‘Alien: Romulus’ Sequel Reportedly Shelved

Last we heard, 20th Century was still in search of a director for the next ‘Alien,’ but the process has been, shall we say, difficult. When you have Ridley Scott as a producer and creative consultant, one cannot always expect smooth sailing.

Last year, Fede Álvarez, who helmed “Alien: Romulus,” was in pre-production on the sequel when he suddenly exited the project. Did Álvarez step aside voluntarily, or was there friction behind the scenes with 20th Century—or even Ridley Scott? Some are pointing to the latter. Michael Sarnoski (“Pig”) was ensuingly in talks, but that fell through due to his attachment to “Death Stranding.” The studio then approached another ‘Evil Dead’ director, Sebastien Vanicek (“Evil Dead Burn”), but talks eventually fell apart.

I’ve been sitting on this story for a while now, mostly because it came from a single source, albeit one of my most reliable ones. But with David Jonsson having been cast as the next Black Panther, Cailee Spaeny potentially circling Rogue in X-Men, and Brian Duffield writing a separate Alien movie for 20th Century, the writing seems to be on the wall…

I’m told that the ‘Romulus’ sequel has been indefinitely shelved and might not ever happen. There are just too many obstacles to overcome, and Scott’s hands-on involvement has become too much. Álvarez wanted to bring back Michael Fassbender’s David for his sequel, with the actor practically signed on and a final draft of the script written, but then Scott refused to have David, a character he created, involved in another director’s film.

That sent the entire project into a tailspin, and with Álvarez, the creative brain behind ‘Romulus,’ exiting and moving on to other projects, there is currently no path forward for the sequel.

Duffield is now in charge of an entirely different ’Alien’ movie, one that will somewhat distance itself from ‘Romulus.’ Duffield has a strong connection with the studio: he wrote and directed the upcoming “Whalefall,” which I hear 20th Century is very high on, and “No One Will Save You.” He also co-wrote the screenplay for “Underwater” and received a credit on “Predator: Badlands.”

“Alien: Romulus,” a back-to-basics revival that practically replicated the structure of Scott’s 1979 original, was a surprise hit, grossing $350M worldwide on a relatively modest $80M budget. Spaeny’s performance as Rain, a modern-day Ripley of sorts, was the standout element.

Spaeny was expected to return for the sequel alongside Jonsson, but with Álvarez gone, Fassbender’s David seemingly off the table, and a new Alien project now in development, the future of the ‘Romulus’ sequel looks increasingly uncertain.