Alien: Romulus returned the franchise back to critical and financial graces after opening in August. Following a successful box office run and its arrival on digital, it appears that news is emerging about a follow-up, which will see the return of the film’s director and two of its fan-favorite stars.
Per an interview featured in The Hollywood Reporter, Fox Executive Steve Asbell is asked about the future of the Alien franchise following Romulus, and fans will be pleased to hear that the studio is working on an idea for a sequel. While he admits that director Fede Álvarez hasn’t closed his deal just yet, they’re very close to doing so, and he and the studio have an idea that they are currently working on. Asbell also revealed that Cailee Spaeny and David Johnson, who portrayed Rain and Andy, respectively, will also be returning, if they have anything to do with it.
“We’re working on a sequel idea now. We haven’t closed our deal with Fede [Álvarez], but we’re going to, and he has an idea that we’re working on. The two survivors, Rain and Andy, played by Cailee Spaeny and David Johnson, were real highlights of the film. And so I always think of it like, “Wow, where do people want to see them go next?” We know there’s going to be aliens. We know there’s going to be great horror set pieces. But I feel in love with both of them and I want to see what their story is.”
Álvarez has previously said that he and his screenwriting partner Rodo Sayagues already have ideas for a sequel to Romulus, but they wanted to see how the film played out with audiences before getting into trying to make a follow-up. He also said something that some studio heads hate if they want to rush a product out for money, by stating he doesn’t want to make the sequel in two years time. He wants to give it time to breathe between installments. We’ll see if he sticks to that or if 20th Century Studios will want to rush that process ahead.
Alien: Romulus Was the Perfect Marriage of Alien and Aliens
Alien: Romulus, despite some complaints about fan service from some audiences, really took the franchise back to its roots of tension and fire while also balancing some great action set pieces that made it a fun hybrid of Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s Aliens. The end result was something that impressed both critics and audiences, with the film registering a strong 80 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and grossing $105.3 domestically and $350.8 million worldwide on a reported $80 million budget.
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The film also dazzled on premium screens. IMAX reported that the film’s $40 million global take on their screens made it the highest-grossing horror film in that format to date. Not at all bad for a movie that was originally intended to go straight-to-streaming on Hulu and skip theaters entirely. It is no wonder that 20th Century Studios wants to move ahead with a sequel, and that they want to keep Álvarez in the fold. Scott himself, after seeing the film, was so impressed with Romulus that he believed the director would be making more films in the franchise for quite some time.
Set between the events of Alien and Aliens, Alien: Romulus follows six young space colonists who encounter more than they bargained for when they decide to scavenge a derelict space station. In addition to Spaeny and Johnson, the film also stars Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu.
Alien: Romulus
is currently out on digital now.
Alien: Romulus takes the phenomenally successful “Alien” franchise back to its roots. While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
- Release Date
- August 16, 2024
- Cast
- Cailee Spaeny , David Jonsson , Archie Renaux , Isabela Merced , Spike Fearn , Aileen Wu , Rosie Ede , Soma Simon , Bence Okeke , Viktor Orizu , Robert Bobroczkyi , Trevor Newlin , Annemarie Griggs , Daniel Betts
- Runtime
- 119 Minutes