Fede Álvarez Reveals Alien: Romulus First Teaser, Talks About Ridley Scott and James Cameron-Approved Prequel

James Cameron and Ridley Scott praised the Alien: Romulus teaser, which was directed by Fede Alvarez and served as an interquel to their franchise's great films.

By Neil Aryan Ghosh

Published on Mar 21, 2024 | 05:54 PM IST | 106K

Fede Alvarez (via Getty Images)

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Fede Alvarez Releases Alien: Romulus First Teaser
Fede Álvarez speaks about Ridley Scott and James Cameron-approved prequel

The first teaser for Alien: Romulus, approved by Ridley Scott and James Cameron, has been released by Uruguayan director Fede Álvarez, confirming the film's connection to the franchise's classics. Set between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), this interquel hints at a terrifying encounter with a Xenomorph on a dilapidated space station. Starring Cailee Spaeny and Isabela Merced among its youthful ensemble, the film seeks to honor the franchise while delivering fresh thrills.

Fede Alvarez Releases Alien: Romulus First Teaser

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fede Álvarez and Disney unveiled the Interquel, revealing a horrifying 62-second teaser trailer that restores the appearance and atmosphere of the franchise's true classics.

“There’s a moment where you see a bunch of kids running [and riding a big wheel] around the corridors of this colony. And I thought, ‘Wow, what would it be like for those kids to grow up in a colony that still needs another 50 years to terraform?’” Álvarez tells The Hollywood Reporter. “So I remember thinking, ‘If I ever tell a story in that world, I would definitely be interested in those kids when they reach their early twenties.’”

Originally scheduled to debut on Hulu, like Dan Trachtenberg's highly anticipated Predator prequel, Prey (2022), the eighth installment in the Alien franchise was wisely moved to a theatrical release at the start of principal photography.

"Right when we started shooting it, the studio was like, 'F**k it, we're going into theaters with this,'" Álvarez shares.

The story focuses on a group of twenty-something scavengers and colonists who encounter a Xenomorph inside a dilapidated space station. Leading the cast are Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu, all of whom are relatively young. Álvarez says that a deleted scene from Aliens, later restored by Cameron in his extended Special Edition edit, inspired him to focus on younger characters in this world.

Álvarez has a knack for making viewers squirm in their seats, whether it's the infamous basement scene in his 2016 hit Don't Breathe or numerous moments in his 2013 remake of Evil Dead.

Romulus is following suit, as Isabela Merced revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that ten crew members turned away in disgust after a playback of one of her "disgusting" scenes. The opening shot of the new teaser hints at this scene, showing traces of it and featuring Merced's character's isolated comments throughout. With this disturbingly ambitious scene, Álvarez aims to create something akin to Scott's iconic chestburster sequence from the '79 film.

Despite the absence of visual effects, Álvarez's director's cut was shown to Romulus producer and franchise mastermind Scott, who was impressed, saying, "Fede, what can I say? It's fuckin' great." Still, the Uruguayan director managed to connect Romulus to the broader series and put his best efforts into capturing the spirit of Scott and Cameron's franchise-launching films.

Fede Álvarez speaks about Ridley Scott and James Cameron-approved prequel

In a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter about the first teaser for Alien: Romulus, Álvarez also discussed the prequel approved by Ridley Scott and James Cameron.

He said, "At the story level, we first told him what I was planning to do, and then when he read it, I discussed the script with him. And later, when he watched the movie, I discussed my cut with him. So I consider each one of those moments and creative conversations with Ridley to be a highlight of my career and my life."

He further explained, "James Cameron is also someone I've met through the years, and when he learned that I was doing it, we started chatting about it. So I also had that conversation with him at the script level. He's now seen the movie and loved it. It's also fascinating because Cameron and Scott's notes and comments are completely different.

"They wouldn't repeat a note. Whatever Ridley said, Cameron said something different. They were all super smart comments, notes and thoughts on the film and the filmmaking, et cetera, but both of them have completely different approaches. So the fantastic part of being able to make this film is to have the chance to work with them," he added.

Álvarez continued, "Ridley watched Alien: Romulus after I had just finished the director's cut, and there was no VFX on the director's cut. There was no time to make any. But he still had the whole experience. There was nothing missing. You know what I mean? So take it that way. You can watch it without VFX, and you'll know exactly what's going on. You won't miss it much. That is a fact," the Don't Breathe filmmaker said.