James Cameron’s 1986 film Aliens wasn’t just a smash; it set the series up for continued success. In addition to outgrossing the 1979 Ridley Scott classic, the ending gave the franchise a great place to start a subsequent story, as well as three new heroes—Newt, Hicks, and Bishop—to go along with Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley. When a sequel came out six years later, though, none of that happened, and even though it’s been almost 40 years, James Cameron has thoughts. “I thought that was the stupidest fucking thing,” he said.

Speaking to Hicks himself, Michael Biehn, on Biehn’s podcast, Cameron was asked about the decision in 1992’s Alien 3 to kill the young character Newt in the opening credits. “You spent the last third of your movie saving her,” Biehn pointed out. “Yeah, exactly,” Cameron said. “So, you build a lot of goodwill around the characters of Hicks, Newt, and Bishop. And then the first thing they do in the next film is kill them all off. Really smart, guys.”

Cameron continued, “And replace them with a bunch of fucking convicts that you hate and want to see die, right? Really clever.”

Alien 3 was directed by David Fincher and famously had a pretty troubled production. So Cameron did give the director of Zodiac, Fight Club, and The Social Network a pass. “Now I’m a big fan of Fincher and his work and all that,” Cameron added. “That was his first feature film, and he was getting vectored around by a lot of other voices and all that, so I give him a free pass on that one.”

But, Biehn pointed out, “He was handed a bowl of shit.” Cameron agreed.

The choice of Alien 3 to kill those characters is one that has been debated for years, with fans falling on both sides. Many side with Cameron, seeing their deaths as a wasted opportunity. Others see it as a great way to raise the emotional stakes and buck up against expectations. (Many early versions of Alien 3 did have those characters play a role in the plot, but that got changed over the years.)

Wherever you stand, though, you 100% understand Cameron’s frustration four decades later about the dismissal of his work, which is clearly some of the best in the franchise. He went on to briefly discuss Neill Blomkamp’s attempts to return to the franchise as well as his enjoyment of Fede Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus. You can watch it all below.

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