New Alien Movie Has Wrapped Filming

Fans of the Alien franchise were given the first look at the upcoming sequel from director Fede Álvarez on this year’s “Alien Day,” with the director himself taking to Instagram to share a post celebrating a wrap on the sequel’s production. Rather than showing off a behind-the-scenes look at the film, Álvarez instead offered up a photo of himself celebrating with a cigar on the steps of a production trailer, though fans will be sure to recognize he’s wearing Rebook sneakers that are reminiscent of the shoes that Ellen Ripley wore in Aliens. The new Alien currently has a release date of August 16, 2024.

“Time for a celebratory cigar, it’s a wrap!” Álvarez captioned the photo.

The upcoming film stars Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu. No specific details about the film’s plot have been revealed, yet it was previously teased as following “a group of young people on a distant world, who find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe.”

Based on that description, it’s difficult to see anything that sets itself apart from its predecessors, with it being possible that Álvarez aims to bring the series back to its basics. 

The original Alien saw a crew uncovering an otherworldly egg and, when it hatched, it attacked a member of the crew, planted an egg in his chest, and ultimately created the monstrous xenomorph, which stalked the crew throughout their ship. Aliens focused on a group of Marines being sent to a colony that had been overrun by xenomorphs, as they attempted to eradicate the infestation and wipe out the massive queen. Alien 3 took Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley to a prison colony, where inmates were being hunted by the xenomorphs.

Alien: Resurrection saw a cloned Ripley be brought to life, capitalizing on the underlying theme throughout the franchise that the power of the creatures could be monetized and weaponized. The series then delivered two crossovers with the Predator franchise, before original director Ridley Scott returned with two prequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Scott had initially toyed with delivering more installments leading up to the events of 1979’s Alien, but those plans have seemingly been abandoned.

While the new Alien marks the ninth live-action entry in the franchise, it’s possible it could go the route of Prey, which served as an entirely standalone story in the world of Predator that didn’t offer direct connections to anything that came before it.

The new Alien currently has a release date of August 16, 2024.

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