James Cameron is certainly a visionary filmmaker, but the impact his sequel had on Foreigner
franchise changed everything, and with a sequel to Alien: Romulus
now confirmed, this could happen again. The first Foreigner The film was a groundbreaking crossover between horror and science fiction from legendary director Ridley Scott, released in 1979. And although Scott chose not to direct the sequel in 1986, it opened the door for another promising director who would go on to direct several of the films. Hollywood’s highest-grossing artist of all time, James Cameron.
However, when the film was released, it wasn’t the immediate classic it has since become. And Ridley Scott was still a relatively new director, with only one other feature film under his belt. So the studios weren’t that precious when it came to continuing the tradition of the original, and Cameron was able to make changes to put his own stamp on the Alien landscape. The result was another successful film that often ranks high alongside the original, but now, decades later, changing the franchise’s tradition could do more harm than good.
Aliens expanded the lore of the first film with new concepts
James Cameron’s take on Alien added a lot to the world-building
The first Foreigner The film saw the courageous Ridley Scott, played by Sigourney Weaver, accompanied by a crew of big badass soldiers, facing a terrifying alien threat. THE Xenomorph, a name that was not included in the series until the sequelit was a terrifying beast shrouded in mystery, and the crew of the Nostromo fought for their lives. But the sequence, Aliensintroduced many additional details and lore about the creatures that would inspire a much larger franchise over the decades. Thanks to Cameron’s visionary style, the universe changed forever.
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Cameron introduced the Xenomorph Queen, the function and purpose of facehuggers, and more details about how these creatures reproduce. And while most of this fits comfortably as an additional layer of detail about the events of Foreigner, some elements were contradictory to this initial vision. For example, there is a deleted scene where Ridley discovers Captain Dallas encased in a cocoon, which slowly begins to transform his body into an alien egg. However, as seen in Aliensthis is in no way similar to how new Xenomorphs are created in the franchise.
Romulus sequel has a chance to expand Alien lore even further
Alien: Romulus 2 could change the world of Alien forever
It’s fair to say that Alien: Romulus has already made a notable addition to the franchise’s lore with the introduction of the hybrid. However, now that Alien: Romulus is ready for a sequelhas the opportunity to establish even more new elements within the franchise and change the future of films forever. As Alienscomics and PrometheusThis film could further build on the legacy of these terrifying creatures and their connection to the human race, but whether it should do so is a different question.
Now that the franchise has seven main films and two spin-offs that crossover with the Predators, there’s a lot of history built into the story. Alien: Romulus had additional factors to consider due to its position in the Foreigner franchise schedule, with the film being set between the first and second films. So it makes sense that the sequel would be set not long after Romulowhich will probably mean it is still before or some time after Aliens. Bringing new knowledge can be fun, but it would also be complex and delicate.
Alien: Romulus Sequel Should Be Safer Than James Cameron’s Aliens?
There’s a lot more at stake for Alien: Romulus 2
When considering the changes that occurred with Cameron Aliensthe film was released almost a decade after the original, and despite sharing a protagonist, it was set more than 50 years later thanks to space travel and stasis sleep. This gave Cameron a cushion that distanced him from the original, both in terms of release and the film’s setting. The fact that Ridley Scott wasn’t as great a director as he is nowand his legacy was only in its infancy, it meant he had a lot of freedom to play with history and shape it as he saw fit.
That is not the case today. The franchise now stands as one of the most popular and highly regarded of all time, and that means many fans have very strict rules about how the world of Foreigner should operate. While films like Prometheus you can take the story back in time and play with the origins, or Resurrection can face the distant future, Alien: Romulus and its sequence need to follow some guidelines. So when facing another Foreigner film, it’s probably worth approaching with caution when it comes to changing the legacy.