4. The Xenomorph Originally Bites Off Ripleys Head - Alien
The producers behind the Alien franchise can make all the Alien sequels, reboots, and Prometheus prequels they want, but they'll never come up with a more badass main character than Ellen Ripley. What you may not know is that Alien was very close to being the only movie featuring Ripley - Ridley Scott originally had a much darker ending planned for the character. Whilst the studio had doubts over the film's graphic content, they were impressed after seeing some early footage and decided to give Scott the freedom to do what he wanted. Sensing an opportunity to squeeze some more money out of the studio so he could shoot a 'fourth act' to the film, Scott pitched a new and far more sinister ending: the Xenomorph sneaks onto Ripley's escape shuttle and bites off her head. The Xenomorph would then record one last entry into Ripley's log by imitating her voice before the movie hauntingly fades to black. As dark as the film already was, the studio thought that ending was a bit too dark and would only write Scott a cheque if he killed off the Xenomorph whilst keeping Ripley alive. Ellen Ripley's planned death would've not only dramatically altered the Alien franchise, but without her helming Aliens, the world would've lost out on one of sci-fi's greatest female characters.
Alexander Pan
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