Alien Romulus: Release date, trailer and latest news
The film stars Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, Archie Renaux and more.
A new film in the Alien franchise is always likely to bring a mixture of anticipation and caution.
Ever since the series began with two bonafide masterpieces in Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) and James Cameron's Aliens (1986), none of the subsequent additions to the franchise have managed to find anywhere near that universal acclaim – even if some of them do have their champions.
But there are genuine hopes that the latest entry, Fede Àlvarez's Alien: Romulus might finally address that and deliver a satisfying update to the xenomorph saga. It has the approval of both Scott and Cameron, while the early reactions from critics have been extremely promising – hinting at a film that pays homage to the originals while also creating its own path.
The film is set in between those first two classics, and introduces a young new batch of space colonisers led by Cailee Spaeny's Rain, while Rye Lane and Industry star David Jonsson has a key role as the customary synthetic human, Andy.
A number of trailers have been released hinting at plenty of gnarly gore and featuring plenty of the franchise's famous iconography – from Facehuggers and Chestbursters to pulse rifles – and it looks like Àlvarez has been true to his word in crafting a "love letter to all the other movies".
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"This is the way this movie works: if you haven’t seen any Alien movie ever, you’ll have a great time," he previously told Total Film.
"You won’t feel like you’re missing out on anything. But if you’ve seen one or more – oh, boy, you’ll have a blast. At least, I hope you will! The reality is that it is a standalone story, but it’s filled with references to every movie. It is truly a love letter to all the other movies."
Read on for everything you need to know about the upcoming movie.
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Alien: Romulus release date
There's not long to go: Alien: Romulus arrives in UK cinemas on Friday 16th August 2024.
It was initially set to release on Hulu, but then got bumped to a theatrical release.
Alien: Romulus cast – Who stars alongside Cailee Spaeny?
Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla) is set to lead the cast as new character Rain.
In addition to Spaeny, other cast members include Spike Fearn (Tell Me Everything), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone) and Aileen Wu (Skin), each of whom star as Rain's fellow young space colonisers who embark on a daring mission to an abandoned space station.
There is also a very important role for David Jonsson (Murder Is Easy), who follows in the footsteps of the likes of Ian Holm, Lance Henriksen and Michael Fassbender in playing a synthetic human.
The original 1979 Alien film followed Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley and, speaking about the influence Weaver’s portrayal of Ripley has had on her, Spaeny told Total Film: "I definitely did everything that I could to bring that character to life. Watching Sigourney play that role – she’s part of the changing of the game that those films did."
She continued: "I could never be her. But I injected whatever I have in me into that character, and tried to make it three-dimensional – as three-dimensional as possible. So I hope that that’s there, and it comes alive."
Alien: Romulus plot – What could happen?
This being an Alien film, it's no surprise that the movie will see a group of space colonisers forced to do battle with some terrifying Xenomorphs, but what of the more specific plot points?
Well, the official synopsis reads: "Space colonisers come face to face with the most terrifying life-form in the universe while scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station."
That doesn't give too much more away, but by piecing together various teases and reveals we can say that the film will follow the youngest batch of characters in the franchise's history as they embark on a brave –but perhaps foolish – mission to an abandoned outpost where the iconic creatures are let loose.
We can also expect many more musings on humanity's relation to artificially intelligent synthetic humans – arguably more relevant than ever in the age of AI – and most likely all manner of brutal and gnarly killings.
Meanwhile, if you're wondering what the title means, Álvarez previously confirmed to TotalFilm that it's inspired by the myth of Romulus and Remus.
"If people aren’t familiar, it’s the creation myth of Rome. Romulus killed Remus," he explained. "It’s not a siblinghood that went down the right path. [Alien: Romulus] is a film about siblinghood. A lot of the character stories are related to siblinghood."
Is there a trailer for Alien: Romulus?
Yes, there have been a few. The final one arrived roughly a month ahead of the film's release and gave us our best look yet at what to expect. You can watch below:
Before that, an earlier trailer had given us a glimpse at the new characters, check that one out here.
Alien: Romulus is releases in UK cinemas on Friday 16th August 2024.
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