James Cameron Endorses Alien: Earth as Franchise Standout

When Ridley Scott introduced audiences to Alien in 1979, he delivered a slow-burning, nerve-jangling thriller that owed more to the slasher genre than to conventional science fiction. Fast forward seven years, and James Cameron arrived on the scene, deciding the series could do with a bit more firepower. Thus, Aliens was born—a sequel that swapped the original’s creeping dread for relentless action. While it may have sacrificed some of the subtlety and fear that defined Scott’s film, viewers hardly seemed to mind. The sequel proved a box office triumph and, more importantly, set the wheels in motion for a sprawling franchise.

Since then, the Alien series has grown to include seven main entries, not counting the somewhat regrettable Predator crossovers. The films have ranged from David Fincher’s unusually bleak directorial debut to Fede Álvarez’s well-received reboot, with the likes of Prometheus taking the saga in unexpected directions. Not every instalment has met with Cameron’s approval, but the franchise has certainly never stood still.

Alien: Earth – A New Chapter

Curiously, Cameron’s favourite addition to the series isn’t a film at all. In 2025, Disney+ unveiled Alien: Earth, marking the franchise’s first foray into episodic television. The show was met with widespread acclaim, and Cameron himself was quick to praise it in an interview with Dark Horizons.

“I think they took a lot of the DNA from my movie,”

he remarked.

“A couple of things from some of the later movies, they’ve got a little bit of that crazy POV thing racing down the corridors from Fincher‘s film. I think it’s good. It’s great creative recombinance in action, but with its own swerve, which is basically what I did. You gotta celebrate the new with the old.”

Created by Noah Hawley, known for Fargo and Legion, Alien: Earth is set two years prior to the events of the original film, but unfolds in an alternate timeline. The ever-ambitious Weyland-Yutani corporation is once again meddling with extraterrestrial life, gathering alien specimens from across the cosmos. Predictably, disaster strikes when a ship carrying these creatures crashes on Earth, unleashing a Xenomorph on an unsuspecting planet. It’s a scenario that, while familiar, manages to feel fresh in Hawley’s hands.

Critical Acclaim and Franchise Evolution

Despite the somewhat tongue-in-cheek premise, the impact of Alien: Earth has been hard to ignore. Both critics and fans have heaped praise on Hawley’s vision, hailing it as not only the finest Alien-related project in recent memory, but also as one of the franchise’s strongest entries to date. Comparisons have been drawn to Andor from the Star Wars universe, with many noting how the series uses the established world as a springboard for a more nuanced, politically charged narrative.

Cameron himself highlighted the way Alien: Earth draws from the franchise’s extensive history: the relentless menace of the original, the existential struggles of synthetics from Romulus, and the philosophical musings of Prometheus. There’s even room for the kind of high-octane action sequences that made Aliens so memorable. The show exemplifies a growing trend of television series building upon and, in some cases, surpassing the groundwork laid by their cinematic predecessors.

Looking Ahead

With Alien: Earth already renewed for another season, it seems the franchise is enjoying a proper renaissance. Cameron, for one, appears eager to see where the story goes next. As the Alien universe continues to evolve, it’s clear that inventive storytelling and a willingness to blend old and new are keeping the saga as compelling as ever.