There’s no denying how iconic Sigourney Weaver’s role as Ellen Ripley is in the Alien franchise, but author V. Castro finds another character that appears in one of the films just as intriguing. So, she’s written a novel that expands her story.
The character who has captured Castro’s imagination is PFC Jenette Vasquez, a Latina smart gun operator in the U.S. Marines who goes on a mission with Ripley to investigate a colony that has gone off the radar in the 1986 sci-fi sequel Aliens.
In Castro’s upcoming book Aliens: Vasquez, the character’s back story is explored. Recently, Castro told the San Antonio Express-News that Vasquez immediately caught her attention when she first watched the movie because it was rare to see a character like that on screen.
Vasquez was played by actress Jenette Goldstein, who is a Jewish actress with Russian, Moroccan, and Brazilian roots.
“Part of why I write is there were very, very few Latina characters in film or in media in general when I was growing up,” Castro said. “Science fiction and science fiction/horror were very dominated by men. Ripley and Vasquez, they were great characters to show female empowerment. It was like, ‘Oh, my god, look at this woman.’ It was great to build on what was already there and flesh it out and explain things a little better and expand the universe of ‘Aliens’ with Latinx characters.”
Castro adds that she would like to write more novels about Vasquez and even has an idea for an Alien vs. Predator book where she would focus on Elpidia Carrillo’s character Anna from the original 1987 Predator film.
Hey, while we’re at it, let’s continue the 1980s sci-fi love fest with Latina characters and create a project featuring Maria Conchita Alonso’s character Amber Mendez from the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film The Running Man.
