Alien: Fede Alvarez Reveals Ridley Scott’s Reaction to New Movie

Director Fede Álvarez has revealed one crucial reaction to his upcoming new Alien movie: that of franchise creator Ridley Scott. Álvarez was doing a panel with Guillermo del Toro during this year’s DGA Latino Summit, where he gave an official update on his “Alien: Romulus” film, revealing that he has a cut of the film that was finished enough to screen for Scott. 

The only issue? Ridley Scott’s notorious reputation as a harsh critic of those trying to continue his works: 

“I wanted him to see it before anybody,” Álvarez told del Toro. “And everyone gave me the head’s up that Ridley is really tough. He’s really tough, particularly if it has something to do with his movies. He was really tough on Blade Runner [2049], which I thought was a masterpiece, and he had issues with it because it’s really hard for him because it’s his work. I asked him about the new ‘Top Gun’ and he’s like ‘meh.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ And he was like, ‘My brother’s was original and this is like eh.’ He really respected it, but you could see how tough he was. So I was like, ‘There’s no way I win this one.’”

However, Álvarez was undaunted, saying that he was going to face the ‘Wrath of Ridley’ head-on: “I  was gonna go there and sit at a table and look at him and get it. Even if he was gonna say, ‘You destroyed my legacy,’ I wanted to be in front of him and see him in the eye. I didn’t want to get an email where it says ‘Ridley says…’

Ridley Scott’s Alien: Romulus Reaction Revealed 

Against all odds, Fede Álvarez impressed Ridley Scott with Alien: Romulus!

“He walks into the room and he did say, ‘Fede, what can I say? It’s fucking great,’” Álvarez revealed about Scott’s reaction to the film. “For me it was like…My family knows it was one of the best moments of my life to have a master like him, who I admired so much, to even watch a movie I made – but particularly something like this…and talk to me for an hour about what he liked about it. One of the best compliments he said was, ‘The dialogue is great. Are you the writer?’ Yes!” 

As stated, Ridley Scott is notoriously fickle about having his original films like Alien and Blade Runner continued as franchises. However, Fede Álvarez has been a unicorn exception, having already conquered Álvarez followed that success by creating his own horror cult-classic film, Don’t Breathe, which spawned its own franchise. After trying out a big franchise thriller (somewhat unsuccessfully) with the Lisbeth Salander murder-mystery The Girl in the Spider’s Web, Alien: Romulus is a welcome return to form that Álvarez fans have been waiting for.

…And based on Ridley Scott’s reaction, the wait will be well worth it. 

What is Alien Romulus About? 

In Alien: Romulus, “a group of young people on a distant world find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe.” 

The film stars Cailee Spaeny (Pacific Rim: Uprising, The Craft: Legacy) and features David Jonsson (Industry), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (Transformers 5, Dora and the Lost City of Gold), Spike Fearn (The Batman) and Aileen Wu.

Alien: Romulus has a release date of August 16, 2024. 

Via Variety