraulic-powered exoskeleton? Let us know in the comments below! In the meantime, Aliens: Covenant is due out October 6, 2017.