Published 3/22/2024
The teaser for Alien: Romulus is upon us! The teaser achieves it's purpose: it sells us on the sizzle. At this point die hard Alien fans will but the package without sniffing its contents, but it still serves to give us hope the next installment in this franchise can earn its place.
It's been seven years since Ridley Scott's train-wreck of Alien: Covenant which saw Disney hit pause on any of Ridley's future ideas. We mourn the loss of Neil Blomkamp's Alien 5 effort which Ridley shot down in favor of his Covenant. Between the halt of Alien 5 and Covenant many fans ( including myself) had no more desire to see Ridley involved in the franchise. This is why having Ridley involved as producer of Romulus could be seen as...not a good idea. Look, I'm sick of Ridley Scott's vision of Aliens. The franchise needed a fresh pair of eyes.
This is why the teaser works., in my opinion. We're going back to dilapidated airships/space stations, confined spaces and meager defenses. But I think we need more. Let's be frank: the alien species has been in mainstream media for over 40 years. Fede Alvarez cannot roll out the same schtick from years past and hope that's enough. We need wrinkles, plot twists, and dare I say it - character development?
Amanda Ripley in Alien Isolation is the closest we have gotten to new and entertaining persona. Billed as a first-person survival horror game from Creative Assembly in 2014, Amanda is introduced as Ellen Ripley's daughter who maintains various systems. Early on we learn the flight recorder of her mother's ship, the Nostromo, has been located. The flight recorder was retrieved by the salvage ship Anesidora, and is being held aboard Sevastopol, a Seegson Corporation space station orbiting gas giant KG-348 in the Zeta Reticuli star system. This is plenty enough ammunition to allow ourselves to engage with the character. Amanda is new but with strong links to canon. Invariably this premise ropes in fans of the films and newcomers who do not have to slave through hours of film to enjoy the story.
This is a blueprint for success. Alien Isolation was a hit and you can plainly see how it inspired Romulus. The xenomorph, while ever present, was not the focal point of the story until late. Audiences want to be thrilled and spooked, but we need something to root for, to follow. We'll see if actress Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine achieves this.
Alien Romulus hits theaters August 16th 202. Watch the teaser now!
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