Fede Álvarez’s “Alien: Romulus” has a full-length trailer … It looks generic. A slasher in space. Nothing new to see here. Of course, the hope is that Álvarez takes this recycled formula and injects some much-needed thrills into the equation.
‘Romulus’ takes place between “Alien” and “Aliens,” a time when Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) was adrift in cryosleep. This is the seventh film of the franchise, and it stars a young batch of actors — Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, and Spike Fearn.
As suspected, Spaeny will be taking over Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley as the “badass” heroine of the film. She’ll be picking up a blaster and popping xenomorphs left and right.
On paper, Alvarez’s film doesn’t sound as ambitious as, say, “Prometheus.” Based on what we know so far, it’ll basically be Gen-Z vs the Xenomorph. Here’s the synopsis, via Perfect Organism Podcast:
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.
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.
Early test reactions implied that the Facehuggers in “Alien: Romulus” have spiked barbs on their fingers — making the act of face-hugging way more graphic and gruesome.
“Alien: Romulus” arrives in theaters on August 16, 2024. This is a co-production between 20th Century Studios and Scott Free Productions.