The Next Alien Movie Avoids a 33-Year-Old Franchise Mistake (Despite 1 Radical Change)

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Director Fede Álvarez will be involved in future Alien films, but his role is to prevent repeating a significant error made by the franchise 33 years ago. Alien: Romulus, released in August 2024, successfully returned the series to its horror origins, focusing on Rain (Cailee Spaeny), Andy (David Jonsson), and their friends as they battle new xenomorphs on the Renaissance space station. Following a string of underwhelming Alien movies, the positive reception to Romulus offers a promising outlook for the franchise’s future.

In Alien: Romulus, a group led by Rain journeys to the Renaissance space station-made up of the Romulus and Remus sections-seeking cryosleep pods to help them survive the long trip to the peaceful planet Yvaga III, which isn’t controlled by the Weyland-Yutani corporation. However, their plans go awry when they discover the station has been overrun by hostile alien creatures, including numerous facehuggers. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning $350.9 million worldwide-the second-highest total in the Alien series-leading to optimism for a sequel.

Alien: Romulus‘ Sequel Won’t Be Killing Off Rain & Andy

During a panel at HorrorHound Weekend, director Fede Àlvarez shared some new information about the upcoming *Alien: Romulus* sequel. He explained that he and the writers specifically avoided repeating a controversial decision made in *Alien 3* (1992), where beloved characters Hicks and Newt were quickly killed off. Àlvarez stated they intentionally kept the characters they created alive, wanting to avoid a similar fate for them in the new film.

In James Cameron’s 1986 film *Aliens*, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) joined forces with a group of Colonial Marines, creating plenty of potential victims for the Xenomorphs while focusing on the survival of Ripley, Newt (Carrie Henn), Hicks (Michael Biehn), and the android Bishop (Lance Henriksen). Though this team’s survival seemed to promise further adventures, the beginning of David Fincher’s *Alien 3* quickly eliminated them – it turned out a facehugger had hidden aboard their escape ship. Only Ripley lived through the ordeal, and Bishop was left severely damaged. Many fans remain upset about the deaths of Hicks and Newt.

Fede Álvarez has confirmed the upcoming *Alien: Romulus* sequel won’t repeat a common error from *Alien 3*. While most characters died in the first film, including the hybrid killing its mother, Kay, Rain and Andy both survived and set off for Yvaga III. Álvarez has now revealed that actors Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson will return for the sequel, ensuring their characters continue the story. This means the film won’t reset the narrative by killing off the surviving protagonists, though it will echo a familiar theme from earlier *Alien* movies.

Fede Álvarez Isn’t Returning to Direct Alien: Romulus‘ Sequel

Fede Álvarez wrote the screenplay for the new *Alien: Romulus* movie, but he won’t be directing it. He explained at HorrorHound Weekend that he and the team always intended to contribute just one film to the franchise, following the example set by directors like James Cameron and David Fincher, who each helmed a single *Alien* movie. While Ridley Scott, the original creator, is free to make multiple films, Álvarez and his team were happy to write this one installment.

Ridley Scott, who created the *Alien* series, has directed three of the films: the original *Alien* in 1979, *Prometheus* in 2012, and *Alien: Covenant* in 2017. All other directors involved in the franchise have only directed one movie each, including James Cameron, David Fincher, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and Fede Álvarez. Although Álvarez is also writing the sequel to *Romulus*, this should help ensure the film avoids the mistakes made in *Alien 3*.

We still don’t know when the sequel to *Alien: Romulus* will be released, but it might be coming soon. With Noah Hawley’s *Alien: Earth* series nearing its end, and the sequel’s script already finished, it feels like it’s within reach. The fate of the characters Rain and Andy remains a mystery. Plus, with *Alien: Earth* exploring Xenomorphs and other alien life on Earth, the *Romulus* sequel has the potential to take the movie series in exciting new directions. We’re eager to learn more about the sequel following Fede Álvarez’s recent statements.

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2025-09-19 17:41