Alien Vs Predator: Requiem proved an R-rating alone couldn’t save the crossover franchise, but who did Aliens actor Michael Biehn almost play in the sequel? When Paul WS Anderson’s Alien Vs Predator arrived in cinemas in 2004, the movie’s reception among critics and audiences was decidedly mixed. The lack of an R-rating, the preponderance of boring character backstory and convoluted mythology meant Alien Vs Predator was no Freddy Vs Jason, and any future crossover between the two titans of sci-fi horror seemed doomed to failure.
However, 2007’s Alien Vs Predator: Requiem brought back the R-rating and scaled back the backstory in favor of gory action - making it all the more impressive the sequel was even more critically derided than the original AvP. However, Alien Vs Predator: Requiem was not always destined for the DVD bargain bin. The movie’s creators had ambitious plans for the follow-up, few of which came to fruition.
For example, there was talk of a scene set on the hitherto-unseen Xenomorph homeworld and even cameos by faces familiar to fans from earlier installments of both franchises. However, not all of these roles were particularly impressive. While Bill Paxton was considered for a cameo as a chef who met a gruesome end at the claws of the Predalien, Michael Biehn (who previously played Hicks in Aliens) was only considered for a momentary scene playing a special forces officer who crops up in the film’s final scene.
Requiem's filmmakers were desperate for any solid link they could get to the original Alien and Predator movies, presumably to legitimize the sequel and lessen its connection to the widely-disliked Alien Vs Predator. As a result, they considered casting Aliens star Michael Biehn for the aforementioned role, although it is unknown whether the actor was actually offered the role in the end. This insignificant cameo is one of the less impressive sci-fi roles Biehn was considered for, with the actor at one point being in the running for Mad Max’s replacement.
In their quest to connect their sequel to its more fondly remembered predecessors, the creators of Alien Vs Predator: Requiem also wanted Adam Baldwin to reprise his role from the underrated sequel Predator 2. However, the actor was unavailable and this role soon became Robert Joy's Colonel Stevens instead, severing another potential tie between the original franchises and Requiem. In the end, it's doubtful a brief, somewhat random cameo appearance by Michael Biehn as a different character would have made audiences or critics warm to Alien Vs Predator: Requiem, and it's for the best it didn't come to pass.