Might we see the return of Bishop?

Set for release next August, Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant will serve as both a sequel to Prometheus and another prequel to the original Alien, but it’s not the only project in the works that’s intent on expanding that iconic universe. District 9 director Neill Blomkamp has been working on his own sequel to Aliens, which is being tentatively referred to as Alien 5, and though the film ran into a brick wall when Scott began production on his own franchise return, the key players still seem certain – and, if nothing more, hopeful – that Blomkamp’s vision will soon take flight.

Those key players include Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn, who are set to reprise the roles of Ellen Ripley and Corporal Dwayne Hicks. Newt, who was unceremoniously killed off between the events of Aliens and Alien 3, is also set to return, though will be played by a new actor. But what about Bishop? Will Lance Henriksen reprise the role of the lovable android?

Speaking with IGN this week, Henriksen seemed as hopeful as Weaver and Biehn about Blomkamp’s potential sequel, and he also suggested that there will be a place for him in the film.

The actor told the site:

You know they’re going to make another one. It picks up right where Aliens ended. I don’t know if I’m going to be in a baggie or how I’m going to be in it. Blomkamp is a really wonderful, wonderful writer. I have a feeling that if he did it, it would be something spectacular. And there’s an audience for it.

For now, Alien 5 remains on indefinite hold.