20th Century StudiosAlien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez has written the forthcoming sequel, but he won’t be directing, and here’s why that’s a good thing for the franchise.
Alien: Romulus was a hit with critics and audiences alike, scoring a solid 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossing more than $350 million from a budget of $80 million.
We were fans, writing in our Alien: Romulus review that it’s “the first film in years to once again capture the magic of the original Alien movies, and prove the franchise can succeed when focusing on horror over action.”
But in spite of that success, it looks like a major change is happening behind-the-scenes on the forthcoming Romulus sequel, but that might be exactly what the series needs.
Fede Alvarez no longer directing Alien: Romulus sequel
20th Century StudiosUruguayan filmmaker Fede Álvarez directed Alien: Romulus, from a script he wrote with longtime collaborator Rodo Sayagues.
But while it looked like the duo would be performing the same duties on their forthcoming sequel, that isn’t the case, as Álvarez recently revealed that he won’t be helming.
“We just finished the script, actually, for a sequel for Romulus. But I’m gonna pass the torch on this one as director,” Álvarez told TooFab.
“I’m going to produce it, with Ridley Scott, we’re gonna produce it together, and we’re right now trying to find a new filmmaker to come in.”
Why that’s a good thing for the franchise
DisneyWhile it’s a shame that Álvarez won’t continue the story he started in Romulus – concerning kick-ass heroine Rain and awesome android Andy – it’s good that the next Alien is getting a different director, as the series has thrived on new filmmakers bringing something fresh to the franchise.
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It all kicked off in 1979, with Ridley Scott crafting the perfect haunted house movie in space, through a story that introduced the greatest monster in celluloid history.
Scott set the tone, created a visual language, and grounded Alien in a future world that felt lived in and real. But then James Cameron took the reigns for belated sequel Aliens, and he promptly changed the game, by shifting the genre from horror film to action-packed war movie.
The result was a sequel as good – if not better – than its predecessor, and a template was therefore set to bring in new creatives with their own ideas as a way of keeping the series vital, and helping it to evolve.
Different movies, different directors
DisneyDavid Fincher’s Alien 3 was considered a disaster at the time, but has since been re-appraised, and even celebrated for taking the story in a bold and fascinating direction.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Alien: Resurrection was received (slightly) more positively, and features some of the series’ most interesting ideas and memorable visuals.
Ridley Scott returned for Prometheus, which also looked great, but felt like a movie about AI tacked onto an Alien film. While he followed that up with Alien: Covenant, the only truly forgettable film in the franchise.
But the last 18 months has seen Alien do what it does best by injecting fresh blood into the beast, first with Fede’s Romulus, and then through Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth.
The latter is the first ever Alien TV series, and Hawley shifted the location to our planet, introduced all-new concepts and mythology, and in the process, received some of the best reviews in the 46-year history of the franchise.
So it’s good news that a new director will be taking the series in their own unique direction for Romulus 2, and that’s something Álvarez agrees with, explaining that “filmmakers come, you make one and you pass the baton to the next one… we love the story and now we just want to find a director that really wants to go for the jugular.”
Alien: Earth is airing now, while you can also check out our guide to the Alien: Earth soundtrack and details of the weird Ice Age connection.
We’ve also got Dexerto’s ranking of every Alien movie, as well as how Predator: Badlands connects to Alien and the latest news on Alien vs Predator 3.