All 13 Alien References In James Cameron’s Avatar Movies

Director James Cameron often includes references to his other films in his works, providing Easter eggs for eagle-eyed viewers, and this is true for the Avatar movies too. In the Avatar movies, there are numerous references to various films that Cameron has directed, such as the Avatar theme being eerily similar to Titanic’s score. However, there are even more references to the 1986 Alien sequel, Aliens, which followed Ellen Ripley as she journeys back to LV-426 to investigate why the Weyland-Yutani Corporation’s new colony has gone radio silent.

Following Aliens, James Cameron made multiple successful films and started the Avatar franchise in 2009, something which he had delayed due to lack of technology, and released its sequel, Avatar: The Way Of The Water, in 2023. With Cameron having a habit of referring to his other films, it comes as no surprise that the Avatar franchise references Aliens, especially as they both rank among the best sci-fi movies.

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James Cameron’s
Avatar: The Way of Water
won the 2023 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

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13 Sigourney Weaver Plays A Big Role In Both Films

Ripley And Grace Are Leading Women

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As the main protagonist for most of the Alien franchise, Sigourney Weaver returns as Ellen Ripley for the first time in Aliens. After surviving the events of Alien, avoiding facehuggers, chestbursters, and a fully grown xenomorph, Ripley is found in her stasis pod by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. However, the company doesn’t believe her recounts of the events which caused the Nostromo to be destroyed, claiming that she is traumatized, and decide to send her back to LV-426 to investigate their colony’s loss of contact.

Sigourney Weaver stars in Avatar as Dr Grace Augustine, the leading expert on the Na’vi. Being one of the few leading women scientists on the predominantly male military base means that Grace’s concerns about the alien life on Pandora are often dismissed, and the men in charge brush her off as an overly paranoid scientist. However, she is right both times. It’s significant that both Avatar and Aliens not only feature a strong female lead character, but that both roles are played by Weaver, connecting the properties.

12 The RDA Is Similar To The Weyland-Yutani Corporation

The Companies Share Motivations And Aesthetics

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2009’s Avatar follows the RDA (Resources Development Administration) to the alien planet of Pandora in their mission to extract unobtanium, a rare and very expensive resource, from beneath the surface. The RDA sets up a military base on Pandora, using its gray and yellow military equipment to carve their own space on the planet in a rather invasive way. The company doesn’t seem to care who or what stands in their way and Quaritch embodies this mission.

The RDA is referred to as “the company” in
Avatar
, just like the Weyland-Yutani Corporation in
Aliens
.

The RDA shares similarities with Aliens’ Weyland-Yutani Corporation, another company that invades a planet (LV-426) and sets up a military base to gain a rare object (the xenomorph). Both companies have similar personalities, as Quaritch and Carter Burke have a deadly dedication to the company, as well as similar base designs which have a dreary steel environment that the protagonists must navigate. The likeness of both companies has led to fan theories that Aliens and Avatar might be set in the same universe, especially as their stories are only a few decades apart.

11 The RDA Has Its Own United States Colonial Marine Corps

Cameron References The USCM In Avatar

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Despite being a resource development company, the RDA employs a military-like organization called Security Operations, or Sec Ops, in order to protect their scientists from the seemingly hostile planet’s environment and Pandora’s animals in Avatar’s movies. The military division of Avatar’s RDA base often look down on the scientists and treats everything on Pandora as a threat. This can be seen when Jake Sully becomes lost in the forest and tries to kill the thanators that surround him.

Both militaries use their brute strength against their enemies, operating advanced technology, and utilizing fire in order to defend their scientific co-workers from aliens.

The military in Avatar mirrors that of Aliens’ USCM (United States Colonial Marine Corps), who are specifically stationed to help protect the Weyland-Yutani Corporation’s scientific efforts to collect a xenomorph. Both militaries use their brute strength against their enemies, operating advanced technology, and utilizing fire in order to defend their scientific co-workers from aliens. Also, despite not being associated specifically with America, the majority of the Sec Ops in Avatar are also American.

10 Aliens And Avatar Reference The Vietnam War

Quaritch Has Some Iconic Lines

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When Aliens was in production, James Cameron claimed that Aliens worked as an allegory for the Vietnam War, pitting the technologically advanced soldiers against an unseen enemy. A lot of the military design and dialogue takes influence from the Vietnam War, with Private Hudson referring to their mission as a “bug hunt.” Aliens’ Vietnam War influences were famous in the franchise, especially as the war would have affected Cameron, with him being 17 at the time of the draft, so it is no surprise that Cameron references this in Avatar too.

Michael Biehn, who played Hicks in
Aliens
, was considered for the role of Quaritch in
Avatar
before Stephen Lang.

Avatar’s references to the use of Vietnam in Aliens can especially be seen through Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang). Quaritch uses phrases such as “and that’s how you scatter the roaches” and “burn the hooches,” which are reminiscent of lingo used in the war. Furthermore, the use of fire and flamethrowers against the jungle-like setting of Pandora in Avatar also paints an allegory for the Vietnam War, just like Aliens did.

