None of the Alien sequels, prequels, and spin-offs have come close to matching Ridley Scott's 1979 classic. They also haven't touched James Cameron's sci-fi masterpiece, Aliens, released seven years later in 1986.
Filmmaker Fede Álvarez hopes to change that disappointing run of critical and commercial disappointments with Alien: Romulus, a movie which takes its cues from both Scott and Cameron's work. As you can see in the newly released images below, that aesthetic is one the director has leaned heavily into.
Talking to Total Film (via SFFGazette.com), Álvarez also confirmed he utilised similar practical effects to his predecessors, resulting in him getting advice from them both when it came to telling this story.
The latter reportedly consulted on the script during an "extensive" phone call with Álvarez and Alien: Romulus co-writer Rodo Sayagues. That included such minutiae as the size of the ship's engines!
"At the end of the phone call, he thanked us for letting him brainstorm with us, which I found hilarious," Álvarez remembers. "I was like, 'You don’t have to thank us; it’s the best day ever for us!'"
"The environments, and the pace of it as well - it’s more similar to Alien for quite a bit," he adds. "And then gradually - you won’t even know - you feel like it’s more Aliens. It’s a natural progression, and it happens effortlessly."
Last month, Álvarez explained how he's approaching Alien: Romulus in a way which will make it an entry point for franchise newcomers and a satisfying experience for longtime fans.
"The way we crafted it is if you haven’t seen any of them, I’m jealous because you’ll have an incredible experience," he said. "You’ll have all these worlds of Alien coming at you, and you’ve never experienced any of this. You don’t know how the creature is born, and you don’t know any of these things. That’s fantastic. You’ll have a blast."
"Now, if you’ve seen the others, then it’s a completely different experience in a way, because you’ll see and you’ll find those connections with the other movies," the director noted. "And if you’re a fan, you’ll be that person who annoys your friends in the theater, by telling them that you know what this is from and where that gun is from and what the characters are talking about."
In Alien: Romulus, while scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonisers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
The movie also stars David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), and Aileen Wu and is set to arrive in theaters on August 16.