‘Alien: Romulus’ – Franchise Returns to Its Roots in Terrifying First Trailer
Alien: Romulus takes the franchise back to its horror roots and goes further. The first trailer is filled with monsters, gore, and terror.
The Alien movies–up until Prometheus–have pitted blue-collar workers, military grunts, prisoners, and pirates against Xenomorphs. All with The Company (Weyland-Yutani) operating in the background with their profits prioritized above any casualties and their desire to make a buck off the monster above all.
So far, we’ve had alien vs. space truckers, aliens vs. soldiers, aliens vs. convicts, aliens vs. mercs, Jesus-esque alien vs. scientists and rich corporation owners, and aliens (and a warped android) vs. couples. The action typically takes place on a ship or a faraway planet–someplace where humans are trapped with one or more deadly Xenomorphs. The franchise definitely has its tropes.
Alien: Romulus First Trailer
Alien: Romulus promises to take the formula and twist it into something new. It’s a stand-alone story about a group of young civilians trying to make a living scavenging a wrecked ship. What makes it different from the other sequels is director Fede Alverez. He’s bringing his style of brutal, bloody horror movies to the franchise.
This short teaser will get your heart pounding.
Those are some energetic facehuggers. This definitely looks like a Fede Alvarez movie, which could be a good or bad thing, depending on your taste. I think bringing the franchise back to its horror roots is a good thing overall; it has strayed too far over the decades. I will note that after Ridley Scott saw the final cut, and according to Alvarez, he called it “fucking great.”
Cast & Details
Cailee Spaeny (The Craft: Legacy, Pacific Rim Uprising) is the next lead trying not to become xenomorph food. She is described as Ripley-esque, a no-nonsense survivor. The movie also stars David Jonsson (Industry), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), and newcomer Aileen Wu.
Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (Don’t Breathe 2). Franchise creator Ridley Scott is a producer.
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.
Alien: Romulus bursts into theaters on August 16.
