The Best Alien Movie Since 1986 Becomes a Major Streaming Hit on HBO Max

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Major franchises like Marvel, DC, and Star Wars are experiencing a resurgence. Marvel plans to revitalize its cinematic universe with upcoming Avengers films, while DC Studios is creating a brand-new universe of stories. And next year, Star Wars will return to the big screen with Star Wars: Starfighter.

Most fans didn’t think the Alien and Predator series would become popular again, especially with so many franchises competing for attention these days. But that’s exactly what’s happening now. What’s even more impressive is that Alien and Predator are successfully merging their storylines, creating a more cohesive universe than even Marvel or DC have managed.

A film that helped kickstart the recent popularity of the Alien and Predator franchises is finding a new audience and becoming a hit again after being added to HBO Max.

Alien‘s Best New Movie Is No. 1 on HBO Max Streaming

As a huge cinema fan, I think it’s safe to say the Alien franchise was at its absolute best with the first two films. Ridley Scott’s original Alien (1979) really set the standard for terrifying, claustrophobic sci-fi horror, and James Cameron’s Aliens (1986) brilliantly combined that horror with high-octane action – a real blockbuster formula. Unfortunately, after those two masterpieces, the series just didn’t maintain that quality. The 90s and 2000s brought a string of disappointing sequels like Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection, and then those odd, unnecessary crossovers with Predator – Alien vs. Predator and AvP: Requiem – just didn’t hit the mark.

The Alien series explored its origins with the films Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2016), directed by Ridley Scott. More recently, Alien returned to its roots with Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus (2024), which essentially restarted the franchise. Romulus is now the most popular movie on HBO Max, surpassing another reboot, Jurassic World Rebirth (2025).

Romulus centers around Rain Carradine, a young woman in her twenties, who is determined to leave the Weyland-Yutani mining colony where she grew up an orphan with her flawed android brother, Andy. She impulsively teams up with her former boyfriend, Tyler, and his friends to steal a shuttle and sneak onto the abandoned Weyland-Yutani research station, Renaissance. The station is divided into two sections, Remus and Romulus. Once inside, they discover the station is deserted and clearly suffered a disaster. Hoping to regain control, they try using Andy’s android capabilities, but instead, they accidentally reactivate the xenomorphs that wiped out the original crew, turning the station into a deadly labyrinth they must navigate to survive.

The latest Alien film, Romulus, was a commercial and critical success. It made $350.9 million worldwide on an $80 million budget, making it the second highest-grossing film in the franchise after Prometheus ($403 million). It also received an 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the best score for an Alien movie since the original two films (which scored 93% and 94%). Romulus effectively connects the storylines of Alien and Aliens, and sets the stage for future installments to explore new and exciting directions for the Alien universe.

Is Alien: Romulus Getting A Sequel?

For over a year, rumors have circulated about a new Alien film, but Disney and 20th Century Studios haven’t officially approved it yet. Currently, Fede Álvarez won’t be directing, but he is writing the script for the Romulus sequel. Details about the story are scarce, except that Fede has promised not to repeat a common trope in other Alien sequels – killing off characters who survived the previous film. Amanda Ripley and the android David are likely to return as central characters, and Álvarez has hinted at an exciting new direction for the Alien franchise.

You can currently watch Alien: Romulus on HBO and stream it on HBO Max. Join the conversation about the Alien movies and games on the ComicBook Forum!

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2026-03-09 18:44