
Still traumatized by her alien encounter, she agrees on the condition that they exterminate the creatures. She is rescued and debriefed by her employers at the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, who are skeptical about her claim of alien eggs in a derelict ship on the exomoon LV-426, since it is now the site of a terraforming colony.Īfter contact is lost with the colony, Weyland-Yutani representative Carter Burke and Colonial Marine Lieutenant Gorman ask Ripley to accompany them to investigate. It was followed by two sequels: Alien 3 (1992) and Alien Resurrection (1997), neither of which were as successful and the prequels Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017).Įllen Ripley has been in stasis for 57 years aboard an escape shuttle after destroying her ship, the Nostromo, to escape an alien creature that slaughtered the rest of the crew. It inspired a variety of merchandise, including video games, comic books and toys. It is credited with expanding the franchise's scope with additions to the series' backstory and factions such as the Colonial Marines. It earned $131.1–183.3 million during its theatrical run, making it one of the highest-grossing films of 1986 worldwide.Īliens is now considered among the greatest films of the 1980s, and among the best science fiction, action, and sequel films ever made, arguably equal to or better than Alien.

The film received several awards and nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Weaver at a time when the science-fiction genre was generally overlooked. Weaver's performance garnered consistent praise along with those of Bill Paxton and Jenette Goldstein. Reviewers praised its action, but some criticized the intensity of some scenes. The difficult shoot affected the composer, James Horner, who was given little time to record the music.Īliens was released on July 18, 1986, to critical acclaim. Like its development, filming was tumultuous and rife with conflicts between Cameron and the British crew at Pinewood Studios. On an approximately $18.5 million budget, Aliens began principal photography in September 1985 and concluded in January 1986. The project stalled again until new Fox executive Lawrence Gordon pursued a sequel.

Although relatively inexperienced, Cameron was hired to write a story for Aliens in 1983 on the strength of his scripts for The Terminator (1984) and Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985). Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, and Carrie Henn are featured in supporting roles.ĭespite the success of Alien, its sequel took years to develop due to lawsuits, a lack of enthusiasm from 20th Century Fox, and repeated management changes. When communications are lost with a human colony on the moon where her crew first saw the alien creatures, Ripley agrees to return to the site with a unit of Colonial Marines to investigate. Set in the far future, it stars Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, the sole survivor of an alien attack on her ship. It is the sequel to the 1979 science fiction horror film Alien, and the second film in the Alien franchise. Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film written and directed by James Cameron.
