Facehuggers on a Derelict Station: Alien: Romulus

Alien: Romulus (2024) is the seventh film in the Alien franchise, a science-fiction horror film directed by Fede Álvarez, who co-wrote it with Rodo Sayagues. It is set between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986). A group of young colonists hoping to escape a grim mining world raids an abandoned Weyland-Yutani space station for its cryostasis pods. On board, they find facehuggers and the Xenomorph. Cailee Spaeny leads a young cast. Álvarez went back to the claustrophobic tone and practical creature effects of the first two films,. Made for $80 million, it took $350.9 million worldwide and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

At a glance

Release date	August 12, 2024 (Los Angeles premiere); August 16, 2024 (US)
Director	Fede Álvarez
Writers	Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues
Based on	Characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett
Starring	Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu
Runtime	119 minutes
Rating	R (US), for bloody violent content and language
Budget	$80 million
Box office	$350.9 million
Franchise	Alien franchise: set between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986)

Plot summary

In 2142, a Weyland-Yutani probe recovers a large cocoon from the wreck of the Nostromo. Months later, on the permanently dark mining colony of Jackson’s Star, orphan Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny) learns the company has extended her work contract against her will. Desperate to get out, she joins her ex-boyfriend Tyler (Archie Renaux), his pregnant sister Kay (Isabela Merced), their cousin Bjorn (Spike Fearn) and his adopted sister Navarro (Aileen Wu). Along with them comes Andy (David Jonsson), a faulty android whom Rain’s father reprogrammed to look after her like a brother.

Their plan is to fly a hauler to Renaissance, an abandoned station orbiting overhead, made up of two modules called Romulus and Remus. They mean to steal the cryostasis equipment they need for a nine-year journey to a planet free of the company. But the station is not empty. A botched fuel grab releases dozens of facehuggers. To get through security, Rain upgrades Andy with a chip from the station’s damaged science-officer android, Rook. The upgrade quietly shifts his loyalty from Rain to Weyland-Yutani.

Spoiler section: the ending

Rook explains that the station’s scientists experimented on the Nostromo alien. They extracted Z-01, a DNA-rewriting compound, in hopes of perfecting humans for life in space. The creature escaped and killed the crew. A chestburster kills Navarro, the hauler crashes, and Bjorn, Tyler and Kay are killed or taken. Rain restores Andy’s original programming and switches off the station’s gravity so she can shoot xenomorphs without their acid breaching the hull. The two escape just before Renaissance is destroyed in the planet’s rings. But Kay injected herself with Z-01 before she died, and she gives birth to a towering human-xenomorph hybrid, the “Offspring.” Rain ejects it into the rings, then sets course for the new planet with Andy.

Production and behind the scenes

After Disney bought 21st Century Fox, the studio confirmed at CinemaCon in 2019 that more Alien films were in development. In March 2022, Álvarez, director of Evil Dead (2013) and Don’t Breathe, was hired to write and direct his own pitch, originally intended for Hulu. It was moved to a theatrical release shortly before filming. Álvarez said it was not a standalone story, and he stuck closely to franchise canon, even using the fan wiki Xenopedia as a reference. The film contains references to all six previous films. Ridley Scott and Walter Hill are among its producers. Spaeny entered talks in November 2022, and the rest of the cast was set by March 2023.

Filming took place in Budapest from March 9 to July 3, 2023, including in a working power plant that stood in for Jackson’s Star. It was shot in story order. Production designer Naaman Marshall modeled the Romulus module on Ron Cobb’s original Alien designs and the game Alien: Isolation, and the more advanced Remus on Aliens. Álvarez emphasized practical effects. Legacy Effects built the adult xenomorphs, Studio Gillis the chestbursters and Wētā Workshop the facehuggers, with digital work used mainly for movements puppets couldn’t manage. Former basketball player Robert Bobroczkyi played the Offspring in full-body prosthetics. Benjamin Wallfisch’s score reuses themes by Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner and Harry Gregson-Williams from earlier films.

Release and reception

Romulus premiered in Los Angeles on August 12, 2024, and opened on August 16, debuting at No. 1 with $42 million. It grossed $105.3 million in the US and Canada and $350.9 million worldwide, including $40 million from IMAX, the most for any horror film in that format. Critics were generally positive. It holds 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, where many reviews called it “arguably the best installment since Aliens,” and 64 on Metacritic, with a “B+” CinemaScore. Entertainment Weekly praised how it “looks like a new movie but is simpatico with the tech of the 1979 original,” and called Spaeny “the finest weapon in the arsenal.” Some critics found the third act divisive. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

The most criticized choice was Rook. His face is a digital and animatronic recreation of the late Ian Holm, who played the android Ash in Alien, with Daniel Betts providing the voice. Legacy Effects worked from a head scan Holm made for The Lord of the Rings, and the filmmakers had permission from his estate. Reviewers in The Guardian, Slate and IGN still called it exploitative or distracting. The effects, unfinished at release because of time pressure, were improved for the home video version.

Legacy and influence

Romulus put the big-screen franchise back on solid ground. Its three-day opening was the second-highest in Alien history and a career best for both Álvarez and Spaeny. On disc, it was No. 1 on Circana’s sales chart in December 2024. By design, it is the most connected film in the series. It ties directly to Alien through the recovered Nostromo creature and Rook’s resemblance to Ash, and to Prometheus through Weyland-Yutani’s genetic experiments. It also echoes Aliens, including a version of Ripley’s “Get away from her, you bitch!”, and it references the novel Alien: The Cold Forge. Álvarez said he didn’t want to rush a sequel, pointing to the seven years between Alien and Aliens, but one is now in development.

Trivia

The film had a limited VHS release, the first for an Alien film since Alien vs. Predator (2004) and reportedly the first for a major Hollywood film since 2006.
Archie Renaux originally auditioned for Andy before being cast as Tyler.
Spike Fearn tried an American accent, but Álvarez asked him to keep his own British one.
Disney ran ads urging audiences to see it before hearing spoilers about the ending.
Álvarez has said he would like to co-direct a new Alien vs. Predator film with Dan Trachtenberg.