Directed by David Fincher, Alien 3 was released in 1992...and deemed a major disappointment after Alien and Aliens. Still, the movie earned a loyal fanbase in the years that followed, with many defending it as an underrated classic.
The story follows Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who crash-lands on Fiorina 161, a bleak, prison planet. Her companions, Newt and Hicks, perish in the crash, and Ripley discovers that a Xenomorph has also survived. The prisoners and guards, lacking advanced weapons, must combat the creature with limited resources.
Things got really weird during the final act with the introduction of a human/Xenomorph hybrid, and the movie's original director - Deep Blue Sea and Cliffhanger's Renny Harlin - has now shared how his approach to Alien 3 differed in an interview with Slash Film (via SFFGazette.com).
"I always thought that I had a good idea," Harlin started. "I was working on 'Alien 3' in '89, which was before 'Jurassic Park' and all those movies. So the concept of having these creatures on Earth for the studio, it felt scary and unattainable. For me, it was the natural evolution."
"We've had the 'Alien' with the truck drivers in space, we've had 'Aliens' with the Marines in space, and where do we go next? Let's bring the aliens on Earth and have them going through the cornfield. I had the poster already in my mind with the farmhouse and the cornfield in moonlight, and they are going through the cornfield."
"To this day, I think it would've been a ginormous hit movie because it would've been the first time anything like that was done," the filmmaker added. "But for whatever reason, the studio felt like, 'Ah, the audience won't buy that.'"
Ironically, it was only four years after Alien 3 was released that Independence Day brought aliens to Earth and proved a huge hit. Disney appears to feel differently as well, considering the fact FX's upcoming Alien series will also bring the action (and Xenomorphs) to our planet.
Sharing his final thoughts on the scrapped project, Harlin said, "A prison ship? How am I going to relate to a prison ship? But that's ancient history. I'm not blaming anybody, but for those who don't know, I worked for a year on 'Alien 3.'"
"I quit politely, respectfully, because I couldn't stand the idea of, after Ridley Scott and Jim Cameron, coming up with a movie that is just not going to live up to what the audience is expecting and give them that experience."
It's always fun to think about what might have been. There's nothing to say Harlin's movie would have been better, of course, and we'll soon find out how well Xenomorphs and Earth go together.
A new Alien movie, titled Alien: Romulus, is set to arrive in theaters on August 16.