Summary

• Killing Newt and Hicks in Alien 3 upset many fans due to their popularity and importance in Aliens.
• Hicks was almost the franchise's new hero, but the decision to focus on Ripley was ultimately made.
• Despite controversy, the deaths of Newt and Hicks in Alien 3 were necessary for the film's tragic and atmospheric tone.

After becoming such popular characters in Aliens, many fans were left wondering, "Why did they kill Newt in Alien 3?" They also killed off Hicks, adding more uncertainty to things. By the end of Aliens, only four characters remain alive, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the android Bishop (although he's badly damaged), a little girl named Newt (Carrie Henn), and Corporal Dwayne Hicks (Michael Biehn), the only space marine to survive. The unlikely quartet enters hypersleep for a return trip to Earth, but the seemingly happy ending of Aliens does not last long.

Alien 3 focuses on the franchise's hero, Ripley, crash landing on a prison colony as the only survivor of Aliens' group of heroes. In fact, Newt and Hicks are killed off-screen in the opening credits of Alien 3 with the reveal that there was a facehugger Xenomorph in their pod the whole time. The decision to unceremoniously kill off these two popular characters started the third movie off on a poor note for many viewers and the choice remains one of the most controversial aspects of the Alien franchise decades later.

Why Alien 3 Killed Off Hicks

Hicks Nearly Became The Franchise's New Protagonist

The feature directorial debut of David Fincher, Alien 3's production was infamously troubled, with Fox executives clashing with Fincher at every turn. A third Alien movie was in development long before Alien 3's 1992 release though, and initial story ideas actually saw Hicks promoted to protagonist. Sigourney Weaver was reportedly okay with taking a smaller role, as she wasn't pleased by scenes she considered crucial to Ripley's character arc being cut from Aliens' theatrical edit. A later script written by William Gibson also saw Hicks become the lead, with Ripley put into a coma, and Weyland-Yutani building an alien army.

However, it is likely the studio saw the risk in replacing the main hero in the franchise and opted to go for the safer bet of getting Weaver back for the third movie in the lead role. While Ripley became somewhat of a surprise protagonist in the first movie, following the popularity of Aliens, she had become iconic. Weaver was even nominated for an Oscar for her role in Aliens. Putting the franchise on her shoulders made sense and partnering her with Hicks likely felt as if it were taking away from her role in the movie.

Why Alien 3 Killed Off Newt

Carrie Henn May Not Have Returned To Play Newt

Alien 3 killing off Newt was perhaps even more controversial than killing off Hicks. Aliens established Newt as a surrogate daughter to Ripley, leading to the iconic scene in which Ripley goes back to save Newt from the Queen Xenomorph. However, most of the drafts for Alien 3 found a way to get her out of the story or similarly kill her off and it is easy to see the complications that could have come from including Newt in the third movie.

One of the main reasons was the fact that actor Carrie Henn didn't seem to have much interest in acting outside of her role in Aliens. Since that movie was released in 1986, Henn only appeared in one other film, which was in 2020. There's also the problem of Newt's age in the third movie. The heroes go into hypersleep at the end of Aliens and are not meant to have aged by the time they are awakened in the sequel. While Sigourney Weaver pulls it off, there would be considerable difference between Henn from 1986 to 1993.

While recasting the role would have been possible, it is likely that it would have been met with similar criticism from fans of Newt. However, another possibility for killing the character could have been because there were some who weren't as fond of Newt as a character. Having a small child character amidst the mayhem of this sci-fi-horror franchise for a second time might have come off as more annoying than it was in Aliens.

How Killing Newt & Hicks Impacted The Quality Of Alien 3

David Fincher's Alien 3 Is Flawed But Not Because Of Newt And Hicks' Deaths

Following Alien and Aliens, David Fincher's Alien 3 was seen as a huge letdown for the franchise. However, while it might be easy to point to the killing of Newt and Hicks as one of the reasons it fails, it is not the case. Alien 3 was plagued by production issues, with many of the actors and those familiar with the project insisting that the studio was interfering with Fincher's work and making it impossible for him to complete the movie that he wanted.

Starting Ripley off on such a low point helped establish this very different tone.

Much like Aliens, Fincher was trying to make a sequel that went in a very different direction from what preceded it. Alien 3 was atmospheric and tragic, thus the killing of Newt and Hicks seemed essential to the story. Starting Ripley off on such a low point helped establish this very different tone. While it is true that the deaths of these popular characters could have been handled in a better way to make it more impactful and do justice to their place in the franchise, they simply did not belong in this story.

In the decades since Alien 3 was released, Fincher has still disowned it, but there has been a growing appreciation for what he was trying to achieve. It is viewed less as a failed Alien movie and more as the unfulfilled promise of the potentially great movie Fincher had in mind. The first act of the movie is still an effective and gripping thriller and doesn't really suffer from Hicks and Newt's absence.