William Gibson 'Alien 3' Script Coming To Audible, Featuring Michael Biehn

In 1987, cyberpunk master William Gibson penned an Alien 3 script that would ultimately never be used. But Gibson's take on the Alien legacy would go on to achieve cult status after the screenplay found its way to the public, and was later adapted into a comic book miniseries from Dark House. Now, the William Gibson Alien 3 script finds new life through a dramatized, full-cast audio recording from Audible. They've also brought in Aliens co-star Michael Biehn to reprise his role as Hicks. Hear a tease for the Audible version of the Alien 3 script below.

William Gibson wrote two drafts of an Alien 3 script, both with similar stories but different in tone. The first was action-packed, following in the footsteps of James Cameron's Aliens. The second was more scaled-down, similar to Ridley Scott's original Alien. Neither drafts were used, although the bare bones of the premise would eventually end up in what would become David Fincher's Alien 3.

Here's the synopsis, lifted from the Dark House graphic novel adaptation:

After the deadly events of the film Aliens, the spaceship Sulaco carrying the sleeping bodies of Ripley, Hicks, Newt, and Bishop are intercepted by the Union of Progressive Peoples. What the U.P.P forces don't expect is another deadly passenger that is about to unleash chaos between two governmental titans intent on developing the ultimate cold war weapon of mass destruction.

Gibson's scripts differ significantly from Alien and Aliens in that Ripley isn't the main character. There was some doubt that Sigourney Weaver would return to her iconic role, so Gibson wrote Ripley into a coma for the bulk of the narrative. As a result, Hicks, the space marine from Aliens, and Bishop the android (played in Aliens by Lance Henriksen), became the main characters.

In the new Audible adaptation, Michael Biehn reprises his role as Hicks. He also steps in to voice Bishop as well (although it would've been nice if Audible had gotten Henriksen involved, too). Here, "the story begins with the Sulaco on its return journey from LV-426. On board the military ship are the cryogenically frozen skeleton crew of that film's survivors: Ripley, Hicks, Newt and Bishop. We travel aboard and hear an alarm blare. Our heroes are no longer alone..."

The full cast features Tom Alexander, Barbara Barnes, Michael Biehn, Cliff Chapman, Samantha Coughlan, Ben Cura, Dar Dash, Harry Ditson, Mairead Doherty, Graham Hoadly, Lorelei King, Laurel Lefkow, Martin McDougall, Sarah Pitard, Michael Roberts, David Seddon, Andrew James Spooner, Siri Steinmo, Dai Tabuchi, Keith Wickham, Rebecca Yeo.

The Alien 3 Audible version will be available on May 30, but you can pre-order it here.