If you need somebody to direct one of the greatest and most popular sci-fi sequels of all-time, then Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and Avatar: The Way of Water would indicate that James Cameron is your man. If you want the complete opposite, then Alien 3 is the perfect example of how almost anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
It’s incredible to think that such an undercooked and ultimately disappointing feature can belong to David Fincher, who wasted no time in the immediate aftermath establishing himself as one of the finest filmmakers in the industry. Graduating from music videos to a blockbuster franchise sequel was the wrong move in retrospect, although the grubby fingerprints of studio interference hardly helped.