Alien 3 was such a painful experience for David Fincher that he seriously considered walking away from Hollywood. Following in the footsteps of Ridley Scott and James Cameron and helming the third entry in the Alien movie franchise was going to be a daunting task for any filmmaker. That’s why the sequel spent many years in development hell, where different actors and directors came and went. Directors like Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2) and Vincent Ward gave it their best sH๏τ, while many ideas were pitched and rejected for Alien 3.

This includes Ward’s wild pitch set on a wooden planet run by technology-rejecting monks. Eventually, a young up-and-comer named David Fincher was hired based on his commercial and music video work, which included Madonna’s “Vogue.” However, Alien 3 is a production where just about everything that could possibly go wrong, went wrong. The script was being stapled together as it sH๏τ, the producers and Fincher clashed constantly and the final movie met with mixed reviews. In the years since, Fincher himself has barely spoken about the experience.

David Fincher Dislikes Alien 3 More Than Anyone

Don’t expect an Alien 3 director’s cut anytime soon

During a conversation at the BFI in 2009 (via The Guardian), Fincher was asked about a quote where he claimed to hate Alien 3. The famously blunt filmmaker answered this question with customary wit:

I had to work on it for two years, got fired off it three times and I had to fight for every single thing. No one hated it more than me; to this day, no one hates it more than me.

He also labeled the production as a “baptism by fire,” and believes he was too naive walking into such a major production. A making of documentary dubbed Wreckage and Rage: Making Alien 3 chronicled filming on the sequel, where the first time director had to work with conflicting notes from the studio and producers while working with a screenplay that was being constantly rewritten to reach a release date.

Most of the cast and crew, like Charles Dance to editor Terry Rawlings, sing the praises of young Fincher (who declined to participate in the doc), but Wreckage and Rage paints a picture of a young filmmaker working under almost impossible conditions. It’s kind of shocking Alien 3 is as good as it is, considering how dysfunctional the set was. Alien 3 is even better with its extended cut, though Fincher himself had nothing to do with it, telling the BFI he didn’t watch it.

Fincher Says The Filmmaking Process For Alien 3 Was Messy

Alien 3 sH๏τ with sets intended for an abandoned version of the script

A big issue with getting Alien 3 ready was finding the right concept. Producers Walter Hill and David Giler wanted a premise that felt fresh and didn’t want a Xerox of what had come before. They felt the wooden planet idea gave them that, but as production got underway and sets were built, they got cold feet about how odd it was. They fired Ward and then hired Fincher to direct a version of Alien 3 that combined Ward’s basic concept with another rejected screenplay that was set on a prison planet.

Fox was very eager to get a new Alien going too, and refused to push the release date. So, Fincher went to work without a proper story, working with sets built for an abandoned version of the script that had to be retrofitted into his film and with producers who didn’t trust him. For a filmmaker who would become famed for his perfectionism and attention to detail, this would prove torturous. The sequel was nothing like what Fincher had set out to make, and when the bad reviews came, he was the one who got the brunt of the blame.

Time and budget were recurring issues, and cost overruns on Alien 3 drove the budget up to an estimated $60 million. Alien 3 changed its ending to avoid comparisons with Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day too, which also ended with the heroes throwing themselves into molten steel. There’s a lot to admire about the horror sequel, though, from its performances to its sets and visuals, but the story is a muddled mess.

If Fincher were allowed to start from scratch and make the Alien film he wanted, it would probably be a masterpiece. Instead, Fincher was airdropped into a no-win situation to get Alien 3 into theaters by its release date, quality be damned. It’s still a very good movie, but Fincher is still so wounded by the experience that getting him to comment at all is a challenge.

David Fincher Nearly Left Filmmaking

Fincher went back to music videos for a time

In an interview with Sight & Sound around the time Se7en hit the big screen, Fincher was especially blunt about how he felt in the aftermath of Alien 3. In short, making another film was the furthest thing on his mind at that time: “I didn’t read a script for a year and a half after that, I thought I’d rather die of colon cancer than do another movie.” He then went back to music videos, directing “Bad Girl” for Madonna and working with other major acts.

Given the acclaim he had in the music video/commercial realm, working in that realm very much could have been the rest of his career. After a year or so, Fincher began to warm to the idea of directing again and felt that because directors who had made much worse movies than Alien 3 still had careers, he could take another sH๏τ. Thankfully, the screenplay for Se7en soon fell into his lap, and the rest is history.

Alien 3 Didn’t Derail David Fincher’s Career

From Se7en to The Killer, Fincher is one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation

Even among critics who liked Alien 3, it’s unlikely anybody pictured David Fincher as the next great auteur. His masterful work on Se7en changed that, with the shocking 1995 thriller following two detectives chasing a killer who bases their crimes on the seven ᴅᴇᴀᴅly sins. Despite being unremittingly bleak, Se7en was an enormous box office hit and is now considered a classic. Fincher would soon develop a reputation as a director who demanded dozens of takes and no compromises to his vision, which has worked in his favor.

Fincher has helmed an almost embarrᴀssing number of modern masterpieces since his debut, from Fight Club to Zodiac and The Social Network. Even his “lesser” efforts like Panic Room or 2023’s The Killer are still considered greats. Whatever stigma was attached to Fincher following Alien 3 is long gone, but it would be nice to see him make peace with his debut. It’s unlikely he would ever re-cut the sequel to his liking, but it is a better film than even he gives it credit for.

Fincher is set to reunite with Brad Pitt for The Continuing Adventures of Cliff Booth next, a spinoff of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It’s doubtful Fincher will take another trip to the Alien franchise, though it would be nice to see him dabble in the horror genre again.

Source: BFI/The Guardian