Director Fede Alvarez Went Back to the Basics For ‘Alien: Romulus’
The opening of 20th Century Studios’ Alien: Romulus is set to bring the Alien franchise back into the limelight 45 years after the first film debuted.
Directed by Fede Alvarez, the new film will follow a group of young space colonizers who come upon a decrepit space station.
“While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonists come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe,” the film’s synopsis reads.


Alien Romulus. Photo: 20th Century Studio
Back to the Basics
Talking with Disney before Alien: Romulus hit theaters, Alvarez explained that the new film was all about taking the franchise back to the basics.
“It went through many, many transformations and natural evolutions of a franchise,” Fede Alvarez, the writer and director of the latest installment, Alien: Romulus, said. “The whole point of this movie was to take back Alien to the simplicity of the beginning of the franchise, where it was, above all things, a horror movie.”


Alien Romulus. Photo: 20th Century Studio
To lean into Alien’s horror elements, Alvarez wanted to emulate the feel of the original film.
We needed to make the film the way those first films were made,” Alvarez explained. “Those films were pre-digital effects.”


IMDB
The Film Uses Physical Sets and Creatures
By physically creating the film’s sets and creatures, the actors could feel the same terror they wanted to relay to audiences.


Alien Romulus. Photo: 20th Century Studio
“That’s why we built everything on practical effects, animatronics, [and] miniatures for the spaceships, and combined them with the latest computer-generated work that the best companies like Industrial Light & Magic and WĒTĀ can provide,” Alvarez said. “I think it’s a marriage of the new things and the old things, the classic things that create a movie that looks modern.”
Leaning on Ridley Scott
While Alvarez had his own vision for what Alien: Romulus should be, he also leaned on original Alien director Ridley Scott (who also serves as an executive producer on the new film).


Photo: Disney
“He’s been a great partner at every level,” Alvarez noted. “At the beginning, he was the first one to really pinpoint the things that we were going to make this movie pop. And he was totally right. So, he helped me to zero in on the on the elements that needed all of my attention.”
The Return of ‘Alien’
So far, Alien: Romulus has received rave reviews from critics and fans alike. By getting back to the basics of what makes a great Alien film, Alvarez recaptured the franchise’s magic.


Photo: Also IMDB
Alien: Romulus is in theaters now.
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