We’re currently experiencing a bit of an Alienaissance. Not only is Alien: Romulus slaying at the box office, but reviews for this homage-filled sci-fi horror are mostly positive. The Romulus bump is also leading many to reassess Prometheus, watch Aliens with new eyes, and dig into the ongoing mysteries created by Alien in 1979.
But this lovefest doesn’t extend to all corners of the Alien universe, and there aren’t many fans suddenly praising Alien 3, the controversial 1992 film directed by David Fincher. Vocal fans so reviled Alien 3 upon release that Starlog ran a special section called “Why Readers Despised Alien 3” in their November issue. But now one big fan has defended the movie: Sigourney Weaver.
Speaking to Deadline in a career-spanning interview, Weaver looked back on how David Fincher struggled with the studio to make a movie that he felt was “his own.”
“I recall that Vincent Ward’s original script had been about monks in a monastery and Ripley was in a coma for half of it. So, I keenly felt the lack of studio support,” Weaver said. “That was a transition moment when studios stopped being about ‘let’s make great films’ and started being about ‘let’s not lose money.’ They had the great idea to put David Fincher aboard for his first film, but then not to support the guy was very idiotic.”
The story and mood of Alien 3 are even darker than the two previous installments. Set right after Aliens, Newt and Hicks perish immediately, and Ripley ends up on a prison planet with a xenomorph along for the ride. Very violent and gory, Alien 3 also ends on an infamously downbeat note, as Ripley sacrifices herself to prevent a xenomorph queen from being born out of her own body.
Critics were underwhelmed, while magazines like Starlog received a disproportionate amount of letters complaining about the film’s tone. In that November issue, one fan noted, “I was downright offended by this insult to Ridley Scott’s and James Cameron’s visions,” while another fan decided to pretend that “Alien 3 is just one of those bad dreams Ripley had in hypersleep. Newt and Hicks are still alive and having a wonderful life. I think we all could have lived just fine without Alien 3.”
Alien 3’s script went through several wildly different iterations, first being written by sci-fi legend William Gibson before attempts from Eric Red, David Twohy, and Vincent Ward followed. Eventually, Fincher revised a script from Walter Hill and David Giler, which more or less became the movie we have today. Fincher, as Weaver points out, had massive creative differences with the studio. While fans and critics have argued that this mishmash of ideas and studio notes is evident in the final product, Weaver still stands by the movie.
“I heard recently that David [Fincher] has disowned the project and I’m sorry about that because I loved working with him,” Weaver said. “And I think we made a good film. I’m glad he got a chance to do his version. It was a great ensemble.”
Weaver may have a point. For all of its faults, it's hard to say Alien 3 is the worst entry in the franchise. The movie tackles uncomfortable ideas about prisons and corporate corruption, and is generally edgier than the previous installments, and it deserves a second look now that the whole franchise is being re-evaluated.
