Aliens is a 1986 american science fiction action film written and directed by james cameron produced by gale anne hurd and starring sigourney weaverit is the sequel to the 1979 film alien and the second installment in the alien franchisethe film follows weavers character ellen ripley as she returns to the moon where her crew encountered the hostile alien creature this time accompanied by. Lucas said he had the idea for a space fantasy film in 1971 after he completed directing his first full length feature thx 1138. Lucas believed that the bleak tone of thx 1138 led to its poor reception and therefore chose to make star wars more optimistic.