Alien III
An Audible Original Audiobook
Written by William Gibson
Full cast narration featuring Michael Biehn and Lance Henriksen
Length: 2 hrs and 16 mins
Publisher: Audible Studios
Release date: May 30, 2019

Alien III? Didn’t that already happen back in the ’90s? By no less than William Gibson, the author of Neuromancer?

Yes, Alien³ was and still is a thing. Possibly much to the chagrin of many fans of the franchise. But, before that happened, there was an attempt at a script written by William Gibson (father of see above). According to the Alien vs. Predator wiki, Gibson’s script was the first of 10 commissioned sequels to Alien and Aliens and was written in 1987 only to be re-written in 1988 and the studio accepted neither.

The Book Of Alien: Augmented Reality Survival Manual
Hardcover
By Owen Williams
Publisher: Harper Design | HarperCollins
Release date: November 14, 2017

Remember those video game guide books that were sold in the magazine section at local book stores? Imagine if someone took one of those and turned it into a gorgeous hardcover coffee-table book with high quality images throughout. That’s what it felt like reading The Book of Alien: Augmented Reality Survival Manual by Owen Williams. The book, from Harper Design, doubles as a beautiful assortment of photos and artwork from the Alien franchise as well as an interactive game you play on your phone.

Neill Blomkamp talked a little bit about his planned Alien film during the Chappie press tour, saying that he wants to make it a “genetic sibling.” Confirming that his film is indeed part of the Alien canon, the District 9 director said that it goes “Alien, Aliens, and then this film.” According to him and star Sigourney Weaver, the new chapter in the Alien franchise would give Ripley’s story a proper ending. These comments led to the speculation that his film would ignore Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection.

While that “proper ending” would lead some to believe that it would undo the last two films of the Alien franchise, Blomkamp clarified his previous comments, saying that he’s “not trying to undo Alien 3 or Alien: Resurrection” and said that his goals are to “make a film that’s connected to Alien and Aliens.” Hit the jump for more.

Alien 3. David Fincher’s 1992 film takes place right after the events of Aliens. An escape pod from the USS Sulaco crash-lands on a prison-run refinery planet, killing everyone aboard except Lieutenant Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). Unknown to Ripley, an alien organism was also aboard, which then begins killing the inhabitants of the prison.

Upon release, Alien 3 received mixed reviews and Fincher disowned the film after the studio dismantled and reworked it without his consent. An alternate version of Alien 3 (officially titled the “Assembly Cut”) with over 30 minutes of additional footage and alternate key plot elements was released on the Alien Quadrilogy DVD set in 2003, and later in the Alien Anthology Blu-ray set in 2010.

Titan Books recently reissued Alan Dean Foster’s Alien 3: The Official Movie Novelization, as well as his adaptations of Alien and Aliens. After re-reading Foster’s novel, I thought it would be fun to explore some of the differences between the book and the film and how unused elements from the screenplay were recycled for subsequent Alien films and Ridley Scott’s 2012 prequel, Prometheus.

Continue below for 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Alien 3: The Official Movie Novelization, and be sure to check out 15 things about the Alien and Aliens novelizations if you missed them.

Titan Books just re-released Alien 3: The Official Movie Novelization by Alan Dean Foster.

Thanks to Titan Books, we have an exclusive 7-page excerpt from Alien 3: The Official Movie Novelization, which you can check out right here below. Take a read from the book and let us know what you think!