James Cameron Saved ‘Aliens’ After the Studio Didn’t Ask Ridley Scott Back

In 1979, Ridley Scott directed Alien, one of the greatest sci-fi horror movies ever made. Written by Dan O’Bannon, Alien was a terrifying film that altered Hollywood forever. In one fell swoop, Ridley created an iconic new heroine with Sigourney Weaver‘s Ellen Ripley, along with a creepy monster in the form of the spine-tingling xenomorph.

Alien was a huge success, but, when it was time for a sequel seven years later, Ridley didn’t return for Aliens. Instead, the action-heavy follow-up was both written and directed by James Cameron, who was coming off the phenomenal success of The Terminator. Replacing Scott was a huge risk which could have ended in disaster. Instead, Cameron’s Aliens ended up being every bit as good, if not better, than the original.

Ridley Scott Wasn’t Asked Back to Direct ‘Aliens’

Moviegoers flocked to theaters to see Alien in 1979. With its near $79 million haul, it was the fifth-biggest movie of the year. Critics adored it, as well. Roger Ebert gave it a perfect four stars, writing, “Alien has been called the most influential of modern action pictures, and so it is.” You can’t get any better praise than that. It wasn’t hyperbole, either. Alien wasn’t like other alien-centric sci-films. You know the type, where bad acting and horrible man-in-a-suit special effects must be overlooked. Alien was gritty and raw, a slow-burning haunted house film where a sickening Michael Myers-like monster is waiting at the end.

With the impact Alien had, not only altering the course of sci-fi and horror, but launching Sigourney Weaver’s career into the stratosphere, you would think that Fox execs would be knocking Ridley Scott’s door down to make a sequel. They did not. Worse, no one even called and asked him. Scott explained why in 2019, telling The Hollywood Reporter:

“Interestingly enough, I was never asked to do the sequel. Maybe because I was such a tough guy when I was doing it, they didn’t want me back. But I was also in the habit of not wanting to do a sequel then either. So I would never have done it.”

Ridley Scott was just fine without Aliens. Although he did eventually return to the franchise several decades later for Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Scott put together a phenomenal career with films far away from rampaging xenormophs like Blade Runner, Gladiator, and Black Hawk Down.

James Cameron’s ‘Aliens’ Turned Everything up a Notch for a Wild Sequel

With Ridley Scott not even approached to make a sequel to such an important movie, it meant that Fox needed to find someone just as good. Enter James Cameron. In 1986, he’d only made two movies, but the second was a little sci-fi action flick called The Terminator. It was similar to Alien in its own way, with a badass heroine, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), and a solo, horrific monster in the form of a killer cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger) on a path to kill her unborn son before he can grow up to save humanity.

With Alien, Ridley Scott was directing another person’s screenplay. Not so with Aliens. Cameron both wrote and directed this sequel, just as he had done with The Terminator (which he co-wrote with Gale Ann Hurd). Alien was a much more straightforward film: A lone alien is on a ship, the humans are on the run for their lives, and in the end, only one remains to battle the monster. Aliens goes deeper. Cameron crafted a compelling dual story about motherhood, with Ripley now more fleshed out as a mother figure to the orphaned Newt (Carrie Henn). This choice adds to the tension because Ripley is no longer only responsible for saving herself. The choice also draws a comparison to the formidable alien queen, who simply wants to save her babies and attacks after Ripley burns her eggs.

As he did with The Terminator and the subplot around Skynet, Cameron creates a bigger world in Aliens, which explores how Weyland-Yutani operated and what they wanted. Paul Reiser‘s Burke is one of the most despicable bad guys in movie history. Cameron’s saving grace doesn’t stop at the screenplay, either. There’s also the directing itself, of course. As he did with The Terminator, Cameron crafts big set pieces with plenty of fight scenes and gun play in Aliens. Once it gets going, Aliens is a high octane thrillride in a way the original never attempted.

James Cameron didn’t try to recreate what Ridley Scott accomplished. He succeeded by doing the opposite. Instead of a quietly building dread with a monster kept hidden for as long as possible, Cameron went for loud and fast-paced action, with creatures thrown right in our faces at every turn. Rather than showcasing more grounded characters, he created over-the-top Marine tropes fit for the wild plot. Whether Aliens is better than Alien is debatable, but it’s certainly bigger and badder like all the best sequels are. In 1986, James Cameron was the perfect choice to pull it off.

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Release Date

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July 18, 1986

Runtime

137 minutes

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Director

James Cameron

Writers

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James Cameron

Producers

Gale Anne Hurd

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