Next Summer, 20th Century Studios will be releasing the next instalment in the “Alien” franchise, with a brand new film that is currently called “Alien: Romulus”.

This new standalone “Alien” film has been directed by Fede Alvarez, who has previously directed “Don’t Breathe” and “Evil Dead”. Fede has also co-written the film with Rodo Sayagues.  It will also be produced by the original “Alien” director, Ridley Scott and will star Isabela Merced, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu.

No plot details have yet been revealed about the new Alien film, but thanks to one of the film’s stars, Cailee Spaeny, we’ve got a little more information.  The actress spoke with Variety at the Gotham Awards on Monday evening and revealed

“It’s supposed to slot in between the first movie and the second movie.  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.”

The first movie was released in 1979, and it showed the crew of a spacecraft, Nostromo, intercepting a distress signal from a planet and setting out to investigate it. However, to their horror, they are attacked by an alien, which later invades their ship.   And in the sequel, “Aliens”, which was released in 1986, saw Ripley return to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story about the Alien encounter is met with scepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of high-tech marines back to LV-246 to confront the aliens. 

That gives this new film a window of 57 years to set the film, and it’s unknown if the events of the film relate explicitly to Ripley or the events of those first two films.  Hopefully, we learn more about the upcoming film soon!

Cailee Spaeny also spoke about her excitement to be involved in the film:

“My first film was big-budget sci-fi (“Pacific Rim: 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.”

Initially, the film was set up to be a Hulu/Star Original film for Disney’s streaming services, but now the film will get a theatrical release instead on August  16th, 2024.

This isn’t the only “Alien” project currently being developed by Disney, as production is set to resume in Thailand after the holidays on a brand new series by FX for Disney’s streaming services.

While we wait for the new Alien film, you can watch the previous Alien films on Starz in the US and on Disney+ in many countries around the world now.

Are you looking forward to watching a new Alien film? Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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