Ridley Scott ohjasi elokuvan Alien silloin joskus, ja James Cameron teki sitten jatko-osan Aliens. Ensimmäisen elokuvan pääosassa nähty Sigourney Weaver vaati kuitenkin pöyristyttävän korkeaa palkkiosummaa paluustaan Ellen Ripleyn rooliin. Cameronin ratkaisuna oli huijata Weaverin agenttia. Käsikirjoitus tehtiin muka uusiksi laittaen Arnold Schwarzenegger Aliensin päärooliin.
"I called up Lou Pitt, Arnold's agent, and I said, 'Lou, we're kind of over this. So, we've decided that we really like the story and all the Marine Corps characters and the world we've created and everything. And really, we've thought about it, and we really just don't need Sigourney.
I've created all these characters, and my pride of authorship tells me I should go ahead with this, and we'll just cut her out of it, and we'll just cut her character out of it. We won't recast it; I'll just rewrite it. So, I'm going to start on that tonight."
Cameronilla ei ollut pienintäkään aikomusta palkata Arnold Schwarzeneggeria, mutta sattui tuntemaan hänen agenttinsa. Suhteet siis jylläsivät tälläkin tavalla.
"Now, did I have any intention of doing that whatsoever? No, not at all, but I happen to know that Lou is at the same agency as Sigourney's agent, who was in New York. And I knew that the second he hung up with me, he called him and said, 'Sign Sigourney now.' And guess what? The deal was done in 12 hours after that. So, I never wrote a word of that hypothetical story that I said I was going to do, that I had no intention of writing anyway. Anyway, it worked, and Sigourney got her million bucks, and everyone was happy."
<social>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIEbpGdctyg</social>