9 Children Are Used As Hostages In Aliens And Avatar

Family Is Threatened In Both Films

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Director James Cameron Release Date July 18, 1986 Studio(s) 20th Century Runtime 137 minutes Franchise(s) Alien Sequel(s) Alien Resurrection , Alien 3 prequel(s) Prometheus , Alien: Covenant , Aliens Budget $18.5 million Main Genre Sci-Fi Expand

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The main difference between Avatar and Avatar: The Way Of The Water was the shift in theme, as family became more important to the plot. Jake Sully now has a Na’vi family of his own in Avatar’s 2023 movie, which unfortunately means another weakness for the villain, an Avatar clone of Quaritch, to exploit. This is what happens in the final act of the movie, when Quaritch takes the Sully children hostage so that Jake will meet his demands. In a reversal of this, Neytiri also takes Quaritch’s son Spider hostage to threaten him into returning her own children.

Children are also used as hostages at the end of Aliens, in which Ripley threatens to destroy the xenomorph queen’s eggs unless she is able to escape with her surrogate daughter, Newt. While Aliens had the protagonist at an advantage in this situation, Cameron flipped it on its head in Avatar and referenced the iconic moment through Quaritch.

8 Newt And Lo’ak Secretly Learned Their Enemy’s Ways

Cameron’s Child Characters Mirror Each Other

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When the xenomorphs take over the colony in Aliens, a young girl called Newt manages to survive the xenomorph attack by hiding away in a vent while the xenomorphs roam the base. As the sole survivor of the xenomorph attack, this is no small feat, and Ripley decides to adopt Newt and help the young girl escape at the end of the film. James Cameron references this in Avatar: The Way Of The Water with Lo’ak and Payakan.

As an outcast, Payakan is seen as a dangerous whale-like tulkun who must be left alone in Avatar: The Way Of The Water. However, Lo’ak defies the order to stay away and spends time with the lonely Payakan, eventually learning the truth behind his outcast status. While Newt is hiding from her dangerous enemy and does not form the same connection that Lo’ak does, she is still (unwillingly) living among them and learning their ways, offering another trend in James Cameron’s works.

7 Avatar’s Exosuit Is Taken Directly From Aliens

The Power Loader Served As A Weapon

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Although Aliens is not the first to use an exosuit, its Power Loader was iconic for a number of reasons. The exoskeleton suit was originally designed to help ordinary people to lift heavy cargo via hydraulic arms so that they can be moved precisely around the ship. However, Ripley cleverly uses the suit in Aliens’ final battle against the xenomorph queen, in order to match the creature’s size and offer herself some protection against the xenomorph’s attacks in one of Aliens’ best scenes.

As another movie in the sci-fi genre, it comes as no surprise that Avatar also uses exosuits in its movies, although they are renamed as Amplified Mobility Platforms, as they are very useful for traversing Pandora’s huge flora as well as providing the user with breathable air. James Cameron takes this one step further, however, making a direct reference to Aliens in a reversal of roles, as the villainous Quaritch uses the exosuit to battle Jake Sully in his large avatar form in order to even the odds in their final battle.

6 Neytiri Mirrors Ripley As A Mother Warrior

Cameron Likes Strong Female Leads

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Neytiri was introduced as an extremely capable warrior of the Omatikaya clan in Avatar, and this did not change in the sequel, even after she had children. As a mother, Neytiri is very protective of her children, including her adopted daughter, Kiri, as seen when she and Jake rush to save them from Quaritch at the beginning of Avatar: The Way Of Water. Unfortunately, the emotional final act of the film sees the Sully’s oldest child, Neteyam, killed by a bullet wound after heroically saving his siblings from a burning boat.

When Ripley wakes up 57 years after the events of Alien, she discovers that her daughter, Amanda, has died of old age. Following this, when she meets Newt on LV-426, she takes on a motherly role, ensuring she is safe and well looked after throughout the film. Therefore, Ripley’s character is referenced through Neytiri, as they are both strong female warriors who have children they have lost, and they both have adopted daughters.

5 Tuk’s Fall Down A Tunnel Directly Copies A Scene From Aliens

Tuk Has Multiple Parallels To Newt

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Release Date December 16, 2022 Studio(s) 20th Century Distributor(s) 20th Century Runtime 190 Minutes

One of the most obvious references in Avatar’s sequel is a scene which directly copies a scene from Aliens. As Quaritch’s ship begins to sink in the final battle of Avatar: The Way Of The Water, the Sully family is trying to escape, when Tuk suddenly falls down a tunnel-like section of the ship as Neytiri desperately reaches out to save her. After failing to reach her youngest daughter, Neytiri dives in after Tuk and the two are reunited inside the ship, although they remain lost until Kiri eventually rescues them.

