In the '70s and '80s, it was all about space operas.
From Star Wars the movie to Star Wars the Strategic Defense Initiative rolled out by the Reagan administration, the world had an unquenchable thirst for the unknown beyond our atmosphere. And on July 18, 1986, Aliens joined the party, giving us a classic sci-fi thriller.
The film, a sequel to 1979’s Alien and directed by James Cameron, revisited the extrasolar moon LV-426. Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley returns to the moon after all communication is lost on Earth and helps investigate whether the planet still has life on it.
Cameron delivered a film that captured all of our darkest fears about space: What's out there? Do we even want to know? What if we got lost? How would we even get back?
USA TODAY revisits the film and takes a look at where the actors are 30 years later.
SIGOURNEY WEAVER (age 66)
The star of Aliens and face of the movie franchise is riding a wave of four decades of movie credits. After small cameos in Finding Dory and Ghostbusters this summer, Weaver is working with James Cameron on the Avatar sequels (Avatar 2, 3 and 4, but not 5, for anyone who wants to start any conspiracy theories.) She’s also scheduled to reprise the role of Ellen Ripley in an untitled Neill Blomkamp
Alien project.
JAMES CAMERON (61)
After Aliens, Cameron rolled out hits Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Titanic. But arguably his greatest achievement was Avatar in 2009, which obliterated box office records. Since then, Cameron has been devoted to finishing the Avatar story, with Avatar 2 expected out in 2018, followed by Avatar 3 in 2020, Avatar 4 in 2022 and Avatar 5 in 2023. So if you don't hear from James Cameron for a while, that's why.
BILL PAXTON (61)
If you’re really jonesing for some Paxton, he’ll be in the upcoming adaptation of Dave Eggers' novel The Circle. After Aliens, Paxton reconnected with Cameron for Titanic and also starred in Apollo 13. He recently starred in Nightcrawler and Edge of Tomorrow.
CARRIE HENN (40)
The little girl in distress on LV-426 ended up never acting again. She graduated from California State University at Stanislaus and became a teacher. She’s active on social media and still attends Aliens anniversary gatherings and panels. She's scheduled to appear in Triborn, a sci-fi thriller in development from Sonnet Realm Films.
MICHAEL BIEHN (59)
Corporal Dwayne Hicks may appear in Ridley Scott's prequel Aliens: Covenant in 2017. In the meantime, Biehn is staying busy with a variety of low-level films that are either finishing up or beginning to shoot, including The Night Visitor 2: Heather's Story, She Rises and Shadow. After Aliens, Biehn appeared in The Abyss and Grindhouse.
PAUL REISER (59)
Reiser turned the success of Aliens into a career in comedy and film. Reiser landed his own TV series in 2011, simply called The Paul Reiser Show. He's finishing up The Little Hours and What’s the Point? (both set for 2017). He snagged a role in Oscar best-picture nominee Whiplash in 2014. Reiser recently announced he’ll be returning to stand-up comedy
WILLIAM HOPE (61)
Lieutenant Gorman’s voice can be heard pretty much everywhere. Hope has been voicing a variety of characters in Thomas & Friends since 2010. As a voice actor, Hope has more than 100 credits to his name. He has appeared in TV series, short films and video games, and he has been in a few movies including Sherlock Holmes, Captain America: The First Avenger and xXx.
