Fede Alvarez, who directed the well-received Alien: Romulus, has just confirmed that he will not be returning to direct the sequel.
The news comes as somewhat of a surprise, given the fan and critical reception to the first film. However, Alvarez will be involved as a producer and script writer. Alvarez penned the script alongside Rodo Sayagues.
In an interview with TooFab, Alvarez revealed that he wants to direct an original project next, instead of the Romulus follow-up.
"We just finished the script, actually, for a sequel for Romulus. But I'm gonna pass the torch on this one as director," the Evil Dead (2013) helmer stated. "I'm going to produce it, with Ridley Scott, we're gonna produce it together, and we're right now trying to find a new filmmaker to come in."
"I think that's usually what has happened, except for Ridley, filmmakers come, you make one, and you pass the baton to the next one. But we wrote the story because we really love what we started with Romulus, and we want to continue the story. We love the story, and now we just want to find a director who really wants to go for the jugular."
Original Alien (1979) helmer Ridley Scott is also on board as producer, and with Alvarez having written the script, the creative transition to the sequel should remain fairly consistent while also expanding into unexpected territory.
Alien: Romulus was originally set to be a streaming-only release for Hulu before Disney decided to switch to a theatrical release midway through filming. Produced for $80 million, the movie went on to gross $350.9 million worldwide and earned an 80% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
“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. The film stars Cailee Spaeny (“Civil War”), David Jonsson (“Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy”), Archie Renaux (“Shadow and Bone”), Isabela Merced (“The Last of Us”), Spike Fearn (“Aftersun”), Aileen Wu.
Fede Alvarez (“Evil Dead,” “Don’t Breathe”) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (“Don’t Breathe 2”) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett.
“Alien: Romulus” is produced by Ridley Scott (“Napoleon”), who directed the original “Alien” and produced and directed the series’ entries “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant,” Michael Pruss (“Boston Strangler”), and Walter Hill (“Alien”), with Fede Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (“Charlie’s Angels”), Brent O’Connor (“Bullet Train”), and Tom Moran (“Unstoppable”) serving as executive producers.