'Aliens' at 40: James Cameron's Sequel Is a Sci-Fi Icon, but Did You Know He Quit the Movie Twice?

The conversations that nearly killed James Cameron's 'Aliens'

It’s now celebrated as one of the greatest sequels of all time, but James Cameron’s Aliens was nearly “adiós, muchachos” during its troubled pre-production. Whatever studio hand-wringing had was swiftly swept aside by the sci-fi thriller’s box office success. Running three weekends in a row at number one domestically and raking in around $150million globally, Aliens proved to be a world smash and cemented Cameron’s arrival in Hollywood as a new …

'Aliens' at 40: James Cameron's sequel is a sci-fi icon, but did you know he quit the movie twice?

Where does James Cameron's "Aliens" rank among the other Alien movies? That depends on who you ask. Some might say it's the best, while others put it just behind the original (spoiler alert: it's the best). Regardless, there's no denying that this 1986 film shifted gears, moving the franchise from horror to horror-tinged sci-fi action and paving an alternate path for the future.As Cameron stated in an interview with Lofficier, the plan always wa…

In Theaters 40 Years Ago, An Epic Sci-fi Sequel Changed Everything By Adding One Letter

Although one iconic sci-fi sequel from James Cameron did nothing but add a letter to the title of its predecessor, this ingenious move was still enough to revolutionise the entire horror franchise for the decades that followed. The cult sci-fi flops that litter film history prove it can be hard to sell viewers on a new franchise in the genre. For every success like the Star Wars series, there are plenty of expensive follies like Battlefield Eart…

40 years ago, an iconic sci-fi thriller redefined what a sequel could be — and changed Hollywood forever

40 years later, James Cameron's follow-up remains the clearest blueprint for expanding a franchise without repeating it.