Why Aliens Has Been So Hard For The Alien Franchise To Beat
Aliens set a tough standard for subsequent installments of the Alien franchise to match, and a few things help explain why. The first two movies in the Alien sci-fi movie series couldn't be more different, yet 1979's Alien and its 1986 sequel, Aliens, receive equal love from fans of the franchise. Despite its seminal place in both horror and sci-fi, the Alien franchise is often seen as having peaked with Aliens.
To be fair, both Alien and Aliens are classics on such a level that following up on them was always going to be a challenge. Sigourney Weaver's iconic performance as Ellen Ripley and the directorial talents of first Ridley Scott and then James Cameron cemented the two movies into the public consciousness forever. In the grand scheme of the Alien franchise, any installment being ranked a step or two below Alien and Aliens almost goes without saying.
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Still, even with the heights reached by Aliens and the complete franchise re-invention it represented, the Alien film series has largely struggled to attain comparable reception since. With Alien 5 officially in the works with Fede Álvarez directing, along with an Alien TV series in development, the Alien franchise hasn't faltered despite its post-Aliens reception. Still, it's challenges in the intervening years have largely boiled down to creative decisions that failed to connect with audiences. Here are the major reasons why the Alien franchise hasn't managed to equal the standards set by Aliens.
Alien 3 began with what is still one of the most infamous sci-fi movie openings of all time with the death of Aliens characters Hicks (Michael Biehn) and Newt (Carrie Henn). With Alien 3 picking up
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