James Cameron Explains Why He ‘Wouldn’t Have Made’ ‘Alien: Covenant’

When discussing which film in the Alien franchise is the best one, answers are often split between the original Alien, a tense, paranoia-driven survival horror and Aliens, an action-packed sci-fi adrenaline rush. The latter film’s director, James Cameron, recently revealed his thoughts on the latest installment in the franchise, Alien: Covenant, and why it’s not a movie he would have ever made.

***WARNING: The below comments contain spoilers for Alien: Covenant***

“It’s not a film that I would have made,” Cameron said on a Facebook Live interview. “I don’t like films where you invest in a character and they get destroyed at the end. I would not have made that film. I can’t comment on where Ridley is going with it but I think he is obviously trying to create a greater universe around it and more backstory with the Engineers and so on.”

Cameron hasn’t been the only one frustrated with the film’s narrative, with many audiences and critics taking issue with this being yet another installment in the franchise where the only character who survives is an android.

The first four films in the franchise all featured different directors, but, for the most part, the narratives of these installments involved elaborate games of cat and mouse, with Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) regaularly having to outsmart the creatures to stay alive.

Following two poorly received crossover films with the Predator series, the original film’s director, Ridley Scott, returned to the franchise for the prequel Prometheus. Despite being marketed as a “prequel,” there were very few narrative connections to the original franchise, with Scott instead exploring themes of creator and creation through the use of the android David (Michael Fassbender).

Covenant continued these themes, but added in a few more scenes of horror and brought back the iconic xenomorph creature from the original films.

Despite Cameron’s comments about how he never would have made that film, he has previously explained that he found Covenant to be “a great ride.” He also said, “It was beautiful. I love Ridley’s films and I love his film making, I love the beauty of the photography, I love the visceral sense that you’re there, that you’re present.”

With both Scott and Cameron providing integral contributions to the Alien franchise, if you prefer Cameron’s installment, you might side with the filmmaker when it comes to views on Covenant.

Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox