Romulus is the Official Title of Fede Alvarez’s Xenomorph Sequel

Fede Álvarez’s Alien film gets the official title of Alien: Romulus six months before the Xenomorph movie hit theaters.

The title had been widely used to reference the first pure Alien sequel since 1997, and the first in-universe entry for seven years, during production, but Disney made it official yesterday,

Alien Romulus to Continue Xenomorph Legacy

Alien Romulus is the first Alien movie since 20th Century Fox was acquired by Disney. Fellow alien stablemate and occasional sparring partner Predator had a successful first outing under 20th Century Studios with the prequel film Prey by Dan Trachenburg.

Beyond the fact its director clearly did his homework to impress Ridley Scott, what we know about Alien: Romulus is that the story is set between the events of Alien and Aliens and will be about 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 story is a standalone one, so there is no connection to Ripley this time.

Star Cailee Spaeny revealed last year that the xenomorphs were being built by the same team that created them for James Cameron in Aliens.

 “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.”

Alien: Romulus will be the fourth film directed by Álvarez. It’s based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Rodo Sayagues. The film’s cast will include Cailee Spaeny (The Craft: Legacy, Priscilla), Isabela Merced (Sicario: Day of the Soldado), David Jonsson (Industry, Rye Lane), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Spike Fearn (Tell Me Everything), and Aileen Wu. Alien and Prometheus director/creator Ridley Scott is producing alongside Michael Pruss.

Alien: Romulus is due for release on Aug. 16, 2024