This article is part of a directory: Alien: Romulus - Release Date, Cast, Story, Trailer & Everything We Know

Alien: Romulus Director Shares James Cameron & Ridley Scott’s Reactions (& How They Were Different)

Summary

Alien: Romulus takes place between Alien and Aliens.
Director Fede Álvarez reveals that the movie will have connections to other installments in the franchise that fans will notice, but it's also accessible to newcomers.
After the lackluster response to Alien: Covenant, Alien: Romulus serves as a fresh start for the franchise and can bring in new audiences.

Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez clarifies when his movie takes place in the franchise's timeline. Following the lackluster response to Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant in 2017, Álvarez's new entry in the saga is set to explore what happens after a group of young people from faraway in the galaxy encounter a xenomorph. The film stars Cailee Spaeny and Isabela Merced, among others, with no characters from past installments expected to return.

As the Alien: Romulus release date inches closer, Álvarez clarifies in an interview with THR that the film takes place between 1979's Alien and 1986's Aliens. The director also touches on just how connected his take on the franchise will be to these first two installments. Read his comment below when asked whether it's true that his film is "unconnected" to the first two movies:

That’s not correct, but it does take place between the two movies. 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, 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.

So it is crafted in that way, and hopefully it works that way for everybody, but it is connected to all of them. I love all of those movies. I didn’t want to omit or ignore any of them when it comes to connections at a story level, character level, technology level and creature level. There’s always connections from Alien to Alien: Covenant.

Why Fede Álvarez's Latest Comment Is Good News For Alien: Romulus

The Franchise Needs To Bring In New Audiences After Alien: Covenant

Cailee Spaeny holding a gun and looking scared in Alien Romulus

While Scott's Prometheus serves as an interesting prequel to the events of Alien, Alien: Covenant was something of a disappointment both critically and commercially. The film currently holds a 65% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience score lower at 55%. Alien: Covenant earned $240.9 million at the box office, which certainly isn't terrible, but it's a significant dip from Prometheus' $403.4 million and it suggested that interest in the franchise was waning.

Title	Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score	Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score
Alien (1979)	93%	94%
Aliens (1986)	98%	94%
Alien 3 (1992)	48%	47%
Alien Resurrection (1997)	53%	39%
Prometheus (2012)	73%	68%
Alien: Covenant (2017)	65%	55%

With Scott's planned Alien: Covenant sequel having been scrapped, Alien: Romulus has an opportunity to introduce the franchise to an entirely new generation. The recent teaser trailer released for the film suggests the movie is going back to the franchise's roots with a more contained, horror-forward approach. Instead of delving deep into the lore of the xenomorphs and the Engineers, as Alien: Covenant did, the movie is telling the story of a group of people trying survive a deadly alien aboard a cramped spaceship, which is the same premise that made the 1979 original so beloved.

In addition to Álvarez's movie, an Alien TV show is in the works at FX from Fargo creator Noah Hawley.

Alien: Romulus, in many ways, will serve as a test of just how interested audiences are in the franchise. By featuring plenty of Easter eggs and references to other installments while also ensuring the film can serve as an entry point for those who have never seen an Alien film before, Álvarez is setting his movie up for success. With Alien: Romulus seemingly wiping the slate clean, to the certain extent, it could end up serving as the perfect jumping off point for further franchise expansion.

Source: THR