Can the “Alien” series redeem itself? Well, it’s sure as hell going to try. Despite a canceled third installment of director Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” series—both fascinating in their shift to add A.I. and God complex-creator syndrome ideas, but flawed—20th Century Studios hasn’t given up on the “Alien” franchise. Despite “Alien Covenant” (2017) underwhelming at the box office, the studio has seemingly tried a new rethink approach in “Alien Romulus,” which appears to be lean and mean and back to basics.
It also appears engineered, much like the upcoming FX “Alien” series from Noah Hawley, to make the series more cost-effective. This means few stars and putting the bulk of the budget into the scale, mood, and VFX (and Ridley’s not totally gone and remains a producer on the film).
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Directed by suspense horror master Fede Alvarez (“Evil Dead,” “Don’t Breathe”), “Alien: Romulus” does feature one up-and-coming star. That’s Cailee Spaeny (“Civil War”), who won the Best Actress prize in Venice in 2023 for her lead role in Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla.”
The rest of the cast includes David Jonsson (HBO’s “Industry,” “Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy”), Archie Renaux (“Shadow and Bone”), Isabela Merced (“Madame Web,” “The Last of Us”), Spike Fearn (“Aftersun”) and newcomer Aileen Wu.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“Alien: Romulus” takes the phenomenally successful “Alien” franchise back to its roots: 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. The film stars Cailee Spaeny (“Civil War”), David Jonsson (“Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy”), Archie Renaux (“Shadow and Bone”), Isabela Merced (“The Last of Us”), Spike Fearn (“Aftersun”), Aileen Wu. Fede Alvarez (“Evil Dead,” “Don’t Breathe”) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (“Don’t Breathe 2”) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. “Alien: Romulus” is produced by Ridley Scott (“Napoleon”), who directed the original “Alien” and produced and directed the series’ entries “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant,” Michael Pruss (“Boston Strangler”), and Walter Hill (“Alien”), with Fede Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (“Charlie’s Angels”), Brent O’Connor (“Bullet Train”), and Tom Moran (“Unstoppable”) serving as executive producers.
Tickets for “Alien: Romulus” go on sale today, and 20th Century Studios has revealed the first clip for the film, which you can see below. ‘Romulus’ hits theaters on August 16.