Sigourney Weaver has signalled her interest in a return to the role of Ellen Ripley in a future Alien movie to be directed by District 9’s Neill Blomkamp, though the project’s future is unclear.

In early February, Blomkamp claimed 20th Century Fox is ready to greenlight his highly anticipated take on Alien, which would be led by original star Weaver, but admitted he was unsure whether to proceed. He had previously released extensive concept art featuring Sigourney in a space jockey helmet similar to those seen in both Alien (1979) and recent Ridley Scott spin-off Prometheus (2012).

Interviewed by Coming Soon, Weaver confirmed the pair began collaborating on a concept for a new film during production of Blomkamp’s forthcoming science-fiction tale Chappie, in which she stars. “He kept sending me these brilliant designs and ideas and everything. We’ll see what happens,” said the actor, who played Ripley in four Alien movies between 1979 and 1997.

One of Neill Blomkamp’s sketches of Sigourney Weaver in an Alien sequel. Photograph: Neill Blomkamp/Instagram

Weaver said that after the last instalment she was ready to work on other projects. “I didn’t want to manufacture a sequel, and I felt like we were starting to do that.” She added: “If something happens from this, it would be very organic and very original, and because of that it would make me want to do it. If it was [directed by] someone as talented as Neill, I’d certainly listen.”

Weaver’s Ripley was last seen as a human-xenomorph clone in the 1997 film Alien: Resurrection, after the original extraterrestrial-exterminating warrant officer died at the end of 1992’s Alien 3. Alien director Ridley Scott returned to the world he helped create in 1979 with the 2012 film Prometheus. He is expected to direct a sequel in which Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and android David (Michael Fassbender) travel to the home world of the human-like Engineer aliens to try and work out why they want to destroy their human creations.