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Description
Alien 3 - a movie in the Alien fandom that is often regarded as inferior to the previous classic instalments which Ridley Scott and James Cameron delivered in 1979 and 1986 respectively. While it underperformed at the American box office in 1992, it earned over $104.3 million dollars internationally, and was popular with European audiences. The Assembly Cut DVD, released in 2003, included over 30 minutes of extended and previously deleted scenes, alternative key plot elements, and new digital effects, which received a more warmer reception than the theatrical release.

However, the movie itself had a troubled production, including shooting without a script, a roulette of attached writers and directors, David Fincher’s directorial inexperience, Sigourney Weaver requesting less firearms due to her real life anti-gun stance, and random ideas being thrown left and right before they eventually settled on a draft by Vincent Ward, who was also set to direct. Ward’s script focused on Ripley crash landing on a wooden planet inhabited by Luddite monks who have rejected all technology and believe Ripley to be a temptress who has brought the devil aka the Alien to their refuge. The producers all liked the script and Fox - eager to get the film into production - immediately gave the greenlight for sets to be built. But constant interference by Fox executives, who demanded changes to Ward’s script, saw Ward leave the project itself when it became apparent to him that Fox was never going to let them make the film itself. Eventually, Walter Hill and David Giler rewrote the final draft, with Fincher replacing Ward as director. And that resulted in the mishmash of Ward’s script and David Twohy’s prison planet concept. While I find the finished version of Alien 3 underrated, I believe I can do better.

1: Scrap everything in the finished cut

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. In this timeline, Fox are less desperate to rush Alien 3 into it’s troubled production, which means no revolving door of scribes or constant interference by studio suits. And while I still like the idea of a prison planet, I’m following on from Aliens in terms of consistency. So no male prisoners, no sense of hopelessness or dread, and no killing off Hicks and Newt.

2: Adapt William Gibson’s first draft.

When Alien 3 was in pre-production, the first draft came from cyberpunk author William Gibson, which focused on Hicks and Bishop on a hugely populated space station named Anchorpoint as they attempt to stop a series of biological experiments by Weyland-Yutani, who are developing a Xenomorph army, and trying to stay one step ahead of a rival company dubbed "The Union of Progressive Peoples”, who are also developing their own genetically modified Xenomorph’s. One scene included a graphic transformation sequence where Welles, a Weyland-Yutani corporate executive, violently transforms into a new form of Xenomorph after being infected by spores from a genetically modified Xenomorph egg. Ultimately, the station ends up overrun by the Xenomorph’s, with Hicks and Bishop teaming up with several survivors to destroy the infestation. Though the Cold War overtones are present, Gibson’s draft is considered superior to the final film, which is why that same draft will be the focal point here. Dark Horse Comics would even adapt an un-produced and drastically scaled back second draft by Gibson into a comic series in late 2018, as well as a novel in 2021.

3: Keep studio interference to a minimum

As I mentioned at the start of this deviation, constant interference by studio executives from Fox caused a lot of changes to Alien 3. Well, in this timeline, the suits stay as far away from this as possible, giving Gibson time to improve on his script.

4: Get Stan Winston to do the special effects

Let’s be honest, the visual effects for the Xenomorph in Alien 3 were not that great. Sure, Amalgamated Dynamics go down the whole animatronics and prosthetics route, but the Xeno felt less threatening. Which is why Stan Winston, the man who brought the Xenomorph Queen, The T-800, The T-1000, and The Thing to life, and even did make up for the Penguin in Batman Returns, is given the chance here to deliver another movie beastie. And besides, he’d do the graphic transformation sequence justice where Welles rips off her face and his trademark special effects showcase the goriness underneath.

5: Focus on Hicks and Bishop.

Instead of being killed off, Hicks, complete with acid burn scarring from Aliens, is the main focal point of the plot. Hicks is also given the chance to lead a team of Colonial Marines down to the lower levels of Anchorpoint, where they discover a Xenomorph hive and a mutated Queen, whom Hicks blows apart with a mortar. Bishop is also given time to stand out. After being repaired by the U.P.P. as a gesture of goodwill, Bishop is returned to Anchorpoint, before the Xenomorph infestation begins to spread. While Hicks and the other survivors head for the escape pods, Bishop goes to overload the station's core, setting it to explode while being attacked by Xenomorph’s along the way. Following the station’s destruction, a teaser for a fourth film is hinted as Bishop theorises to Hicks that humanity is now united against the Xenomorphs, and that they must find their home-world so that they can be eradicated once and for all. Ripley’s fate sees her in a coma for much of the movie after her cryotube is badly damaged after a group of Colonial Marines are attacked by two Xenomorph drones in the Sulaco once it docks at Anchorpoint. Newt, on the other hand, returns to Earth aboard the decontaminated starship to live with her grandparents. Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen getting time to shine? It happens here.

Honourable Mentions:

6: Use Vincent Ward’s wooden planet concept for Alien 4

Before he left the project, Vincent Ward turned in a script that has developed a cult following in recent years. Former Times journalist David Hughes included Ward's vision of Alien 3 amongst "The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made", while Sigourney Weaver described Ward's overall concept as "very original and arresting." - and it’s that same concept is used in place of the execrable Resurrection. Here, it’s titled Alien: Revelations and it retains all of the moments from Ward’s script, with it revealed to be a dream as Ripley lies comatose inside her EVV after being ejected from Anchorpoint by Hicks. Once she wakes up, she realises that all her nightmares are over. For now… This premise would be better than having her sacrifice herself and then wind up cloned.

