Alien: Romulus

director Fede Alvarez reveals that his original plan for the movie involved keeping its Alien franchise status a secret until 30 minutes in. Featuring Cailee Spaeny in the lead role of Rain Carradine, the latest installment in the hit sci-fi horror franchise follows a young crew as they encounter a Xenomorph aboard a derelict space station. Alien: Romulus reviews were positive from critics and the film was a major box office success, marking an improvement after 2017’s Alien: Covenant from director Ridley Scott.

During a recent interview with Collider, Alvarez reveals that the initial spark for Alien: Romulus dates back to when Scott was making Covenant. The idea for the film then, however, was to not let any marketing reveal that the movie was an Alien movie. Audiences, Alvarez explains, wouldn’t have found out it was a new installment in the franchise until the appearance of an egg 30 minutes in. Check out his full explanation below:

“We started talking about this film when Ridley was doing Covenant. That’s when they started talking with Michael Schaefer, who was his right hand at the time. When I pitched this story when they asked me what kind of movie I’d do, what I pitched at the time was, ‘Why don’t we do it as a spin-off? We don’t say Alien. We just put any random science fiction тιтle. We show some kids and some planets somewhere…’

It was this whole thing, ‘And then suddenly they walk into a room, and there’s a f*cking egg.’ Imagine that audience at SXSW finding out on opening night, 30 minutes into the movie, that you’re watching an Alien movie. That was the original plan.”

What Alvarez’s Original Idea Would’ve Meant For Alien: Romulus

Why This Idea Didn’t Happen

While Alvarez’s idea to not reveal that Romulus is an Alien movie 30 minutes in would’ve meant a fun surprise for audiences, there’s a clear reason why it didn’t end up happening. The Alien franchise is immensely valuable as a piece of IP, with 46 years of history that audiences are familiar with. Just having “Alien” in the тιтle is enough to get some viewers to show up, and it’s likely that a pitch to remove this would’ve been met with some resistance by 20th Century Studios, who obviously want the movie to make as much money as possible.

It’s possible that Alvarez’s original idea also changed due to creative reasons, but business concerns undoubtedly played a role here too. Plus, the shock value of not revealing that Romulus is an Alien movie until 30 minutes in only really works for the opening weekend, as word would get out on social media fairly quickly. Ultimately, Alien: Romulus did well in theaters for what it was, scoring an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score from critics and grossing $350 million worldwide on an $80 million budget.

Our Take On Alvarez’s Original Alien: Romulus Idea

It Would Have Been A Major Shock

Purely from an audience point of view, the idea of not realizing that Romulus is an Alien movie until 30 minutes in sounds like a lot of fun. But, in an age where the entertainment landscape is dominated by sequels and reboots, such an idea just doesn’t make a lot of sense. The reason why Hollywood keeps making sequels and reboots is because these are the movies audiences are showing up for, and Romulus would’ve been shooting itself in the foot by not announcing that it’s an Alien movie.

Still Alvarez’s unique creative approach bodes well for the franchise’s future after the Alien: Romulus ending. Even though the announced Alien: Romulus sequel will clearly be marketed as such, Alvarez clearly has a lot of ideas as a filmmaker, and what he delivers next could still be surprising.

Source: Collider