You couldn't pay me enough money to go back to that franchise – James Cameron remarks while chatting with long-time collaborator and old friend Michael Biehn (Hicks from Aliens) on his Just Fooling About podcast. During the interview, which only recently aired, Cameron and Biehn discuss David Fincher's choice to kill off the iconic trio of characters (Newt, Hicks and Bishop) for Alien 3, the canned Alien 5 project by Neill Blomkamp, FX's Alien: Earth series, Alien: Romulus and the state of the franchise today.
The interview also revealed some interesting trivia regarding Alien 3 and the death of Hicks' character. Michael recounts issues during Alien 3's production, where he caught wind of his likeness being used without his permission; a prop of his character Hicks having his chest exploded. Apparently he was offered a large sum of money by the studio in return, but he turned the offer down, adamantly opposing the death of a character he felt was unjustly written off. Hicks ultimately was still killed off, but the prop featuring his Chestbursted body went unused.
As the interview continues, the two discuss the latest entries in the Alien franchise, to which Cameron gives some praise to Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth series and briefly touches on Fede Alvarez's Alien: Romulus. Cameron also touches on Blomkamp's canceled Alien 5 idea, which James happened to be a fan of; adding that Neill was an inventive filmmaker and insinuated that he would have liked to see what he would have done with the franchise.
Cameron didn't shy away from expressing his opinion on the state of the Alien franchise currently and bluntly remarked how he feels the franchise has become too "fan driven" – adding that no amount of money could ever convince him to return to that franchise.
Watch the whole interview below:
How do you feel about Cameron's remarks? Do you agree with him? Let us know in the comments!
The next Alien movie
The state of the Alien: Romulus sequel remains uncertain. Production was originally supposed to have begun in October of 2025 but little news has surfaced. Be sure to bookmark the Alien: Romulus 2 Info Page for an up-to-date account of all available information, production updates and important details!
In addition to the upcoming Alien: Romulus sequel, we have the Alien: Earth TV series from Noah Hawley now streaming and a rumoured Alien vs. Predator reboot in the works as well!
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