Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez has delighted fans with a behind-the-scenes video in celebration of Alien Day. The nearly 20-second clip, shared via X/Twitter, showcases the film’s emphasis on practical effects, particularly through the use of a realistic facehugger prop. This video, along with the first teaser, has stoked anticipation for Alien: Romulus, which marks a return to form for the long-running franchise.
The video features Álvarez toying with the facehugger prop as it scuttles across the set, eerily resembling a nightmarish horseshoe crab. The facehugger is widely regarded as one of the most terrifying stages in the Xenomorph life cycle, with its creepy, spider-like appearance that has been haunting viewers since its debut in 1979. Álvarez seems to embrace this fear, presenting the prop like a pet performing tricks, much to the amusement of the crew.
“Playing with my favorite toy on set of #AlienRomulus last summer,” Álvarez captioned the video, acknowledging the craftsmanship of Wētā Workshop, the New Zealand-based special effects company responsible for creating the facehugger. This attention to practical effects is in line with star Cailee Spaeny’s previous comments, where she revealed that the team from James Cameron’s 1986 classic Aliens has returned to work on the film’s creatures.
The teaser reinforces Álvarez’s vision for Alien: Romulus, highlighting the director’s dedication to retaining the practical effects that made the earlier films so iconic. In an interview with IGN, Álvarez emphasised the terror of encountering a facehugger, suggesting that its victims might prefer a quick death to the ordeal of carrying a Xenomorph inside them.
Alien: Romulus follows a group of young space colonists stranded on a remote station, battling the Xenomorph menace. The cast includes Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu.
Since 2016, 26 April has been celebrated as Alien Day, a nod to the planetoid LV-426 from the first film. This year’s celebration also includes the release of a documentary, Aliens Expanded, which chronicles the making of 1986’s Aliens, offering new insights and behind-the-scenes footage.
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 Honkai: Star Rail, cosplaying, or daydreaming of meeting her idols.
Yonk
Trinity Sun
