“I Was Pissed”: Alien Director Ridley Scott On James Cameron Taking Over For The Sequel

Alien director Ridley Scott reflects on James Cameron taking over for the sequel, Aliens, remembering that he was “pissed.” Released in 1979, Ridley Scott’s iconic sci-fi/horror film follows Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley and the crew of the Nostromo as a deadly alien known as a Xenomorph is set loose on the spaceship. Released in 1986, the pluralized sequel Aliens, which was written and directed by James Cameron, follows Ripley and a group of marines battling hundreds of aliens.

In a new interview with Deadline, Scott reflected on being passed over for the sequel. The Alien director remembered receiving a phone call from Cameron informing him he’d be making Aliens. Though he considers Cameron a “great guy,” Scott was “pissed” that he was being replaced, especially since he was trying to recover from Blade Runner underperforming in theaters. Read his full comments below:

Well, Jim is about that, the way he designs, his whole process is The Ride. As I learned somebody else was doing this, I actually had been trying to develop something. When Jim called me up and said, listen … he was very nice but he said, this is tough, your beast is so unique. It’s hard to make him as frightening again, now familiar ground. So he said, I’m going in a more action, army kind of way. I said, okay. And that’s the first time I actually thought, welcome to Hollywood.

Jim and I talk often. We’re not exactly friends, but we do talk and he’s a great guy. I was pissed. I wouldn’t tell that to Jim, but I think I was hurt. I knew I’d done something very special, a one-off really. I was hurt, deeply hurt, actually because at that moment, I think I was damaged goods because I was trying to recover from Blade Runner.

Aliens Is Arguably Better Than Alien

Alien is one of the greatest and most influential fusions of sci-fi and horror ever made. However, with Aliens, Cameron delivered one of the rare sequels that arguably surpasses the original. While opinions vary on which is the better movie, Scott and Cameron’s films are undeniably different in terms of style and tone. Alien is strictly a sci-fi/horror film set within the claustrophobic confines of the Nostromo, placing a strong emphasis on suspense and tension. Aliens, on the other hand, is a more traditional 1980s-style sci-fi action film and, in turn, it takes more of an action-oriented approach.

Thus, those who prefer action-packed storytelling will naturally lean toward Aliens, while those who prefer horror will favor Alien. Instead of a claustrophobic spaceship, the sequel also expands to the larger-scale setting of the alien-infested plant LV-426, providing the opportunity for more varied and dynamic action sequences. While the debate over which is the better movie will rage on for decades, it all comes down to whether one prefers the minimalist horror approach of Alien or the action-packed Aliens.