Alien: Romulus is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated movies of the summer. Directed by Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe), This is the first entry in the beloved sci-fi/horror franchise in seven years. It looks to bring things back to basics with a contained adventure that takes place between the events of Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s Aliens. It also seems that the film in question is something of a combination of those two films, which is good news for longtime fans of the series.
Speaking with Total Film, Alvarez described Romulus as “an amalgamation of Alien and Aliens on many levels.” For what it’s worth, Scott is a producer on the upcoming film and has described it as “fucking great.” As for Cameron, he helped consult on the script during an “extensive” phone call with Alvarez and the film’s co-writer Rodo Sayagues. They discussed quite a bit, even down to the size of the engines on the ship. Cameron thanked them for the call, but it was Alvarez who was truly appreciative.
“At the end of the phone call, he thanked us for letting him brainstorm with us, which I found hilarious. I was like, ‘You don’t have to thank us; it’s the best day ever for us!'”
Total Film also shared the above image of Cailee Spaeny (Civil War), who is playing the lead in the film. Alvarez additionally explained to the outlet that he embraced practical filmmaking techniques (as opposed to relying too heavily on CGI) to mirror what Scott and Cameron brought to the table back in the day. This includes the use of animatronic creature effects for the Xenomorphs. Speaking further, Alvarez said that the pace of the film starts out closer to Alien, but progresses towards Aliens along the way.
“The environments, and the pace of it as well – it’s more similar to Alien for quite a bit. And then gradually – you won’t even know – you feel like it’s more Aliens. It’s a natural progression, and it happens effortlessly.”
In Romulus, “While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.” Alvarez previously revealed that the film’s plot was inspired by a deleted scene from Aliens. The cast also includes David Jonsson (Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun) and Aileen Wu.
Alien: Romulus hits theaters on August 16.
