Netflix Has Found The Next Alien Franchise With Its Biggest Movie Of 2026

Published Jul 25, 2026, 6:30 PM EDT Faith Roswell is a Senior Writer on Screen Rant's Classic TV team. Since earning her degree in Creative Writing over a decade ago, Faith has written articles on film and TV from a variety of different angles. Faith now combines her knowledge of psychology with her love of monster movies to give more insight into what makes the best ones. You may have read her Screen Rant lists and features covering horror, sci-fi, and fantasy, or read her Amazon Top 10 book, "Movie Monsters of the Deep." Faith has had an extensive career as a writer, appearing on BBC live radio, researching true crime for Rotten Mango podcast, and writing for publications including Mental Floss, Atlas Obscura, and The Daily Jaws before beginning here at Screen Rant. Sci-fi can be one of the most expansive genres out there, introducing mind-bending plots, complex lore, and exploring philosophical topics through the lens of space travel. That said, some of the best sci-fi movie franchises of all time are deceptively simple, with a central mission or character that defines the story. The greatest sci-fi movie characters have not only been central to the success of their franchise, but remained compelling for decades to come, and this is not an easy task. The Fifth Element's Leeloo, Alien's Ellen Ripley, and The Matrix's Neo are visually distinctive as well as being fascinating characters, but this highlights a potential challenge for other great sci-fi heroes. Some of the most iconic sci-fi movies involve the main characters looking very similar, often in space suits or in military uniform, which can happen when the genre is combined with action. This makes it even more essential to have compelling main characters who are easily identified, and this requires an actor who can stand out. Many action stars are also sci-fi movie icons, and Alan Ritchson's latest movie looks set to take him on the same path, beginning a franchise that could be Netflix's answer to Alien if done well. War Machine follows 81, a Jack Reacher-like combat veteran whose goal to join the Rangers takes him on a grueling journey that becomes deadly when he and his team are hunted by a mysterious and seemingly-indestructible alien robot. War Machine has become one of Netflix's most popular movies, and this has led to an exciting new development. War Machine 2's Title Confirms It's Netflix's Answer To Alien War Machine has been confirmed for a sequel, which is hardly surprising as the sci-fi action thriller has become Netflix's 9th most watched movie of all time. While little is currently known about the sequel, officially named War Machines, the title alone instantly hints at a threat on a much larger scale, while reflecting the pattern of one of the greatest and most influential sci-fi franchises of all time. The Alien franchise features military characters who are outmatched by the titular alien, the Xenomorph, and it is difficult not to think of the sequel, Aliens, in War Machine's final battle. Working out the robot's main flaw, 81 drives a construction vehicle into it in a scene very similar to Ripley's Exosuit fight with the Xenomorph queen. In both movies, the formidable antagonist is beaten by a surprisingly simple strategy that is set up within the first few scenes and with War Machine becoming War Machines, just as Alien became Aliens, the title easily sets the movie up to start a sci-fi franchise that has the potential to last for decades. Like War Machine, the Alien franchise began with a simple plot that evolved over time with the introduction of more Xenomorphs, including the egg-laying queen. With the initial robot seemingly destroyed and 81's team on the way to fight more as they invade Earth, the sequel will have even higher stakes, just as Aliens did, with both Ripley and 81 protecting at least one civilian. That said, War Machines may have a greater challenge, risking repeating the first movie just with more robots. What War Machines' Title Reveals About The Franchise's Future Image courtesy of Everett Collection War Machine has a tried-and-tested plot, with an elite military squad being pitted against a terrifying enemy, but the movie kept a lot of details intentionally mysterious. The ending of War Machine confirms the asteroid mentioned early on to actually be part of an invasion, with alien machines arriving to wage war with humankind. However, their origin, commanders, biology, and reason for invading have not been explored yet, and while 81 discovered their biggest weakness, it is likely that if they are under intelligent command, they will soon become harder to take down. Patrick Hughes has a cameo in the movie, playing Master Sergeant Hughes in the final scene. War Machine already offered some hints regarding the machines' origins and behavior, with one of them shown to be communicating with something unseen and potentially still in space. The fact that there are more of them is not only clear from the sequel's title but from the final scenes, which spell out exactly what the military is facing, in the form of the multiple-robot invasion. In terms of the impending threat, the movie wisely left plenty to be discovered, including the exact nature of the dual scanners it uses to locate and destroy people. It is not yet clear whether the robots are being piloted from the inside, controlled from above, or are a mix of biology and weaponry, being fully-formed creatures with the appearance of machines. This makes it highly likely that one will be more closely examined in the next movie. While a laboratory scene similar to the terrifying chestburster scene in Alien is virtually impossible due to the scale of the robots, a Pacific Rim kaiju style evaluation might be on the cards. War Machine's writer and director Patrick Hughes has the plot for War Machines fully mapped out, telling ScreenRant that while he initially wrote the first movie as a standalone story, "if I ever got the opportunity to take it further, I know exactly where it's going, and I've sketched it out.” With Ritchson backing him up, saying that "tons" of material had been written for more than one sequel movie, this is instantly exciting news for the franchise, which needs to begin introducing original ideas into the story for the next movie. War Machine Could Grow To Rival Several Iconic Sci-Fi Franchises Despite its streaming success, the movie does not have the high Rotten Tomatoes scores that might be expected, earning 66% and 64% positive ratings from critics and audiences respectively. It is by no means perfect, and War Machine's plot has been reviewed as "almost great," starting stronger than it ended, and with other reviewers pointing out that the movie is extremely derivative, with elements of Alien, Pacific Rim, The Terminator, and Predator. However, some of the best franchises have also compiled the best elements from other stories, and War Machine has the potential to expand into something more original. War Machine forms the perfect beginning to a franchise, but the sequel must now introduce unexpected elements that set it apart from other sci-fi and action franchises, whether iconic or mediocre. The combination of a muscular hero, a highly intelligent female scientist, and a lost child or comic relief character has been done enough, and War Machines needs to avoid this trope and start taking some risks. If the War Machine franchise succeeds in forging its own path, then in time it could rival the sci-fi greats. War Machine 6/10 Release Date March 6, 2026 Runtime 107 minutes