After a couple of quiet and uncertain years for the Alien franchise, following the disappointing critical and commercial reception of Alien: Covenant, and Disney‘s Fox acquisition, fans of the series will finally be able to mark their calendars with a date to return to the franchise as Fede Álvarez‘s Alien movie gets an August 16, 2024 release date.
The film hasn’t yet been officially titled, however it did show up in a production listing posted by the Film & Television Industry Alliance as Alien: Romulus, though this could be just a working title. While details regarding the plot of the film are sparse, a synopsis for the film via 20th Century Studios reads: “In this ninth entry in the immensely popular and enduring film series, a group of young people on a distant world find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe.” The film is set to star Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, Archie Renaux, David Jonsson, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu. Unfortunately not returning is Sigourney Weaver, who recently clarified that her time in space was well and truly over, saying, “that ship has sailed. I’m very happy doing what I’m doing. I put in my time in space!”
The film will be the first entry into the franchise following a series of misfires from Ridley Scott; Alien: Covenant and its predecessor Prometheus were met with tepid reviews, with fans concerned with the direction Scott‘s prequels were taking the series, many criticizing how they stripped the titular alien of its mystery and lumbered it with an unnecessary origin story. The new film is said to have no connection to those films, returning to the franchise’s horror roots with Álvarez at the helm, the director responsible for titles such as 2013’s terrifying Evil Dead reboot/sequel and 2016’s Don’t Breathe.
The Alien Franchise Is Expanding to TV
As well as the new film, work is also underway on an Alien TV series which is to be separate from Álvarez‘s project. The series will be lead by Noah Hawley and will star Sydney Chandler (Don’t Worry Darling). That project does not currently have a release date, but fans will be able to see the Xenomorph on the big screen once again when the upcoming film hits theaters on August 16, 2024.
via Collider