Alien Resurrection is a 1997 American science fiction horror film,[4] directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Joss Whedon, and starring Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder. It is the fourth installment of the Alien franchise, and was filmed at the 20th Century Fox studios in Los Angeles, California.

Set 200 years after the preceding installment, Alien 3 (1992), Ellen Ripley is cloned, and an Alien queen is surgically removed from her body. The United Systems Military (USM) hopes to breed Aliens to study and research on the spaceship USM Auriga, using human hosts abducted and delivered to them by a group of mercenaries. The Aliens escape their enclosures, and Ripley and the mercenaries attempt to escape and destroy the Auriga before it reaches Earth. Additional roles are played by Ron Perlman, Dan Hedaya, J. E. Freeman, Brad Dourif, and Michael Wincott.

Alien Resurrection had its premiere in Paris on November 6, 1997, and was released to the public on November 12. It grossed US$47.8 million in the United States and Canada, the least successful of the Alien series in that market. It grossed $161 million worldwide.[3] The film received mixed reviews from critics, who criticized the screenplay whilst praising Weaver’s performance and the direction. The film was nominated for six Saturn Awards, including Best Science Fiction Film, Best Actress for Weaver, Best Supporting Actress for Ryder, and Best Direction for Jeunet.

A sequel to Resurrection was planned, as Joss Whedon had written an Earth-set script for Alien 5. Sigourney Weaver was not interested in this setting, but has remained open to reprising her role as Ellen Ripley for a fifth installment, on the condition that she likes the story.[5] More sequels were planned to follow Resurrection, but were ultimately abandoned as the crossover series arrived with the 2004 film Alien vs. Predator, along with the prequel series including the 2012 film Prometheus. The storylines of Resurrection have been continued in the comic series Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator, and books Aliens: Original Sin and Alien: Sea of Sorrows.