Director James Cameron is distancing himselve from the revived Alien franchise, even as new movies and a television series try to draw in both longtime fans and a new audience. Recent projects like Alien: Romulus and Alien: Earth show that viewers still care about the series, but Cameron has made it clear that he does not plan to return to it as a filmmaker.
Cameron shared his views on the podcast Just Foolin’ About with actor Michael Biehn, who starred in Aliens. During the discussion, Cameron said, “You couldn’t pay me enough money to go back to that franchise. It’s almost become fan-driven at this point.” His comment suggests that he sees the current direction of the series as shaped more by fan expectations than by strong new ideas from the top. His remarks also point to normal viewers’ concerns that the new stories feel like copies of past successes instead of real attempts to move the series in a new direction, with many recent plots seeming closer to fan fiction than to bold studio storytelling. There’s e too much reliance on familiar moments and not enough focus on building a clear creative path.
Even so, Cameron did not dismiss every new entry in the universe. He praised parts of the television series Alien: Earth and noted that it carries elements from Ridley Scott’s original film, from his own Aliens, and from David Fincher’s Alien 3. He pointed out that the show uses certain intense visual points of view that recall the style of those earlier movies and ties them together in a way that respects the original tone.
Cameron also weighed in on director Fede Álvarez’s film Alien: Romulus. Speaking about the movie, he said he had seen it and liked parts of it and called it inventive and different in places. He singled out one sequence where characters float without gravity among blobs of alien acid, describing the scene as nightmarish and very well executed, which shows he still pays close attention to craft when he looks at new work in the series.
The director briefly addressed Neill Blomkamp’s long-discussed Alien 5 project as well. That film would have shown an alternate timeline where Michael Biehn’s character Hicks survives the opening of Alien 3 alongside Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley. Cameron said, “I don’t know anything about that. I know Neill, he and I have corresponded a bit. I don’t know the details of that one, but he’s a very inventive guy, Neil. He probably would have done something interesting.”
Compared with other science fiction series, the pace of new Alien movies has been slower and more cautious. Before Alien: Romulus reached theaters in 2024, the last film in the line was Alien: Covenant in 2017. While Romulus performed well with critics and at the box office, and Álvarez is now developing a follow-up, he is not expected to direct that sequel himself, which could open the door for other directors who want to put their mark on the franchise.
Alien: Romulus functions more as a spin-off than as a strict sequel to earlier films. That structure gives the studio greater freedom to explore side stories instead of staying locked into a single central storyline. It also allows different creative teams to test ideas without needing to reinvent the entire continuity every time a new film enters development.
Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth TV series drew strong praise from professional critics, who focused on its themes and atmosphere. Viewer response was more divided, with some fans unsure about the show’s pacing and focus. Still, the series has been renewed for a second season, which suggests that the studio sees value in keeping the property active on the small screen and is willing to work through the response from the broader audience.
Cameron’s refusal to return to Alien highlights a tension between big-name creators and fan-focused franchise management. The series pushes forward through new films and shows, while one of its most famous directors watches from the sidelines and offers selective praise. For now, the future of Alien rests with other filmmakers and with audiences who will decide whether this long-running story still has life left in it.
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English (US) · 