When it was first announced that Fede Álvarez would be writing and directing a new Alien movie, fans were a little upset when they learned that the project was destined for Hulu, bypassing theaters completely. Thankfully, 20th Century Studios pivoted, later announcing that Alien: Romulus would be released theatrically and not on Hulu.
While speaking with Variety, Álvarez said that the initial Hulu plan was “a reaction to theaters being completely gone” in the wake of the pandemic. “That decision was not made at the point where theaters were healthy,” Álvarez said. “[But] it was always going to be an ambitious movie for [a streaming] platform.” The studio made the choice to push for a theatrical release as production got underway, and Álvarez said it was a motivating moment for the entire cast and crew.
I remember making an announcement to everybody that this movie was going to in theaters, and there was a big cheer. I was like, wow, even the gaffer cares that this goes into theaters!
Set between the events of Alien and Aliens, Alien: Romulus will follow “a group of young people on a distant world who find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe.” The film stars Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), David Jonsson (Industry), Isabela Merced (Madame Web), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Spike Fearn (The Batman), and Aileen Wu (Away from Home). In addition to directing the movie, Fede Álvarez also co-wrote the script alongside Rodo Sayagues.
The film has been receiving largely positive reviews, with our own Chris Bumbray calling it the best installment of the long-running franchise since the first two perfect movies. However, that’s not to say that there aren’t a few clunky moments that detract from an otherwise kick-ass movie. “The fact that director Fede Alvarez was able to make a slam-bang Alien sequel that trumps every other film in the franchise, save the first two, is cause for celebration,” Bumbray wrote. “Yet, it does suffer from the fact that its director was perhaps hampered in his effort to make a lean and mean Alien movie with an ill-advised directive to connect the film to Ridley Scott’s Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. This leaves the film feeling like it’s 75% kick-ass, and 25% space bio-engineering nonsense.” You can read the rest of Bumbray’s review right here.