The next iteration in the Alien franchise has set its cast and filming schedule. The yet-untitled project, to be directed by Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe helmer Fede Álvarez, will begin filming on March 9 in Budapest, reported Variety. The synopsis was also revealed but it is so general that it might have been of any Alien movie. It says that the film will follow “a group of young people in a distant world, who find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe.” The cast is as follows: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu.
What Does Alien‘s Working Title Mean For the Series?
Even though there’s a huge chance that the Álvarez movie is not directly connected to the last two entries of the franchise, it’s fun to notice that the working title also refers to European mythology: While Prometheus referred to a Greek titan that created humans, in Roman mythology Romulus is credited as one of the founders of Rome. Of course, this could just be a fun title to work under, but if it turns out to be the official title, we’ll have a lot to speculate about the choice. At the same time, we can tell that Álvarez’s selection to write and direct the project is not random. The filmmaker earned his popularity in the horror movie scene, and the Alien franchise flirted a lot more with its horror origins in the 2017 entry Alien: Covenant. So that definitely leaves the Prometheus connection behind. Right?
The Plot of Alien Romulus
Alien is one of the most celebrated horror/sci-fi franchises in the movie industry. The story centers around a giant and violent alien who uses humans as vessels to lay their eggs. The first installment is considered a cinematic masterpiece, and it spawned five sequels, as well as two crossover movies with the Predator franchise. Coincidentally, Predator also got a standalone movie recently: Prey chronicles an alien invasion 300 years in the past, and is considered one of the best movies from 2022.
20th Century Studios is yet to release more information about Alien: Romulus, including a confirmation of the title.
What are all the previous Alien movies?
The first movie, Alien (1979), directed by Ridley Scott, is set on a spaceship called the Nostromo where the crew discovers an alien organism that starts to hunt them down one by one. Sigourney Weaver starred as Ellen Ripley, and the movie was a critical and commercial success.
The sequel, Aliens (1986), directed by James Cameron, takes place several decades after the events of the first movie. Ripley returns to confront the Xenomorphs once again, this time with a team of colonial marines. The movie is known for its action sequences and special effects and is widely considered one of the best sequels ever made.
The third movie, Alien 3 (1992), directed by David Fincher, takes place on a prison planet where Ripley crash-lands after the events of the second movie. She discovers that a Xenomorph has stowed away on her escape pod, and the creature starts to wreak havoc on the prisoners.
The fourth movie, Alien Resurrection (1997), directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, takes place 200 years after the events of the previous movie. Scientists have cloned Ripley and extracted a Xenomorph queen from her body, leading to the creation of a new breed of alien creatures.
The franchise also includes two crossover movies: Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), which feature the Xenomorphs battling the Predators from another movie franchise.
There were also prequel movies, including Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017).
Release Date of Alien Romulus
There is no release date for the movie, which carries the working title Alien: Romulus, yet.
