Alien: Romulus Director Promises New Film Won’t Disrupt Franchise Canon

When beloved franchises get new entries, they often find ways to offer new insight into the events of previously released installments, but director Fede Álvarez confirmed that his upcoming Alien: Romulus, which is set between Alien and Aliens, won’t have an overall impact on the mythology of either film. This will come as a relief to some fans, knowing that the adventure can be enjoyed entirely on its own merits, though some fans are sure to be disappointed that it won’t be recontextualizing what was seen in beloved installments of the franchise. Alien: Romulus is set to hit theaters on August 16th.

While speaking with Variety, Álvarez confirmed his new film takes place “20 years after the first one, and for me, I don’t see it as upsetting the canon. It’s something I take personal pleasure in doing, making sure that it all tracks and is all part of the big Alien franchise story — not only in the story, but also when it comes to how to make it. I talked with Ridley [Scott] as a producer, and had long chats with James Cameron about it at the script level. After the movie was done, I showed it to them.”

He continued, “Everybody’s really important, from the VFX supervisor of Aliens and the guys that make the miniatures, and we hired a lot of them to work on the movie. Otherwise, it’s hard to nail the style and the look and the vibe of a film like I wanted. That was the biggest pleasure of making this movie, to be able to do that whole process.”

The sci-fi/horror-thriller takes the phenomenally successful Alien franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe. 

The film stars Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), Aileen Wu. Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (Don’t Breathe 2) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. 

Alien: Romulus is produced by Ridley Scott (Napoleon), who directed the original Alien and produced and directed the series’ entries Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Michael Pruss (Boston Strangler), and Walter Hill (Alien), with Fede Álvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (Charlie’s Angels), Brent O’Connor (Bullet Train), and Tom Moran (Unstoppable) serving as executive producers.  

Alien: Romulus is set to hit theaters on August 16th.

Are you looking forward to the movie? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!