James Cameron Slams Alien 3 For Killing Characters

James Cameron and Michael Biehn critique Alien 3’s “stupid” decision to kill off Newt and Hicks.

James Cameron Slams Alien Sequel

How do you tell a director that the first five minutes of his sequel effectively set fire to everything you spent years building?

If you are James Cameron, you don’t use subtle industry jargon. You call it “the stupidest f—king thing.”

In a raw, decibel-shattering conversation on the Just Foolin’ About podcast (released Dec. 23), the 71-year-old titan of cinema finally unloaded his three-decade-old grievances regarding Alien 3.

Sitting across from Michael Biehn—the man whose character, Corporal Hicks, was unceremoniously killed off-screen—Cameron didn’t just critique a movie; he performed an autopsy on a franchise’s soul.

The Erasure of Goodwill

The transition from Cameron’s 1986 Aliens to David Fincher’s 1992 Alien 3 remains one of the most jarring shifts in cinematic history.

Cameron’s film was about the formation of a makeshift family: Ripley, the soldier, Hicks, the child Newt, and the android Bishop.

Fincher’s film began by crashing their ship and killing everyone but Ripley.

“You build a lot of goodwill around these characters,” Cameron argued, his frustration palpable.

He pointed out the “cleverness” of replacing a family the audience loved with a group of “f—king convicts” the audience was actively rooting against.

For Cameron, this wasn’t just a plot choice; it was a betrayal of the emotional contract he signed with the viewers in 1986.

Michael Biehn and the First “AI” War

While the world currently debates the ethics of Generative AI and digital clones, Michael Biehn was fighting that battle in 1992.

During the podcast, Biehn revealed that production had originally planned to use his likeness to show Hicks with his “chest blown out.”

Biehn’s response was a masterclass in protecting an actor’s agency. He didn’t just object to the gore; he objected to the dismissal of effort.

“You put so much effort into who he was,” Biehn told Cameron.

After a tense negotiation—and a legendary phone call where Biehn told a young David Fincher to “go f—k yourself”—the studio was forced to pay Biehn just to use a single archival photo.

This early skirmish over “likeness” serves as a haunting mirror to the current SAG-AFTRA battles against digital replicas.

The Trap of the “Clean Slate”

Writers often think that killing off the old cast is the only way to give a new director room to breathe. Cameron’s critique suggests the opposite:

• Shock vs. Resonance: Shock value (killing Newt and Hicks) provides a momentary jolt but leaves the story hollow for the remaining two hours.
• The “Free Pass” Paradox: You can respect a director (as Cameron respects Fincher) while acknowledging that their debut was a “bowl of s—t.” Talent cannot always outrun a disastrous production.
• Legacy as a Barrier: Cameron’s refusal to return to the franchise, despite liking Alien: Earth, highlights a vital lesson: sometimes, the most successful thing a creator can do is leave the past alone.

The Final Stance

James Cameron is a man who builds worlds—he doesn’t like watching them be dismantled by cynical scripts.

While he remains a “big fan” of Fincher’s later masterpieces, Alien 3 remains the scar that won’t heal.

When asked if he’d ever return to the world of Xenomorphs, his answer was a definitive “no.”

In his eyes, the franchise has become too “fan-driven,” a cycle of service rather than innovation.

Cameron has moved on to water worlds and alien moons of his own making, leaving the “bowl of s—t” in the rearview mirror of deep space.

Key Takeaways:

• James Cameron slammed Alien 3 for killing off Hicks, Newt, and Bishop in its opening minutes.
• Michael Biehn successfully fought the studio to prevent them from using his likeness for a gruesome death scene.
• Cameron gave David Fincher a “free pass” due to the film’s notoriously difficult production.
• Despite praising recent entries like Alien: Earth, Cameron says he will never return to directing the franchise.