This week, Alien: Covenant is keeping the long-running Alien franchise alive with a new installment from director Ridley Scott. But this month is also the 25th anniversary of Alien 3, the film that was originally meant to close out the franchise with the dramatic fate of Ellen Ripley. Alien 3 followed James Cameron’s incredibly popular Aliens, and it served as the directorial debut of David Fincher. Now, fans have been given the opportunity to see Fincher in action on the set of Alien 3 in newly released footage.

Via Gizmodo, studioADI posted a video that shows Fincher directing an animatronic puppet with the likeness of Lance Henriksen‘s Bishop. You may recall that Bishop was an android who was torn in half by a Xenomorph queen in Aliens, which accounts for his appearance in this film. The intriguing thing about this footage is that Fincher is less concerned with the technical aspects of the puppet, and more focused on the performance.

It’s interesting to note that Henriksen’s lines appear to have been pre-recorded for his scenes as Bishop, and at one point, the camera actually reveals where the puppeteer is positioned below this animatronic creation. Remember, this movie was made before CGI became commonplace in films and TV. The puppet may not be 100% convincing, but it does have a certain sense of reality to it. That may be part of the reason why Fincher was so adamant about treating this session like a performance rehearsal rather than a technical exercise.

What did you think about the Alien 3 behind-the-scenes clip? Shout “action!” in the comment section below!

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Image: 20th Century Fox