Alien: Romulus Update Hints Movie Will Fix Ridley Scott’s Biggest Mistake

Summary:

• The Alien franchise has fallen on hard times in recent years, and the upcoming Alien: Romulus is its last hope
• A new update on the movie reveals that it will take place between the first two films and that a crew that worked on 1986 Aliens is involved
• Going back to the roots of the franchise and telling a simple standalone story might be a good choice, as it already worked once in 2014

It's been six years since the last installment of the Alien franchise, Alien: Covenant, which was released in 2017 and turned out to be a huge disappointment for most fans of the xenomorph.

While it had some positive aspects, such as Michael Fassbender's outstanding dual performance as the androids David and Walter, they were ultimately overshadowed by silly plot points that even led to unintentionally comedic moments and felt pointless overall.

Considering that the previous films in the series weren't particularly outstanding either, with the last unanimously praised movie in the franchise being 1986's Aliens, directed by James Cameron, the future of Alien seemed pretty bleak.

New Update On Alien: Romulus Looks Very Promising

However, there is still some hope for the fans, as the upcoming Alien: Romulus, directed by Fede Álvarez, looks quite promising at the moment, and the latest update regarding the films made fans cautiously optimistic.

Very little is known about the plot of the movie, except that it will be a standalone story set in the Alien universe, revolving around a group of humans who encounter the Xenomorphs.

But in a recent interview with Variety, the film's star, Cailee Spaeny, shed a little more light on the movie, including on when it takes place in the Alien timeline.

The actress revealed that Romulus will take place between the first two entries in the franchise and will seemingly return to its roots, as she also mentioned that the same team that worked on the acclaimed 1986 sequel is involved in the production.

Spaeny said they went back to the original design of the Xenomorphs, and it was "really incredible" to see people who have been working on the series for more than 45 years.

A Step Back to Golden Years of Alien Can Be the Right Thing to Do

The time period the movie is set in may actually prove to be a great choice, as it is perfect for telling a standalone story that is not tied to either underwhelming sequels (starting with Alien 3) or equally disappointing prequels.

A simple yet effective story is exactly what the franchise needs, as Ridley Scott, who created Alien in the first place, has already inadvertently proven with the release of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant that revealing the origins of the Xenomorphs only damages the franchise and the mystery surrounding the creatures at its center.

In addition, another great addition to the franchise, albeit not in cinematic form, was already set in the exact same time period between two films.

Alien: Isolation, a survival horror video game released in 2014, was arguably the best thing to happen to the franchise since 1986's Aliens, and was a self-contained story that didn't try to reinvent the wheel.

It followed Amanda Ripley, the daughter of Ellen Ripley, who also encountered the Xenomorphs following in her missing mother's footsteps, and was a great new story set in the Alien universe with nice callbacks to the original 1979 film.

Perhaps by taking a similar path with its story, Alien: Romulus has a chance to bring some dignity back to the franchise.

Fans also hope that by returning to the time of Alien's former glory and involving people who worked on the second movie, Romulus will retain the chilling atmosphere of the original.

However, until more information about the movie is released, they seem to remain cautious in their optimism.

Alien: Romulus is scheduled for release on August 16, 2024.

Sources: Variety, Reddit