Alien: Romulus Director Explains Major Similarity to Ridley Scott’s Alien

As the director of Alien: Romulus, Fede Álvarez had one mission: to make his film look as close to Ridley Scott’s Alien as possible. Alien: Romulus is set between the events of Alien and Aliens, so it was important to Álvarez to make it look like the film belonged “in that universe.”

In an interview with SFX magazine, Álvarez explained how his team put footage from Romulus side by side with Alien to match the lighting and color.

“We have a scan of the original 35mm print of Alien, and we put it on the screen side by side with ours,” Álvarez said. “Obviously, that would do nothing if we didn’t do our job on the day.”

For the sets, Álvarez and production designer Naaman Marshall drew inspiration for their set from artist Ron Cobb’s work on Alien.

“We dug out a lot of concept art that was done for those movies that wasn’t even used,” Álvarez said. “And figured out a way to be inspired by that and put it in this movie.”

What to Expect in Alien: Romulus?

The official synopsis reads: “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.”

Alien: Romulus stars Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine, David Jonsson as Andy, Archie Renaux as Tyler, Isabela Merced as Kay, Spike Fearn as Bjorn, and Aileen Wu as Navarro.

Álvarez directs Alien: Romulus on a script he co-wrote with his frequent collaborator, Rodo Sayagues. Producers include Scott, Michael Pruss, and Walter Hill.

Alien: Romulus was originally supposed to stream directly to Hulu. However, 20th Century Studios pivoted to a theatrical release on August 16, 2024.

(Source: SFX Magazine)