The seventh film in the Alien franchise – if you don’t count the two Alien vs. Predator crossover films - is creeping nearer, and the release of a new teaser trailer has got us all hot and bothered.
More accurately, worried about sphincter control.
The visceral looking Alien: Romulus looks like a back-to-basics / fight for survival approach for the Alien franchise, and the teaser will have you covering your mouths.
There’s that familiar siren noise in the background; an eerie tracking shot descending into bloodied pods; facehuggers horde-leaping; the sight of someone apparently pulling something horrific out of their throat; a gun-toting member of the crew getting ready to throw down with the phallic-faced intergalactic bastards...
It looks nasty, and we’re here for it.
Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming and eagerly anticipated film:
Who’s directing?
Fede Álvarez, the Uruguayan filmmaker behind 2013’s Evil Dead re-imagining and 2016’s Don’t Breathe.
If you’ve seen those, you’ll know that the man does not hold back when it comes to scares and gore galore. Just look back to the infamous basement scene in Don’t Breathe, and you’ll get a pretty clear idea for the director’s knack for making audiences squirm.
He’s an ideal fit for Romulus, provided he does it his way. His last film, 2018’s The Girl in the Spider’s Web (based on the Millennium book series) was a bit of a dud.
Ok, it was terrible.
Still, considering we’re back in horror territory with Romulus, it’s looking mighty promising.
Plus, any director who can succeed in Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead footsteps deserves to toy with our emotions (and cardiac rhythm) a little more.
What’s it about?
The story hasn’t been revealed yet. We only have a vague synopsis: "A group of young people on a distant world find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe."
Is it a sequel, a standalone, a continuation?
Let’s call it an “interquel”, as it takes place between the first and the second Alien films (1979's Alien and 1986's Aliens).
While Alien: Romulus is a standalone story, with a new cast and characters, the film is, however, connected to all of them.
“I love all of those movies,” Álvarez told The Hollywood Reporter. “I didn’t want to omit or ignore any of them when it comes to connections at a story level, character level, technology level and creature level. There’s always connections from Alien to Alien: Covenant.”
Who’s in it?
The film’s young cast is led by Cailee Spaeny, who is best known for portraying Priscilla Presley in Sofia Coppola’s 2023 award-winner Priscilla, Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold), David Jonsson (seen in Raine Allen Miller’s excellent debut film, Rye Lane) as well relative unknowns Archie Renaux, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu.
Specific details about the film's characters have been few and far between. Spaeny's character is named Rain Carradine, a tough-skinned action hero much in the same vein as Ripley (Sigourney Weaver’s iconic heroine from the first four films). As for Merced, she recently teased a disgusting scene from Romulus that had her co-stars turning away in horror.
We’re guessing it’s that throat extraction teaser scene... But maybe that’s because we’re already scarred.
Álvarez says that the idea to follow younger people in the Alien universe came from an Aliens deleted scene that Cameron eventually restored in his extended Special Edition cut.
“There’s a moment where you see a bunch of kids running [and riding a big wheel] around the corridors of this colony. And I thought, ‘Wow, what would it be like for those kids to grow up in a colony that still needs another 50 years to terraform?’” Álvarez told The Hollywood Reporter. “So I remember thinking, ‘If I ever tell a story in that world, I would definitely be interested in those kids when they reach their early twenties.’”
Are Ridley Scott or James Cameron involved?
Ridley Scott, the director of the original, was retained as producer. As for James Cameron, he was as unofficial consultant on Romulus. More on that in a bit.
What about the evil Weyland-Yutani Corporation?
No word yet on whether the franchise's other antagonist, the evil Weyland-Yutani corporation, will appear. But considering the company's obsession with using the Xenomorphs as bioweapons, they'll be hard to keep away.
No Sigourney?
Sigourney Weaver, the franchise’s pivotal point, has not been in an Alien film since Alien Resurrection in 1997. Considering her character, Ripley, is technically in cryosleep between the events of Alien and Aliens, there’s little chance we’ll get to meet her in Romulus.
Still, Weaver hasn't stated that she was done with the franchise – and maybe one of the characters has a link to hers...
What’s with that title?
We’ve had mythology references (Prometheus) and Biblical nods (Covenant), and now we’re heading to Roman history with Romulus.
Unless Kieran Culkin pops up, wandering the bloodied halls as Succession ’s Roman “Romulus” Roy... But somehow, we doubt it.
Romulus was the legendary founder and first king of Rome, and in Roman mythology, he and his brother Remus are twins whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus.
Make of that what you will. Maybe this is setting up another chapter with Remus taking centre stage? Or maybe we’ll meet the Xenomorph King, considering audiences had an encounter with the Queen in Aliens?
What’s at stake (artistically)?
The Alien franchise, no matter how entertaining, is not the most consistent.
Romulus comes after Ridley Scott’s ambitious but flawed duology of Prometheus and Covenant (which wasn’t all that bad, if you suppress giggles when Michael Fassbender utters the line “I’ll do the fingering” when referring to a flute). Still, ever since Ridley Scott and James Cameron’s mind-boggling one-two cinematic punches Alien and Aliens, it has to be said that the series hasn’t been doing all that great.
David Fincher’s Alien 3 was something of a disaster, considering studio interference and differing opinions with the now-legendary filmmaker; Alien Resurrection had its (underwater) moments but French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet wasn’t the best fit; and the Prometheus – Covenant double-tap frustrated viewers with their overly elaborate (read: needlessly complicated) mythology and heady themes regarding the origins of the Xenomorphs.
Could Romulus change that pattern of diminishing returns? It looks likely, as the teaser promises a claustrophobic return to the roots of the iconic sci-fi horror series, which will hopefully dispense with the origins of the beasties. Because they’re far more terrifying without a backstory.
Even Scott and Cameron have already proclaimed their love for Romulus. During a recent discussion with Guillermo del Toro at the DGA Latino Summit 2023, Álvarez revealed he “had to go through the incredibly tense process of obviously sending (his director’s cut) to Ridley.”
Scott’s reaction? “Fede, what can I say? It’s fucking great.”
As for Cameron: “He’s now seen the movie and loved it,” Álvarez said. “It’s also fascinating because (Cameron and Scott’s) notes and comments are completely different … They were all super smart comments, notes and thoughts on the film and the filmmaking, etc, but both of them have completely different approaches.”
What’s at stake (financially)?
If the film lives up to this teaser, the Alien franchise could be back in business.
The global box office for the franchise so far is $1,352,383,883.
Despite the reviews, Prometheus remains the top earner, with a total of $403,354,469 globally. The follow-up, Covenant, didn’t do as well, raking in $240,891,763 – explaining why Ridley Scott didn’t get a third chapter, which was reportedly in the pipeline and part of several other films the veteran director had in mind for the Alien universe.
So, Romulus needs a win to be considered a franchise restarter.
When is it out?
Alien: Romulus hits theatres on 16 August.
It was originally slated to be a Hulu release à la Dan Trachtenberg’s critically acclaimed Predator prequel, Prey (2022), but the studio shifted to theatrical at the start of principal photography. Which bodes well...
Anything else?
Well, the poster looks great.
Check it out:
Alien: Romulus is out on 16 August.
