20 Things You Didn't Know About Alien 3
1. Terminator 2 Forced The Studio To Change The Ending
At the end of Alien³, Ripley kills herself by jumping into molten metal to ensure Weyland-Yutani never get their hands on the embryo nesting within her. Even though Alien³ had many, many, many critics, this was a satisfying conclusion to a pretty mediocre movie.
But there was one tiny problem. Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which was only released the previous year, also concluded with the hero sacrificing himself for humanity by falling into molten metal. As a result, the producers over Alien³ were worried they would be accused of copying James Cameron's film.
To make the climax more distinctive, the studio ordered the ending to be redone with a shot of the Xenomorph bursting out of Ripley's chest. Bizarrely, this scene was filmed only four days before the movie premiered. Cutting it pretty tight, guys.