Was “Alien: Romulus” a hit by Hollywood standards? Given that it cost $80 million to make and has grossed $350 million worldwide, that’s a resounding yes. In the end, without too many spoilers, Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson’s characters survived and looked towards a new future, no longer essentially workplace slaves. And so, you guessed it, 20th Century Studios is already cooking up the idea of a sequel.
In an interview with 20th Century Studios chief Steve Asbell, the exec said, among many other plans, that the studio is working on a studio that aims to continue the story of Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson’s characters with writer/director Fede Álvarez returning, though in what full capacity is unknown.
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“We’re working on a sequel idea now,” Asbell told THR. “We haven’t quite closed our deal with Fede [Alvarez], but we are going to, and he has an idea that we’re working on.”
Clearly, Álvarez is likely to at least come up with the story, be an executive on the project, and, if fans are lucky, return as writer/director as well.
“The two survivors, Rain and Andy, played by Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, were real highlights of the film,” he continued. “And so I always think of it like, “Wow, where do people want to see them go next?” We know there’s going to be aliens. We know there’s going to be great horror set pieces. But I fell in love with both of them, and I want to see what their story is.”
Asbell also revealed that two “Predator” movies were coming out next year, and plans were in the works to see if a “Speed 3” movie with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock could be made, which might be nice given how bad “Speed 2” was.
Speaking of cost, Ridley Scott’s “Alien: Covenant” cost nearly $100 million to make, yet it grossed only $240 million worldwide last year, so that’s basically why his series was canceled and 20th Century pivoted to ‘Romulus.’ The lack of massive stars also helped Álvarez’s film, so most of the budget could be seen on screen and in the VFX.
However, expect Spaeny and Jonsson to get more significant paydays for the sequel. Noah Hawley’s “Alien Earth” FX series takes the same approach; there are almost no stars other than Timothy Olyphant in the ensemble cast. That series is expected in 2025, and a ‘Romulus’ sequel at this point probably won’t be ready until 2027, though we shall see how development progresses.
