20 Things You Didn't Know About Alien 3
5. Ridley Scott Nearly Directed The Film
Because the studio that owned the Alien franchise looked at nearly a dozen directors to helm the third entry, it wasn't too surprising that they went back to Ridley Scott, who directed the original. The British director was interested in returning to the series but wasn't able to commit to Alien³ since he was working on three projects simultaneously at the time, mainly 1492: Conquest of Paradise (which Sigourney Weaver also starred in).
If Scott directed, he intended to explore the origins of the Xenomorph species. This concept was eventually used in Scott's two prequels to Alien, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Considering many viewers hated how those films retconned the alien's origins, it was probably for the best Scott didn't take on the third Alien film.