The sequel to Alien: Romulus gets a surprising new update, with director Fede Álvarez confirming his departure. Released in 2024, the seventh installment in the mainline Alien franchise moved away from Ridley Scott’s prequel storyline in Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017).

Cailee Spaeny leads the Alien: Romulus cast as Rain, one of a group of young space colonists who encounter a Xenomorph while aboard a derelict space station. The film was a success, and it was confirmed not long afterward that a sequel is in development, with Álvarez previously expected to return.

During a recent interview with TooFab, however, Álvarez reveals that he will not return to direct the unтιтled Alien: Romulus sequel. The filmmaker isn’t leaving the sequel entirely, as he cowrote the script and will remain onboard as a producer alongside Scott, but the search is now on for a replacement director. Check out Alvarez’s comment below:

“We just finished the script, actually, for a sequel for Romulus. But I’m gonna pᴀss the torch on this one as director. I’m going to produce it, with Ridley Scott, we’re gonna produce it together and we’re right now trying to find a new filmmaker to come in.

“I think that’s usually what has happened, except for Ridley, filmmakers come, you make one and you pᴀss the baton to the next one. But we wrote the story because we really love what we started with Romulus and we want to continue the story. We love the story and now we just want to find a director that really wants to go for the jugular.”

As for what Álvarez will direct next, he teases that it’s something entirely original:

“I want to work on a personal project that me and my co-writer, we’ve been keeping on the back burner for a while and we feel it’s the right time to go and work on an original. But I can’t tell you anything about it.”

What This Means For The Alien: Romulus Sequel

Though Prometheus was largely successful, the response to Alien: Covenant was far more mixed in 2017, with the film taking a hit critically and commercially. Scott’s planned third film in the David saga was seemingly shelved, and it took seven years for the next installment to hit theaters.

Previously best known for directing movies like Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ (2013) and Don’t Breathe (2016), Álvarez was evidently what the Alien franchise needed. Reviews for Alien: Romulus were generally positive from critics, with the film earning an 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with an even better 85% Popcornmeter score. It also grossed $350 million worldwide.

Álvarez’s departure as director, then, could be concerning to some. Though Romulus was criticized for its over-reliance on franchise nostalgia, the final act with the Xenomorph hybrid was widely hailed as a major movie highlight. Until a new director is announced, it’s hard to say exactly how the Romulus sequel’s tone will shift.

Álvarez also shared earlier this summer that the sequel was eyeing an October production start, but that now seems unlikely if a director hasn’t yet been chosen. The film will seemingly continue the story of Rain and her android brother, Andy (David Jonsson), but no cast information has been confirmed just yet.

Our Take On Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus 2 Departure

Álvarez played the hits with Romulus, honoring what came before in previous Alien movies while also blazing some exciting new ground and introducing compelling new characters to root for. Though the inclusion of a CGI Ian Holm was a weak point, Álvarez certainly proved that he knows how to make an effective Alien movie.

The promise that Álvarez could focus on pushing the franchise forward in the next movie was a major part of the appeal of him staying on as director. It will be interesting to see who Álvarez and Scott choose as a replacement, but the pair staying on as producers hopefully means the follow-up to Alien: Romulus is still in good hands.