Alien: Romulus Chestburster Scene Was Inspired by Nature Documentaries

Fede Alvarez has revealed that a key scene in Alien: Romulus was inspired by nature documentaries such as Blue Planet and Planet Earth.

In the upcoming issue of Total Film magazine, Alien Romulus director Fede Alvarez disclosed the interesting tidbit that his film’s chestburster scene was jokingly narrated on set like a nature documentary. Consequently, it ended up being directed like that, as well.

“It is done almost like a nature documentary. While we were seeing it on set we were joking, [like] ‘The creature is coming out slow. It’s looking for the scent of the mother…’ The creature’s not trying to be scary. The creature is trying to get the fuck out of that cocoon, that happens to be a person. It’s almost like this is more realistic in a way, but without betraying all the beautiful things of the original designs.”

The chestburster puppet required nine puppeteers to operate. So it’s easy to see why direction took on that Sir David Attenborough-narrated feeling.

Who stars in Alien: Romulus?

Alien: Romulus is directed by Fede Alvarez. The cast includes Cailee Spaeny (Civil War), David Jonsson (Rye Lane), Archie Renaux (Morbius), Isabela Merced (Migration), Spike Fearn (Back to Black), and Aileen Wu. 

Alien: Romulus is set between the events of Ridley Scott’s 1979 film Alien and James Cameron’s 1986 film Aliens.

“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,” the synopsis for the movie reads.

Fede Alvarez is looking to make Alien: Romulus a ”pure horror movie” and he’s got genre experience to call upon to achieve that. In 2013, Alvarez revitalized and somewhat rebooted the Evil Dead franchise 21 years after its last entry. He also directed the successful original horror movie Don’t Breathe. In that movie, a group of teens break into a blind man’s home, thinking they’ll get away with the perfect crime. Instead, they find the man to be quite dangerous and end up fighting for their lives.

Alien: Romulus releases in United States theaters on August 16, 2024, from 20th Century Studios.