20th Century Studios has released the first trailer for “Alien: Romulus,” the upcoming science fiction film in the long-running “Alien” franchise. It is set for a theatrical release on Aug. 16.
Directed by Fede Àlvarez, the film takes place between the events of Ridley Scott’s “Alien” and James Cameron’s popular sequel “Aliens.” Cailee Spaeny, who played Priscilla Presley in last year’s “Priscilla,” is set to star in the standalone movie.
The plot for the film, which has largely been kept mysterious, follows “a group of young people on a distant world, who find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe.” In addition to Spaeny, other cast members include Isabela Merced, Archie Renaux, David Jonsson, Aileen Wu and Spike Fearn.
The trailer returns to the horror roots of the franchise, as dark hallways filled with facehuggers await the crew. Several people get jumped by the face-sucking aliens, and one unlucky crew member has their torso invaded by a chestburster — but the trailer cuts away before we can see the gory carnage. There’s also at least one Xenomorph lurking about, as Merced’s character comes face to face with the killer alien at the end.
The original 1979 “Alien” film followed Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, an astronaut whose crew comes face to face with a deadly alien in space. “Aliens” continues the story as Ellen, waking from cryogenic slumber, reluctantly goes on a mission to a faraway space colony to explore another potential xenomorph attack. Subsequent films in the “Alien” universe include “Alien 3,” “Alien: Resurrection,” “Prometheus,” “Alien: Covenant” and the 2004 crossover film “Alien vs. Predator.”
Àlvarez, who is known for directing horror films including “Evil Dead” and “Don’t Breathe,” has already shown the director’s cut of “Romulus” to Ridley Scott, who serves as a producer on the film. In conversation with Guillermo Del Toro at the DGA Latino Summit 2023, he revealed that Scott had a positive reaction.
“And then he walks into the room and he did say, ‘Fede, what can I say? It’s fucking great,’” Álvarez said. “For me it was like… My family knows it was one of the best moments of my life to have a master like him, who I admired so much, to even watch a movie I made but particularly something like this… and talk to me for an hour about what he liked about it. One of the best compliments he said was, ‘The dialogue is great. Are you the writer?’ Yes!”
Watch the trailer for “Alien: Romulus” below.
