The Alien franchise is returning to the big screen this summer, and based on the first trailer for Alien: Romulus, director Fede Álvarez definitely understood the assignment.
Cailee Spaeny headlines the ensemble and gets a great Ripley-esque hero shot near the end of this rather tense teaser trailer just before it cuts to—what else?—a xenomorph.
Álvarez, the filmmaker behind Don’t Breathe and 2013’s Evil Dead, co-wrote the screenplay for Romulus with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues. Per the official synopsis, “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.” Yep, sounds like an Alien movie, alright.
You can get a better look at the xenomorph in this teaser poster for Romulus, which Álvarez revealed on social media this week:
Spaeny, who starred in last year’s Priscilla, recently revealed that the film takes place between Ridley Scott’s Alien and its sequel, Aliens, directed by James Cameron. “They brought the same team from Aliens,” Spaeny said. “The same people who built those xenomorphs actually came on and built ours.” Although Scott isn’t directing the new sequel, he remains on board as executive producer, and has already given Álvarez some positive feedback.
The sequel also stars Isabela Merced (Madame Web), David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu, and Spaeny—who can be seen next in Alex Garland’s Civil War.
Alien: Romulus hits theaters on August 16.
(featured image: 20th Century Studios)
