Details are starting to leak out about Fede Alvarez’s “Alien: Romulus.” It test screened a few days ago in California. Word is also that we’ll be getting a trailer coming for it this month.
So, what is the “Romulus” in the title? Supposedly, it’s the name of the Weyland-Yutani research station in the movie. The station is said to have been abandoned, for hundreds of years, by the time the film takes place.
The station will be investigated by a crew of six scavengers, of which Rain (Cailee Spaeny) is the lead. Andy (David Jonsson) is Rain’s android brother. The other four scavengers are composed the tropes that we usually connect with the Alien franchise, except they are much younger than in previous films.
The early reactions also imply that the Facehuggers in “Alien: Romulus” have spiked barbs on their fingers — making the act of face-hugging way more graphic and gruesome. There is some very graphic violence in the film.
Here’s the synopsis, via Perfect Organism Podcast, and I don’t believe it’s been reported by any of the trades yet:
In ‘Alien: Romulus,’ a group of scavengers depart their home planet for an abandoned spaceship, aiming to steal equipment. Unleashing baby Xenos and the fearsome Xenomorph in a gory battle.
“Alien: Romulus” is said to feature a strong female lead and will essentially find the franchise's new Ripley in the form of Cailee Spaeny's Rain. Spaeny will play the “badass” female protagonist who isn't afraid to pick up a gun and blast the xenomorphs.
The film will also act like a bridge between Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron's Aliens — “combining elements of both, marrying the suspenseful horror and high octane action of the two respectively into one thrilling spectacle”.
If you remember, Spaeny had told Variety that ‘Romulus’ takes place between “Alien” and “Aliens,” a time when Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) was adrift in cryosleep:
It’s supposed to slot in between the first movie and the second movie. They brought the same team from ‘Aliens,’ the James Cameron film. The same people who built those xenomorphs actually came on and built ours. So getting to see the original design with the original people who have been working on these films for 45-plus years and has been so much of their life has been really incredible.
Last year, Alvarez revealed that he got Ridley Scott’s endorsement. Earlier in the summer, AVP Galaxy had reported that Alvarez sent an early director’s cut of “Alien: Romulus” for Scott to screen. Scott is a harsh critic, Alvarez knew it, and it turns out Scott loved the film (“it’s f*cking great”).
This is the seventh film of the never ending franchise, and it stars a young batch of actors — Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn …
The ‘Alien’ saga, which began in 1979 with Ridley Scott's film, and Sigourney Weaver in the lead, has had many sequels over the years. Álvarez, best known for the excellent “Don't Breathe” and also the “Evil Dead” remake, will try to follow in the footsteps of fellow filmmakers Ridley Scott, James Cameron, David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
“Alien: Romulus” arrives in theaters on August 16, 2024. This is a co-production between 20th Century Studios and Scott Free Productions.