Alien: Romulus producer Michael Pruss reveals that the next Alien movie may not be a direct sequel. Directed by Fede Alvarez, the latest installment in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror franchise stars Cailee Spaeny as Rain and David Jonsson as Andy, two members of a young crew who encounter a Xenomorph aboard an abandoned space station. Alien: Romulus reviews were positive from critics and the film was a box office hit, and news arrived not long after its success confirming that Alvarez was developing a follow-up film.
During a recent interview with ScreenRant at the Saturn Awards, Pruss shares an update on the Alien: Romulus sequel, revealing that it’s still very much in the early stages of development. He shares that everything is on the table as far as the story goes, including ideas that aren’t direct sequels to Romulus. Whether they end up pursuing one of those ideas, however, remains to be seen. Check out Pruss’ comment below:
I am involved in the sequel with Ridley and our friends and colleagues and Fede, course. We are working on ideas for another Alien film, which may not be a direct sequel to Romulus, but it certainly is a part of the existing franchise.
At the moment we’re doing what I call “sitting around tables and drinking water.” We’re discussing ideas. Good movies take time, and I just worked on Gladiator II, and that took 25 years to conjure up a sequel. It takes a period of time to really examine ideas and understand if those ideas are worth pushing. Sometimes they are, and sometimes they aren’t, and we just have to submit to the best idea.
We are in an early phase, but we hope to really have something special to talk about as the year goes on. I promise it won’t be 25 years; it’ll be sooner than that, but I don’t have more specifics. We aren’t yet in more of a specific phase than just working with Fede and Ridley to try and come up with something great that will frankly garner the same reaction. Romulus was worth the wait, right? People loved it, they embraced it, and so it takes time to do it. But we want to give you something great.
What Pruss’ Update Means For The Next Alien Movie
What Fede Alvarez Has Said About The Next Installment
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Alien: Romulus.
After the mixed response to Alien: Covenant (2017), Alvarez’s movie takes the franchise in a new direction, introducing a new cast of characters with a new premise. Alien: Romulus ends with Rain and Andy as the only survivors, with the pair embarking on a journey to Yvaga III. It has previously been teased that the next movie will feature the return of Rain and Andy, with Alvarez himself recently providing hints about what may be to come in an interview with Empire:
I think it’ll be so exciting to go with characters you know from this movie, to a place in the Alien franchise that we’ve never been before, and to discover things that you’ve never seen before.
Pruss’ comment, however, seemingly confirms that Alvarez and Scott aren’t married to the idea of continuing Rain and Andy’s story. With it still being so early in the development process, it’s clear that the next movie is very much in the brainstorming phase, with Alvarez and Scott exploring all potential options when it comes to story. That being said, with both Alvarez and 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell having expressed interest in seeing Rain and Andy return, it’s still entirely possible that audiences will be seeing these Alien: Romulus characters again.
Alien: Romulus grossed $350 million worldwide at the box office and has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 80%, with the audience score coming in higher at 85%.
Our Take On The Next Alien Movie Not Being A Romulus Sequel
Andy & Rain Deserve To Return
Arguably one of the problems with Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant is that the former film’s protagonist, Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), dies off-screen between the two films and doesn’t return in the latter. With both Rain and Andy having proven popular with audiences, it would be great to see these two characters make a comeback. The first two Alien movies benefited from having Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in both, and Rain could become a new Ripley-like figure for the franchise.
Having this connectivity between movies would create the sense of a more overarching story, and seeing how Rain and Andy evolve over time could open the door to some exciting story possibilities. From the sounds of things, nothing has been decided just yet about where to take the franchise after Alien: Romulus, but Rain and Andy have certainly proven themselves characters worthy of further exploration.
