The first trailer for Alien: Romulus took a back to basics approach by focusing on the claustrophobic chills of the original Alien, and if descriptions of the footage that screened at CinemaCon this week are anything to go by, director Fede Alvarez really has managed to recapture the sheer dread of Ridley Scott's classic.
Two clips were shown to attendees, both spotlighting intense Xenomorph action. There are no major plot reveals here, but if you'd rather go in knowing as little as possible, beware of some spoilers ahead.
The first clip sees Cailee Spaeny’s Rain Carradine and her crew under attack from dozens of Face-Huggers. The humans and their synthetic (sorry, Bishop... artificial person) Andy (David Jonsson) narrowly manage to escape, but not before one of the creatures attaches itself to a crew member.
The next scene flashes forward to that same character experiencing what happens when the Xenomorph's incubation period comes to an end, as she keels over and watches in horror as an alien - brought to life via practical FX - slowly emerges from her chest.
You'll find a much more detailed breakdown over at Discussing Film, but their description is ever more spoilery.
While chatting to THR shortly after the trailer debut, Alvarez confirmed that Romulus takes place between the events of Scott's Alien and James Cameron's Aliens.
"The way we crafted it is, if you haven’t seen any of them, I’m jealous because you’ll have an incredible experience. You’ll have all these worlds of Alien coming at you, and you’ve never experienced any of this. You don’t know how the creature is born, and you don’t know any of these things. That’s fantastic. You’ll have a blast."
"Now, if you’ve seen the others," he continues, "then it’s a completely different experience in a way, because you’ll see and you’ll find those connections with the other movies. And if you’re a fan, you’ll be that person who annoys your friends in the theater, by telling them that you know what this is from and where that gun is from and what the characters are talking about."
Check out the trailer and poster below.
"The sci-fi/horror-thriller takes the phenomenally successful Alien franchise back to its roots: 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 film stars Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), Aileen Wu. Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (Don’t Breathe 2) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett.
Alien: Romulus is produced by Ridley Scott (Napoleon), who directed the original Alien and produced and directed the series’ entries Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Michael Pruss (Boston Strangler), and Walter Hill (Alien), with Fede Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (Charlie’s Angels), Brent O’Connor (Bullet Train), and Tom Moran (Unstoppable) serving as executive producers.