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Alien: Romulus Director Fede Alvarez Battled With Studio Just To Keep Shocking Ending Scenes
Fede Álvarez has once again delivered a chilling masterpiece with Alien: Romulus. But he had faced some hesitation from the studio in bringing the shocking ending scenes into life.
Director Fede Álvarez does not miss an opportunity when it comes to unsettling cinematic creations, and the latest in his film resume does much the same: Alien: Romulus. In this film, towards the end, the grotesque and shocking sequences have lifted a lot of discussion about them being some of the most extreme within the series. However, these heavy scenes were first met with hesitation from the highest ranks of The Walt Disney Company executives, who believed that such strong content was not necessary. This reaction gave Álvarez an even greater push.
Alien: Romulus lands somewhere between Alien and Aliens as an "interquel," revisiting old themes as the lore of this franchise expands further. Fede Álvarez's film takes its cue from every Alien film but more so from the most loved ones. Fans were expecting a real action-filled but familiar ride since the movie's teasers were telling of a storyline full of Xenomorphs. Nobody saw it coming when a new creature went on to move into the central roles at the climax of the movie—described as "the Offspring.". It is in this battle that Rain—played by Cailee Spaeny—is faced with a human-Xenomorph hybrid monstrosity, leaving many fans in shock. Indeed, many viewers have felt that, much like the studios' expressed discontent over the ending in the first place, this nod to Alien: Resurrection was just a bit too much.
Its final act contains the startling moment where Kay, played by Isabela Merced, gives birth prematurely, and the child is anything but normal. The baby comes in the form of a grotesque Xenomorph hybrid after Kay's earlier decision to inject herself with some mysterious black liquid touted by synthetic Rook as an evolutionary upgrade. What emerges could very well be one of the most horrifying creatures this entire franchise has ever seen.
But Álvarez said his philosophy on making movies is to keep pushing forward, testing the studios, until they push back. "If I give you a script and you read it and go, 'Let's do it!' then I feel like I failed," Álvarez said to The Hollywood Reporter. He added that he wants to elicit one of those awkward studio-exec pauses as an indicator that he is doing something right. This, in particular, played out during the making of Alien: Romulus and especially with the addition of the Offspring, while studios did have a problem with it initially. "They just thought, 'Is it too much? Do we really have to go there?' And I was like, 'Yeah, now that you said that we shouldn't, I know that I will.' So that's exactly what we did here," Álvarez shared.
Intriguingly, Álvarez's way of storytelling often goes through what he calls a "fourth act," very applicable for an Alien movie. He explained, "All my movies have a fourth act. It's just the way we write. There's a moment where the movie feels like it's over, and then there's a fourth act, which is fitting because Alien has a fourth act as well." This unexpected additional sequence has become a signature element of Álvarez's films, offering audiences one last, intense set piece that takes the story to extreme and often terrifying places.
Álvarez did much to blow open the belly of horror and science fiction with Alien: Romulus, working wonders in taking his audience deep into Alien lore while opening up a new avenue of terror. The film is jolting to many viewers at the moment, and the shocking final act has not only made this memorable but served as a reconfirmation of Fede Álvarez, who seems to take no qualms in taking risks for cinematic horror.
ALSO READ: Alien: Romulus; Exploring The Major Easter Eggs In The Movie
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