Avatar’s scene is almost a direct copy of the scene from Aliens in which Newt falls down a shaft after leading Ripley through the utility tunnels. Newt eventually ends up in a waterlogged tunnel which she cannot escape from, despite Ripley desperately trying to reach through the bars, and the xenomorphs take her. The angle of the fall and the scene’s composition is pretty similar to Tuk’s fall in Avatar: The Way Of The Water, and the fact that Tuk also ends up in a water-filled environment only adds to this Aliens reference.

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4 Avatar Uses The Same CN-20 Gas From Aliens

The Gas Cannisters Look Familiar

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In the first Avatar, in order to drive the Na’vi out of their Home Tree to mine the area for unobtanium, Quaritch first orders the Sec Ops to launch a gas attack on the natives. The gas cannisters can be seen on the ships being launched out at the Na’vi’s home and appears to be an irritant more than a deadly weapon as the Na’vi are not seriously injured by it. However, this gas has been mentioned before in Aliens.

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CN-20 is mentioned by Private Vasquez in Aliens when the group is brainstorming of ways to attack the xenomorphs. Vasquez specifically mentions that CN-20 is a nerve gas, which is a gas that attacks the nervous system, causing the muscles to contract, and eventually leading to death. Although Aliens only mentions the gas, there is an official card game which features a picture of the gas canister, and it looks eerily similar to Avatar’s.

3 Aliens’ Motion Trackers Provide Tension In Avatar

Eywa Comes To The Rescue

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Perhaps the biggest reference to Aliens is the use of motion trackers in Avatar. When the Sec Ops are stationed on the ground, waiting for the Na’vi to attack, they track the movement of the Pandoran animals that Eywa sends to help the Na’vi via a motion tracker. The motion tracker used in Avatar can be seen on Corporal Lyle Wainfleet’s screen inside his exosuit.

The specific design and usage of the motion tracker in
Avatar
allows for a tension-filled scene that reflects
Aliens
, but was not used in the sequel.

Motion trackers have been used since the first Alien movie in 1979, including in James Cameron’s Aliens. There is one particularly notable scene in which the xenomorphs find a way inside the room that Ripley and her group are holed up in, emerging from the floor and the ceiling. The specific design and usage of the motion tracker in Avatar allows for a tension-filled scene that reflects Aliens, but was not used in the sequel. Hopefully, it will make a reappearance in Avatar’s upcoming movies.

2 Avatar’s Stasis Pods Are Similar To Aliens’

Cameron References Cryosleep

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Both Aliens and Avatar use stasis pods in various ways in their respective movies. Aliens is famous for its use of cryosleep pods which enable the user to spend years, even decades, in a frozen state, in order to bypass the effects of space travel taking lightyears. Avatar also uses this technology in the first film for the same reason, as Jake explains: “In cryo, you don’t dream at all. It doesn’t feel like six years – more like a fifth of Tequila and an *ss kicking.”

However, James Cameron’s Avatar goes one step further by referencing the cryo pods’ design in his introduction of the avatar pods, which enable the users to transform their consciousness into the bodies of the biologically engineered avatars. The pods are cylindrical in shape to enable the user to fit ergonomically, just like the ones in Aliens, although they differ from Aliens’ as they don’t have a glass window, and Avatar’s pods look more scientific.

1 The Main Bases Get Destroyed At The End Of Avatar And Aliens

Home Tree And The Xenomorph Colony Are Blown Up

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Despite the main objective for both the RDA and the Weyland-Yutani Corporation being to retrieve their selected objects from the alien planet, both films end up destroying them. At the end of Aliens, Ripley destroys the xenomorph queen’s base and sets fire to all of her eggs to ensure that no new xenomorphs hatch. This goes against the company’s wishes to capture a xenomorph and protect its species so that they can do experiments on it.

Similarly, Quaritch launches an aerial assault on the Na’vi’s Home Tree, destroying their base and killing numerous Na’vi in the process. While Aliens presents Ripley’s assault on the xenomorph queen’s eggs as a necessary and heroic decision, Quaritch’s assault is portrayed as antagonistic as Avatar is told from the Na’vi’s perspective, making the audience sympathize with the natives. The RDA’s use of fire also references Aliens as fire is the one of the xenomorph’s weaknesses.

Upcoming Avatar Movies Planned

Title	Scheduled/Planned Release Date
Avatar 3	December 19, 2025.
Avatar 4	December 21, 2029.
Avatar 5	December 19, 2031

Avatar

Created by James Cameron First Film Avatar Latest Film Avatar: The Way of Water Upcoming Films Avatar: Fire and Ash , Avatar 4 , Avatar 5 Cast Sam Worthington , Zoe Saldana , Sigourney Weaver , Stephen Lang , Giovanni Ribisi , Kate Winslet , Cliff Curtis , CCH Pounder , Edie Falco , Jermaine Clement

Summary

The Avatar franchise, created by James Cameron, is a groundbreaking sci-fi saga set in the lush, alien world of Pandora. It explores the conflict between the indigenous Na’vi people and human colonizers from Earth, focusing on themes of environmentalism, imperialism, and the clash of civilizations. The franchise is renowned for its innovative use of 3D technology and visual effects, creating a visually stunning and immersive cinematic experience.

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