Once again, credit for this meme goes to www.deviantart.com/captainwhad…

Description
Alien 3 - a movie in the Alien fandom that is often regarded as inferior to the previous classic instalments which Ridley Scott and James Cameron delivered in 1979 and 1986 respectively. While it underperformed at the American box office in 1992, it earned over $104.3 million dollars internationally, and was popular with European audiences. The Assembly Cut DVD, released in 2003, included over 30 minutes of extended and previously deleted scenes, alternative key plot elements, and new digital effects, which received a more warmer reception than the theatrical release.

However, the movie itself had a troubled production, including shooting without a script, a roulette of attached writers and directors, David Fincher’s directorial inexperience, Sigourney Weaver requesting less firearms due to her real life anti-gun stance, and random ideas being thrown left and right before they eventually settled on a draft by Vincent Ward, who was also set to direct. Ward’s script focused on Ripley crash landing on a wooden planet inhabited by Luddite monks who have rejected all technology and believe Ripley to be a temptress who has brought the devil aka the Alien to their refuge. The producers all liked the script and Fox - eager to get the film into production - immediately gave the greenlight for sets to be built. But constant interference by Fox executives, who demanded changes to Ward’s script, saw Ward leave the project itself when it became apparent to him that Fox was never going to let them make the film itself. Eventually, Walter Hill and David Giler rewrote the final draft, with Fincher replacing Ward as director. And that resulted in the mishmash of Ward’s script and David Twohy’s prison planet concept. While I find the finished version of Alien 3 underrated, I believe I can do better.

1: Scrap everything in the finished cut

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. In this timeline, Fox are less desperate to rush Alien 3 into it’s troubled production, which means no revolving door of scribes or constant interference by studio suits. And while I still like the idea of a prison planet, I’m following on from Aliens in terms of consistency. So no male prisoners, no sense of hopelessness or dread, and no killing off Hicks and Newt.

2: Adapt William Gibson’s first draft.

When Alien 3 was in pre-production, the first draft came from cyberpunk author William Gibson, which focused on Hicks and Bishop on a hugely populated space station named Anchorpoint as they attempt to stop a series of biological experiments by Weyland-Yutani, who are developing a Xenomorph army, and trying to stay one step ahead of a rival company dubbed "The Union of Progressive Peoples”, who are also developing their own genetically modified Xenomorph’s. One scene included a graphic transformation sequence where Welles, a Weyland-Yutani corporate executive, violently transforms into a new form of Xenomorph after being infected by spores from a genetically modified Xenomorph egg. Ultimately, the station ends up overrun by the Xenomorph’s, with Hicks and Bishop teaming up with several survivors to destroy the infestation. Though the Cold War overtones are present, Gibson’s draft is considered superior to the final film, which is why that same draft will be the focal point here. Dark Horse Comics would even adapt an un-produced and drastically scaled back second draft by Gibson into a comic series in late 2018, as well as a novel in 2021.

3: Keep studio interference to a minimum

As I mentioned at the start of this deviation, constant interference by studio executives from Fox caused a lot of changes to Alien 3. Well, in this timeline, the suits stay as far away from this as possible, giving Gibson time to improve on his script.

4: Get Stan Winston to do the special effects

Let’s be honest, the visual effects for the Xenomorph in Alien 3 were not that great. Sure, Amalgamated Dynamics go down the whole animatronics and prosthetics route, but the Xeno felt less threatening. Which is why Stan Winston, the man who brought the Xenomorph Queen, The T-800, The T-1000, and The Thing to life, and even did make up for the Penguin in Batman Returns, is given the chance here to deliver another movie beastie. And besides, he’d do the graphic transformation sequence justice where Welles rips off her face and his trademark special effects showcase the goriness underneath.

5: Focus on Hicks and Bishop.

Instead of being killed off, Hicks, complete with acid burn scarring from Aliens, is the main focal point of the plot. Hicks is also given the chance to lead a team of Colonial Marines down to the lower levels of Anchorpoint, where they discover a Xenomorph hive and a mutated Queen, whom Hicks blows apart with a mortar. Bishop is also given time to stand out. After being repaired by the U.P.P. as a gesture of goodwill, Bishop is returned to Anchorpoint, before the Xenomorph infestation begins to spread. While Hicks and the other survivors head for the escape pods, Bishop goes to overload the station's core, setting it to explode while being attacked by Xenomorph’s along the way. Following the station’s destruction, a teaser for a fourth film is hinted as Bishop theorises to Hicks that humanity is now united against the Xenomorphs, and that they must find their home-world so that they can be eradicated once and for all. Ripley’s fate sees her in a coma for much of the movie after her cryotube is badly damaged after a group of Colonial Marines are attacked by two Xenomorph drones in the Sulaco once it docks at Anchorpoint. Newt, on the other hand, returns to Earth aboard the decontaminated starship to live with her grandparents. Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen getting time to shine? It happens here.

Honourable Mentions:

6: Use Vincent Ward’s wooden planet concept for Alien 4

Before he left the project, Vincent Ward turned in a script that has developed a cult following in recent years. Former Times journalist David Hughes included Ward's vision of Alien 3 amongst "The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made", while Sigourney Weaver described Ward's overall concept as "very original and arresting." - and it’s that same concept is used in place of the execrable Resurrection. Here, it’s titled Alien: Revelations and it retains all of the moments from Ward’s script, with it revealed to be a dream as Ripley lies comatose inside her EVV after being ejected from Anchorpoint by Hicks. Once she wakes up, she realises that all her nightmares are over. For now… This premise would be better than having her sacrifice herself and then wind up cloned.

Once again, credit for this meme goes to www.deviantart.com/captainwhad…