Sir Ridley Scott's Alien is an undisputed sci-fi classic, but for many fans of the long-running franchise, James Cameron's Aliens is on a whole other level. David Fincher's Alien 3, however, is not held in the same high regard and has even been disowned by the Fight Club director.
One of the biggest sticking points for Alien fans is how the movie immediately killed Corporal Hicks (Michael Biehn), Bishop (Lance Henriksen), and Newt (Carrie Henn), leaving Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) the only survivor of their downed escape pod.
Studio interference was a major issue for Alien 3, and in a conversation with Biehn, Cameron weighed in on the characters he helped create being dispatched so quickly.
"I thought that was the stupidest f***ing thing," the Avatar: Fire and Ash helmer stated. "So, you build a lot of goodwill around the characters of you know, Hicks, Newt and Bishop, and then the first thing they do in the in the next film is kill them all off, right? Really smart guys, you know, and replace them with a bunch of [frick]ing convicts that you hate. And want to see die. Really clever."
"Now, I’m a big fan of Fincher and his work and all that," Cameron explained. "And that was his first feature film, and he was getting vectored around by a lot of other voices and all that. So, I give him a free pass on that one."
The filmmaker went on to share his thoughts on how the franchise has expanded, saying Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth is "pretty good" before offering faint praise for Fede Álvarez's Alien: Romulus.
"I like parts of it. I think it’s inventive. It’s different. Fede did something interesting as well," he noted. "I particularly like the scene where they’re weightless, floating in between the globs of floating alien acid, you know, which is like pretty nightmarish and well done."
It's been widely reported that Scott stepped in to stop Neil Blomkamp's Alien 5 from becoming a reality due to his plans for Alien prequels, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Cameron knows nothing about that, but believes Blomkamp "would have done something interesting."
However, those of you hoping the Terminator and Avatar helmer might take another crack at Alien will be disappointed. "Yeah, you couldn’t pay me enough money to go back to that franchise there. It’s sort of almost become fan-driven."
While Cameron is contemplating making a new Terminator movie, chances are the fourth and fifth Avatar movies are somewhere on the horizon for him. As for Alien, Alien: Earth Season 2 is in development, as is an Alien: Romulus sequel. We're also expecting a new Alien vs. Predator movie somewhere down the line.
You can hear more from Cameron in the player below.