Fede Álvarez, the acclaimed director, is set to redefine the Alien franchise with his upcoming film, Alien: Romulus, slated for release at the end of this summer.
The highly anticipated project aims to merge the distinct tones of the franchise’s earlier films, combining Ridley Scott’s horror elements with James Cameron’s action-packed sequences. The film stars an ensemble cast including Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla, Civil War), Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Madame Web), David Jonsson (Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone, Upgraded), Spike Fearn (Back to Black), and Aileen Wu, with Ridley Scott producing.
The buzz around Alien: Romulus skyrocketed following the release of its first teaser trailer earlier this spring, showcasing a blend of the atmospheric tension reminiscent of Scott’s original Alien and the high-stakes action seen in Cameron’s Aliens. This hybrid approach is intentional, Álvarez revealed in a conversation with Empire magazine. “To ask an Alien fan to choose between them is a perverse question,” Álvarez explained. “So I thought, ‘How do I do both?’”
Álvarez’s innovative vision for Alien: Romulus involves setting the film between the events of the first two movies, allowing for a seamless integration of both horror and action elements. The setting itself, the galactic Renaissance Station, is split into two sections reflecting this duality: the eerie, Alien-esque Remus, and the advanced, Aliens-like Romulus. There’s a moment where the characters are walking around areas familiar from the Nostromo,” Álvarez describes. Then they cross through that building and on the other side: boom! You’re in a hallway that looks like Hadley’s Hope [from Aliens].”
The Alien: Romulus narrative focuses on the character Rain, portrayed by Cailee Spaeny, who wields an Aliens-style Pulse Rifle, and her android foster brother Andy, played by David Jonsson. Álvarez delves into their relationship: “When her father was dying, he left Andy to be a kind of caretaker,” he said. “But Andy is a bit damaged and he’s an older model. So more than a surrogate father, he becomes a younger brother to her. And that was always the heart of the story: this relationship between the two… and how that relationship unfolds once shit hits the fan.”
Alien: Romulus is directed by Álvarez, who also wrote the screenplay with Rodo Sayagues, based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. Produced by Ridley Scott along with Michael Pruss and Walter Hill, the film also sees Álvarez serving as an executive producer alongside Elizabeth Cantillon, Brent O’Connor, and Tom Moran.
Alien: Romulus launches in cinemas on 16 August.
Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, games, and comics — you name it. When she’s not reading or geeking out about the latest shows on Netflix, she’s probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of meeting her idols.
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