With “Alien: Romulus”, another entry in the acclaimed sci-fi horror franchise awaits us from August 15, 2024.
We met director Fede Alvarez for an interview ahead of the release of the latest “Alien” film “Alien: Romulus”, which will see a new crew fighting the xenomorphs. The six-man squad around Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny) leave their familiar home to search for something in orbit on an abandoned space station and in doing so inadvertently make the (sometimes deadly) acquaintance of the xenomorphs. The trailer gives you a foretaste:
Ahead of the film’s release on August 15, 2024, we had the chance to speak to director Fede Alvarez, who has already made a name for himself in recent genre history with horror films such as the “Evil Dead” remake with Jane Levy and “Don’t Breathe”. “Evil Dead” even holds an unofficial world record for the most blood spilled in a movie in history. This begs the question of how many liters of blood were spilled on the set of “Alien: Romulus”:
“I didn’t count this time. There are some bloody scenes, nothing on the same level as in ‘Evil Dead’. Nothing on the level of that movie, that was just insane. However, there are some scenes that got very bloody – definitely!”
Ripley and Rain in comparison: why the new “Alien” protagonist offers more opportunities for identification
With Rain Carradine, portrayed by Cailee Spaeny, audiences are introduced to a new film heroine in the “Alien” horror franchise. Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, has a special status in film history. She is the protagonist in four films in the series and was considered “the first movie heroine” of her kind in the 1970s. When we asked how Ripley could be compared to Rain, Alvarez provided a surprising answer, as the new character offers even more opportunities for identification:
“I think when you meet Ripley in the first movie, she’s very similar to the version she is at the end of the movie and even in the next movie. She’s a heroine, determined, very intelligent. She has the best instincts, even in the first movie! When it felt wrong to everyone, she was the only one who wouldn’t let Kane back on the ship because she knew what was going to happen. It’s almost as if she could foresee the future.
The character Rain, played by Cailee Spaeny, is different. She is younger, she has no experience in space. She’s completely out of her element. But that only brings her closer to us, I would say. As an audience, you don’t know what to expect from the troupe and how they’re going to deal with it. Her character has more of an arc throughout the movie where she has to overcome her fears and hopefully become a stronger person than she is at the beginning of the movie. You see more of her journey.”
The best tagline in film history and how proud Fede Alvarez is of his latest work
In 1979, director Ridley Scott made the first “Alien” film and created a movie for the ages. Prior to this, the British director had only worked on commercials, a few series and the film “The Duellists” and was largely unknown in the film world. With “Alien”, not only did Ridley Scott become world-famous overnight, but the pithy advertising and poster slogan (“Tagline”) “In space, no one can hear you scream” was suddenly on everyone’s lips. This slogan was also used again in the trailer for “Alien: Romulus”. Alvarez revealed the meaning behind the tagline as follows:
“It’s simply the best tagline in the history of taglines. (laughs) If you go to film school and someone wants to explain to you what a tagline is, it’s always explained by this one, immediately. […] There is simply no better tagline in movie history – of any genre. […] It just explains everything, right? It’s so good. On the one hand, it’s scientific because there’s no sound in space and at the same time you know that you would be completely helpless in this environment.”
For Alvarez, the “Alien” journey began with a conversation between him and Ridley Scott back in the mid-2010s. In 2019, it was confirmed that a new ‘Alien’ title was being worked on, and in 2022, Alvarez officially took over work on ‘Alien: Romulus’, but he had his first ideas much earlier. In the interview, he revealed how faithful the final version of the film was to his first idea and how proud he is of “Alien: Romulus”:
“There are always changes, but not major changes in the story. We had a clear vision of how the story should be and how we wanted to shape the story. I am happy and proud that we were able to realize our vision.There is always a development through the collaboration with the actors and how they perceive their characters. It’s beautiful to watch. It’s constantly evolving and getting better. Hopefully it’s also better than it was on paper at the beginning.”
“Who knows”: “Alien: Romulus” director leaves the door open for further horror franchises
Ten years after the “Evil Dead” remake with Jane Levy, which won over die-hard horror fans, director Fede Alvarez is now venturing into another established horror franchise with “Alien: Romulus”, which tells a standalone story set in the 57 years between “Alien” and “Aliens: The Return”. When we asked whether the director is interested in any other horror franchises for a film project after “Dance of the Devils” and “Alien”, the filmmaker left a back door open:
“Not really. I always loved ‘Evil Dead’ and at the time it was just perfect. It was something I wanted to realize and I was so happy that Sam Raimi gave me the chance. After a while I thought that was it, but ‘Alien’ is just too good to let it go. It’s the crown jewel of horror movies. It is the ultimate predator among horror films. At least for now – who knows? Maybe there will be something in the future that will interest me. But thanks to ‘Alien’, I think I’m doing pretty well.”
“Alien: Romulus” popcorn movie: This is what the director’s version would have looked like
Before you secure your movie tickets in advance, the question of which snack the director of the film himself would recommend remains unanswered for a successful visit to the cinema. His extremely funny answer, without spoilers, picks up on the current hype surrounding the most curious popcorn buckets of recent months:
“Probably popcorn with one of those curious popcorn buckets they’re producing these days that are so popular. We’ve joked internally that the popcorn bucket is supposed to be based on a scene that we’re not allowed to talk about in detail yet. Keyword: the birth of the creature. That would be a good bucket.”
In fact, the extravagant popcorn buckets for “Alien: Romulus”, which are distributed in US cinemas in particular, were already presented to the public in the run-up to the film’s release. Although the US cinema chains around AMC and Co. did not adhere to Alvarez’s secret recommendation, the buckets are still impressive.
Last but not least, a rather funny answer: What tastes better? The movie blood or the xenomorph’s saliva?
“I’d say the blood tastes better. To be honest, I don’t know what the creature’s saliva tastes like. Probably poisonous, after all, you die. (laughs)”
