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The first trailer for Fede Álvarez’s “Alien: Romulus,” released March 20, hints at a return to the same kind of thrills audiences experienced in 1979 with Ridley Scott’s “Alien.” and that James Cameron uttered in the 1986 sequel, “Aliens.” The clip, which begins with a parade of spaceships reminiscent of Nostromo and Sulaco, offers a first look at its young cast, which includes Cailee Spaeny (“Priscilla”) and Isabela Merced (“Madame Web”). The team navigates dimly lit hexagonal hallways, fleeing from scurrying face-huggers and letting out screams of fear that, despite the original film’s tagline (“In space, no one can hear you scream”), resonate too much. visceral.
“Alien: Romulus” marks the seventh film in the “Alien” franchise, and the ninth overall to involve acid-blooded xenomorphs, if you include the “Aliens vs. “Predator.” Writer-director Álvarez is about to further complicate his already complicated timeline with “Rómulo,” which premieres August 16. But the bigger question is: will it be better than some of the more mediocre chapters in this ongoing saga? Probably more than big?
According to Alvarez, he’s hedging his bets: Set between the events of Scott’s film and Cameron’s, “Romulus” will draw heavily on those chapters in terms of style, story and tone. Ahead of the trailer’s premiere, Alvarez, a veteran of legacy franchises like “Evil Dead” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” spoke with Variety about the ways his film “Alien” is both the same and different from those that came before it, and reflected on his goal of returning the film series to its terrifying roots.
This takes place in the 57-year span between “Alien” and “Aliens.” How careful did you have to be to not disrupt the broader mythology of the franchise?
(“Alien: Romulus”) takes place 20 years after the first, and for me, I don’t see it as an alteration of the canon. It’s something that I’m personally happy to do, making sure that everything follows and is part of the greater story of the “Alien” franchise, not only in the story, but also in terms of how to do it. I spoke to Ridley (Scott) as a producer and had long talks with James Cameron about it at a script level. Once the movie was finished, I showed it to him.
Everyone is very important, from the visual effects supervisor on “Aliens” to the guys who do the miniatures, and we hired a lot of them to work on the movie. Otherwise, it’s hard to achieve the style, look and vibe of a film the way I wanted. That was the greatest pleasure of making this film, being able to carry out that whole process.
How did you achieve your goals with this film and incorporate your foundational knowledge of the franchise?
Obviously “Alien” and “Aliens” are very different movies, but we found ways with this story to make sure he didn’t have to choose. There are incredible and intelligent things (achieved) in those films. You really want to push it and create this world, so as a director, you’re not sitting in your chair and just pointing out shit. I do visual effects shots myself. I’m playing puppet there with them. Every movie I think, “Okay, this is the one where I finally got to sit down and point shit out.” It does not happen. The movies get bigger and I’m still there on the floor getting my hands dirty. And that’s really what Ridley and Cameron told me: the only way to make this movie is to be involved at every level. They are films very handcrafted by their directors, which is why they are so unique. This isn’t a studio movie where you go in, do your thing, and there’s a machine running that knows how to do it.
As you said, each director of the series made their own “Alien” movie. What elements does this film have that the others may not have because of you?
Well, it’s definitely not just me. There are approximately six years between the films, so each film was released in a different film era, which is why they are so different. But for me, it was really going back to his roots. I wanted to travel not only in the style of the original films, but also in the genre of the original films. I really wanted to go back to the pure horror of the first film and take those suspense elements that “Aliens” and also “Alien 3” have. We did our best to keep it pure according to the cinematographic techniques of the first film. But if anyone is worried: “Is it going to be too retro?” Don’t worry, 2023 will enter through all the windows. There is no way to stop the modernity of cinema. And from that combination of the best of the classics and the best of today, then you have something new.
How difficult was it to find a balance between the small green monitors of “Alien” and the futuristic technology of the more recent films?
I know a lot of people felt it didn’t make sense. But I think we make the mistake when we look at the Nostromo and assume that this is what the entire universe looks like. If today I decide to make a movie on Earth and I go to the Mojave Desert and take an old pickup truck because some guy drives a Chevy, if you’re an alien, you’re going to say, “That’s what the world does.” It seems.” But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a man in a Tesla in town, which would be the ship “Prometheus.” The first movie is about truckers in a beat-up truck. “Prometheus” is the ship of the richest man in the world .
It’s no secret that the first two films are revered. I’m not asking you to badmouth any of the other films, but were there any mistakes, perceived or real, in the execution of these stories that you were careful to avoid while writing and directing this film?
I think what happens when you get into a franchise like this is that everyone has a different idea of what it is or should be. When I did “Evil Dead,” some people thought it was a twist that I played it with a straight face, because for a lot of people it’s a comedy. But if you saw the first one as a kid, like I did, there’s nothing funny about it. In the “Alien” franchise, there were places that the directors and Ridley were more interested in that weren’t necessarily related to the horror of it all. But for me, “Alien” works best when it’s scary and when it has action like “Aliens.” The horror and shock of that world is what I personally liked the most.
