So this is indeed a retcon..
There is little reason to pay attention to the series anymore if this is the route they are going to go.
I am not much of an Alien fan as I am with Predator, but I've supported the Alien franchise for twenty one years. Twenty one long years. Had this decision been made sixteen years ago, I would've been fine with it but for a movie which can be considered an ending to a saga, and another which served as an epilogue-- to be erased is quite disheartening. Alien 3, while ill-received, gets a lot of undeserved hate-- from the audience, and from Fox themselves. The latter most especially considering what happened on the set.
And when the movie was released, it was not well received for a variety of reasons. The movie was depressing, the movie had killed off two fan favorite characters, the movie had a nihilistic heroic ending of Ripley's sacrifice, that it went back instead of gone forward.. Whatever. The movie served as a reminder that the Alien universe was a cold, unforgiving place as cruel as the creature it spawned. And Ripley's sacrifice had a meaning to it, the Alien had taken everything from her and when she had nothing to lose, she was able to finally defeat the creature which had haunted her for so long. Ellen Ripley died a heroine. That was the ending to the Alien saga.
Resurrection served as an epilogue to the ending. And while I thought that the film was boring, I can say that it's a movie that can be chosen to be ignored. After all, it's an epilogue rather than an actual ending which is what Alien 3 was. So people can choose to watch or ignore Resurrection. I don't have anything positive or negative to say about Resurrection though as I have not seen it within the last fifteen years though.
I am done... Will I see the Blomkamp movie? Probably but... I just feel like this franchise outgrew me as a fan. Whatever enthusiasm which I had is... pretty much gone at this point. I want to support the franchise, and I want to be a fan.. I feel like.. I don't know, I'm a "bad" fan for not supporting this decision. That I feel like I need to send in my membership card.
Will Alien 3 and Resurrection continue to exist? Absolutely. We can watch them over and over again, maybe even use the movies for whatever fan-fiction and roleplaying. But it just doesn't feel the same without them being part of the Alien-Predator universe.
Now keep in mind, I've nothing bad to say about the Blomkamp film, I'm sure it will be a hit with ALIEN fans. I mean I liked District 9 as a movie, but I've never seen Elysium. So I'm happy for you guys, but I'm a little saddened for the unrecognized diamond that is Alien 3. Resurrection, I could do without.
My only wish is that... Fox would allow us alternative canons. For more than one canon.. I care deeply about this franchise, and the fandom. I want to be happy with it, I want everyone to be happy. That's why I advocate for multiple canons but.. that's likely not going to be the case if ever at all.
