Cailee Spaeny has played American royalty in “Priscilla,” a futuristic photojournalist in Alex Garland’s upcoming “Civil War,” and now is leading the reboot of the iconic “Alien” franchise.
Spaeny is front and center in the teaser trailer for 20th Century Studios’ “Alien: Romulus,” set 20 years after the events of the 1979 original film that launched Sigourney Weaver’s action stardom. Spaeny plays scientist Rain Carradine, one of the young space colonizers that come face to face with the titular murderous alien while scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station.
“Madame Web” star Isabela Merced is in the cast, as are David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu.
“Romulus” is the seventh film in the “Alien” franchise — the ninth if you include the “Alien vs. Predator” crossover sci-fi action movies. “Alien” director Ridley Scott produces the film from writer/director Fede Alvarez, who co-wrote the script with Rodo Sayagues. The “Alien” franchise characters were created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett.
In addition to “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant” director Scott, Michael Pruss and Walter Hill also produce “Romulus.” Writer/director Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon, Brent O’Connor, and Tom Moran are executive producers.
Alvarez told Variety that “Romulus” will not be “upsetting the canon” of the larger “Alien” franchise. The filmmaker revealed that “Aliens” director James Cameron helped on a “script level” with the new story, and that both Cameron and Scott saw final cuts of the feature.
“The movies get bigger and I’m still there on the floor getting my hands dirty. And that’s really what Ridley and Cameron told me — the only way to make this movie is you have to be involved at every level,” Alvarez said of the advice from the two “Alien” auteurs. “These are very handmade movies from their directors, that’s why they’re so unique. This is not a studio movie where you come in, do your thing and there’s a machine going on that knows how to do them.”
Alvarez aimed to honor the franchise’s horror legacy.
“I really wanted to go back to the sheer horror of the first film, and to take those elements of thriller that ‘Aliens’ has, and ‘Alien 3’ has as well,” he said. “We went to crazy extents to keep it pure to the filmmaking techniques of the first movie. But if anybody’s worried, ‘Is it going to be too retro?’ Don’t worry, 2023 will pour through every window. There’s no way to stop the modernity of filmmaking. And from that combination of the best of the classics and the best of today, then you have something new.”
“Alien: Romulus” premieres August 16 in theaters. Check out the teaser below.
