We still know very little about Fede Alvarez's upcoming Alien movie (the "Romulus" title hasn't even been officially confirmed), but the film's star, Cailee Spaeny, has now shared a somewhat surprising detail about the movie's timeline.
While chatting to Variety on the red carpet of tonight's Gotham Awards, the Pacific Rim: Uprising actress revealed that Romulus takes place between the events of Ridley Scott's original Alien and James Cameron's sequel, Aliens.
“It’s supposed to slot in between the first movie and the second movie,” Spaeny tells the site. “They brought the same team from ‘Aliens,’ the James Cameron film. The same people who built those xenomorphs actually came on and built ours. So getting to see the original design with the original people who have been working on these films for 45-plus years and has been so much of their life has been really incredible.”
Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean Romulus will have any direct connection to either film, as this gives Alvarez a lot of room to play with.
At the end of Alien, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) goes into cryo-sleep, and when she's finally discovered at the beginning of Aliens, we're told that she's been in statis for 57 years.
“My first film was big-budget sci-fi,” Spaeny continues, referring to her role in Uprising. “I feel like I’m going back to that world. And I have so much fun. I like trying to do as many different things as I can. So I swapped my high heels and my beehive for spacesuits and lots of wire work. … I love watching those old ‘70s, ‘80s action sci-fi films. And I’m such a fan of that IP and Sigourney Weaver. It’s legendary to get to be a part of it.”
While there is always a chance this film will be connected to the previous instalments in the franchise, it is being described as a reboot. Whatever the case may be, it's probably safe to assume that it won't continue the divisive plot lines that played out in Ridley Scott's Prometheus and Alien: Covenant - although Scott will produce under his Scott Free banner.
Apparently, the legendary filmmaker was intrigued by an idea Alvarez pitched him on a few years ago, and called him out of the blue last year to see if he had any interest in developing it.
Hulu is also working on an Alien TV series with Noah Hawley (Fargo; Legion) that's expected to premiere at some point next year. Whether both projects will be linked in any way remains to be seen.
Spaeny is nominated for outstanding lead performance for Priscilla at this year’s Gotham Awards. Alien: Romulus is set to hit theaters on Aug. 16, 2024.