Empire Summer 2026

With just a single letter, James Cameron upped the stakes. So the legend goes: he pitched his sequel to Ridley Scott’s game-changing sci-fi horror Alien by adding an ’s’ to the end before turning that ’s’ into a dollar sign. True or not, with Aliens he went on to create one of the greatest sequels of all time, building on its predecessor with epic action, taut thrills, and a big heart, too. It’s the film that gave us Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley in all-out action hero mode; the adorable Newt; the terrifying alien queen; that Powerloader showdown; and one of the most memorable groups of ragtag grunts in ‘80s cinema. Now, Empire is celebrating Aliens’ 40th anniversary with a must-have new issue. This time, it’s war.

This month’s magazine is a major Aliens blowout bringing James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, and Jenette Goldstein back together for a huge reunion interview in which they look back at their time making one of the greatest sequels of all time, reflecting on  cast dynamics, their favourite scenes, and why it still holds up four decades later. Plus, we speak to Aliens special-effects supervisor John Richardson about the creation of the pulse rifle, the Powerloader, the alien queen and more; and get the inside story on London’s immersive Alien War tie-in game.

And that’s not all. Also inside this issue, we talk 30 years of Toy Story with Tom Hanks and Tim Allen; sit down with the boys (and girls) of The Boys as the superhero satire comes to a bloody end; take a look ahead to Tom Cruise’s return to character drama, Digger; and speculate on the biggest cinematic showdown of 2026: ‘Dunesday’.

It’s an issue sure to make Aliens fans’ chests burst with excitement.