Alien 3: Sigourney Weaver Reflects on Controversial David Fincher Sequel

As a seasoned gamer with decades of experience under my belt, I can confidently say that the Alien franchise has been a rollercoaster ride of emotions, but none more so than the turbulent production of Alien 3. Having followed the ups and downs of this iconic series, it’s hard not to feel a sense of sympathy for David Fincher during his directorial debut.

The Alien series remains robust following the launch of Alien: Romulus, however, when looking at its 45-year, six-film journey, one movie stands out as particularly contentious. That’s right, I’m talking about 1992’s Alien 3. This third chapter in the saga, Alien 3, saw Sigourney Weaver reappear as Ellen Ripley and was David Fincher’s debut in feature film direction. Unfortunately, the production process was fraught with difficulties, and even Fincher himself has since distanced himself from the movie. Interestingly, Weaver recently discussed the sequel, expressing her perception that Fincher didn’t receive adequate studio backing.

In essence, Weaver shared with Deadline that it seemed like David had to battle daily to realize his vision for our upcoming shoots. He also expressed regret that David didn’t have the opportunity to personalize the script before production began. This certainly complicates filmmaking. I remember that Vincent Ward’s initial script was centered around monks in a monastery, with Ripley spending half of it in a coma. So, I deeply felt the absence of studio backing. That period marked a shift where studios moved from ‘let’s create remarkable films’ to ‘let’s avoid financial loss.’ They had an excellent idea by bringing David Fincher onboard for his debut film, but failing to back him up was incredibly short-sighted. Working in England made things more manageable, though.

She also said that loved working with Fincher and that she feels we made a good film.

She mentioned that David is no longer associated with the project, which saddens her since she enjoyed collaborating with him. She believes they produced a fine movie together. She’s happy he had the opportunity to pursue his vision. It was a fantastic team effort.

What’s Next for the Alien Franchise?

Although the movie Alien 3 had some difficulties for the Alien series, the enduring franchise persists. The most recent release, titled Alien: Romulus, is now playing in cinemas and features Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), Aileen Wu, with Fede ?lvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) directing a screenplay he co-wrote with Rodo Sayagues (Don’t Breathe 2) based on characters initially created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett.

The extraterrestrial creature from the famous film franchise is making its way to television screens, with Noah Hawley’s series titled “Alien: Earth” scheduled to debut on FX in 2025. This upcoming TV show will act as a prequel to the original 1979 movie by Ridley Scott, titled simply “Alien.” So far, details about the series are scarce, but Hawley has hinted that it will offer a fresh take on the Alien saga and that this new series will introduce the danger of the xenomorph to our very own Earth.

“Look, a two-hour movie, you can set it up and then it’s just about, ‘Are they going to survive?’ But if you’re making a series, ‘Are they going to survive?’, you can’t sustain it. Even if you have 60% of the best action-horror on television, you still have 40% of ‘What are we talking about?'” Hawley explained. “I had some conversations early on with Peter Rice, who used to run all of television at Fox and then the first couple of years at Disney, where it was like, ‘The thing with Alien is, it’s always trapped in a spaceship, trapped in a prison. What if it wasn’t that?'”

He posed three intriguing questions: “Where are we technologically on Earth at this present moment? What phase of development are we in? And, a question often pondered in science fiction, is the survival of humanity justified? It’s fascinating to delve deeper into these topics,” he concluded.

Alien: Romulus is in theaters now.

2024-08-28 06:10

What’s Next for the Alien Franchise?

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