The James Cameron Secret To The Best Sci-Fi Sequels of All Time

With Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgement Day, James Cameron gave us two of cinema’s most beloved sci-fi sequels. Even more impressive, he did it in two completely different ways. Each movie is a masterclass in how to grow a franchise using the two methods mentioned above.

When James Cameron pitched an Alien sequel to 20th Century Fox, he knew exactly what he was doing. Legend has it that Cameron walked into the meeting and wrote the word “Alien” on a piece of paper. The director then added an “S” and, after a beat, drew two lines through it so it looked like a dollar sign.

This story perfectly encapsulates Cameron’s approach to Aliens. He knew he could never capture the same “slasher in space,” feeling Ridley Scott gave to Alien, so he didn’t even try. Instead, James Cameron went in a completely different direction with his sequel.

Using Alien as a jumping-off point, Cameron pivoted away from horror and made Aliens a big, bombastic action extravaganza. Where Alien was about a single xenomorph slowly stalking its prey, Aliens features scores of the creatures. Where Ridley Scott had the main characters struggle to find anything even remotely close to a weapon, Cameron gives his Space Marines guns, guns, and more guns.

What makes James Cameron’s sequels so great is that they’re never just action movies. Aliens also expands the lore of its predecessor in several inventive and exciting ways. Cameron came up with the idea of having the xenomorphs exist in a hive-like society with a Queen at the center.

James Cameron knew that Alien fans would reject a carbon copy sequel. So, instead of just retreading old ground, he forged a new path. Ironically, his approach to Terminator 2 was the exact opposite.

Believe it or not, I’m actually not much of a James Cameron Stan. Personal taste aside, however, I have to admit he has the best instincts in Hollywood. Somehow, this guy knew in his gut that Aliens had to be different from its predecessor while simultaneously believing that Terminator 2 should just be a more expensive rehash of the first one. Obviously, he was right on both accounts.

Let me clarify that calling Terminator 2 a rehash of The Terminator is not meant to be an insult. On the contrary. It’s just another example of how brilliant James Cameron is at sequels because he instinctively knew that the best approach to a Terminator sequel was, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

T2 doesn’t copy The Terminator word for word or anything, and there are definitely elements that subvert the original. But narrative-wise, they’re essentially the same movie.

The robots send a Terminator back in time to assassinate someone vital to the human resistance in the future. Meanwhile, the humans send someone back to protect that person. Most of the film is spent running from the advanced murder bot until a final showdown in a factory, during which the humans manage to gain the upper hand.

The summary fits both movies to a T.

With James Cameron, though, the sequel following the same template as the original isn’t a bug—it’s a feature. By not complicating the plot, Cameron had room to perfect the first movie’s formula and delivered what many fans consider a superior movie. This time, the humans send an old Terminator to protect John Connor while the robots send an advanced liquid metal shapeshifter. Sarah Connor is no longer a scared victim but a bad*ss with a big gun, and so on.

In T2, explosions are bigger, the effects are more impressive, and the action set-pieces are more spectacular. The Terminator is a movie. Terminator 2 is a theme park ride.

James Cameron’s sequels might not be the best ever made—The Empire Strikes Back, and Godfather Part II edge them out slightly—but they are perfect examples of the two different approaches a director can take with a sequel.