Alien: Romulus Director Aims to Explore Uncharted Territory in Sequel, But More Aliens Might Disappoint Fans

It wasn’t too long ago that we got the confirmation: there’s an Alien: Romulus sequel in the works. Director Fede Alvarez seems to be gearing up to shake things up with this one.

When Alien: Romulus hit theaters last year, the reception was a bit of a mixed bag. Audiences generally had a good time, but highbrow critics weren’t quite as taken with it. And let’s not forget about the long-time Alien fans who weren’t entirely convinced. Some felt the film leaned too heavily on its predecessors, and the CGI representation of Ian Holms drew quite a few eye rolls (it’s been spruced up for the home release, thankfully). However, none of these critiques mattered too much once the box office results came in, showing strong enough numbers to green-light a sequel. In a recent chat with Empire, director Fede Alvarez shared some hints about the sequel, expressing his desire to venture into “uncharted waters” of the Alien saga.

Alvarez, chatting openly, revealed, “Rodo [Sayagues, co-writer] and I are deep into the creative process. We’re psyched about where this could go. We’ve ticked off a bunch of stuff I wanted to explore in Romulus and revived some elements I feel have been missing for a while. From now on, we’re navigating unknown territory.” He hinted that the narrative will continue to anchor around Cailee Spaeny’s character, Rain. “I’m thrilled at the thought of taking characters from this movie into a completely new realm of the Alien universe, where fresh discoveries await.”

But even with all this enthusiasm, Alvarez is maintaining a cautious approach, aware of the trap some sequels fall into—existing just because they can. “Often, sequels are made just for the sake of it. Sure, the success of Romulus means we can go ahead with a sequel,” he admitted. “But for me, it’s got to stem from a solid idea, something that truly deserves the Alien name.”

Only time will tell if this sequel lives up to its potential. Here’s hoping we don’t see another long-gone character resurrected for nostalgia’s sake. And please, let’s avoid the clichéd pitfall of dropping yet another outlandish alien into the mix; that trope’s been recycled since the original was released.