For the first time in seven years, we’re getting a new Alien movie this year. Xenomorphs will return to the big screen in August to terrorize a group of young folks in Alien: Romulus. Fede Alvarez, known for his work on 2013’s Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe, is at the helm for what will be the seventh entry in the long-running franchise. While this is a brand new story, it is one that takes inspiration from director James Cameron’s much-beloved 1986 sequel Aliens.
In a new preview from the folks at Entertainment Weekly, Alvarez and one of the movie’s stars Cailee Spaeny discussed the new film. The outlet also released a couple of new images, which we’ve included for you to check out below. The piece explains that Alvarez decided to center Romulus on a group of younger protagonists because of a scene that was cut from Aliens. The scene in question shows kids running around the space station before it was overrun by Xenomorphs. Alvarez had this to say about it:
“My first instinct, just to try something different that hasn’t been seen before, was to approach it from the angle of characters who are not professionals or scientists; they’re not even adults. I liked this concept of putting people in the front seat of the story who are closer to what the audience is — not that the audience is young, more that the audience is completely virgin to the realities of space. When the characters are professionals, they know more than you do. But when they’re still in their early 20s, they don’t know how to operate the f—ing airlock.”
New look at ‘ALIEN: ROMULUS’
(Source: @EW) pic.twitter.com/hpVSzljeLt
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 3, 2024
“All their parents probably worked on the same ship when they were kids, and that’s how they got to know each other,” Alvarez added. “There’s a lot of history between them because they’re the only family they have. They truly act more like surrogate siblings; some of them even lived under the same roof. A lot of the big themes of the movie are about siblinghood and what does that mean? The Romulus of it all, and the bigger plot with Weyland-Yutani, is actually connected to that as well.”
Romulus is set between the events of Alien and Aliens, but also is designed to stand on its own for new viewers. Speaking about her experience on set, Spaeney explained that Alvarez would try to keep the actors on their toes, at one point forcing the actress to go face-to-face with a practical Xenomorph for an extended period of time.
“I remember we did one specific take of a scene where I’m with the Xenomorph and [Alvarez] kept it rolling for about…oh God, it felt like half an hour, but it was probably only 10 minutes. It was just pure terror for 10 minutes straight, with the Xenomorph right there. Fede was great at throwing in little surprises like that and catching us actors off-guard.”
Aside from the new movie, Noah Hawley (Fargo) is currently working on the long-gestating Alien TV show, which is expected to debut on FX in 2025. Beyond that, Disney is continuing to invest in the franchise in other mediums, with a new VR game titled Alien: Rogue Incursion recently announced as well. There is much to look forward to.
Alien: Romulus hits theaters on August 16.
A new look at Archie Renaux as Tyler and Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine in Fede Álvarez's 'ALIEN: ROMULUS'.
(@EW) pic.twitter.com/rY3ei15so8
— The Streamr (@The_Streamr) May 3, 2024
