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It's official: Fede Álvarez's Alien movie has the Ridley Scott seal of approval

The film, reportedly titled Alien: Romulus, centers on a new crew of human victims (er, characters) going toe-to-toe with extraterrestrial evil

Features by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Wed Oct 18 2023

Franchise filmmaking must be a little bit like babysitting; you're taking care of someone's most precious possession. And when it's time to hand the baby back, you may be a little nervous about the parents' reaction to your care. Fede Álvarez was, anyway.

The celebrated contemporary horror filmmaker, responsible for hits like Don't Breath, just finished his time at the helm of the Alien franchise, recently sending out his cut to franchise daddy (Am I using that word right?) Ridley Scott. And apparently, Álvarez had no reason to fear:

Ridley Scott loved it.

The story comes to us via the good folks at Variety, who caught Álvarez speaking with Guillermo del Toro at this year's at the DGA Latino Summit. In conversation, Álvarez admitted sending the film off was an "incredibly tense process" and that he was "terrified" of Scott's reaction.

"[...] Everyone gave me the head’s up that Ridley is really tough," says the director of Scott. "He’s really tough, particularly if it has something to do with his movies."

But not only did Álvarez insist on getting Scott's opinion, he insisted on getting it in person.

"I was gonna go there and sit at a table and look at him and get it,” the director said. “Even if he was gonna say, ‘You destroyed my legacy,’ I wanted to be in front of him and see him in the eye."

You have to hand it to Álvarez; the guy's got guts to spare. Maybe there were some left over from the Evil Dead remake.

But the director's gutsy move turned out to be worth it, as the meeting kicked off with immediate praise from Scott. "[...] He walks into the room," said Álvarez, "and he did say ‘Fede, what can I say? It’s fucking great,' [...] One of the best compliments he said was, ‘The dialogue is great. Are you the writer?’"

That's high praise coming from a parent that's tough on their babysitters. Depending on how the film does at the box office, Álvarez might have just landed himsef a long-term nanny gig.

Alien: Romulus is scheduled for release in the US August 16, 2024.

Want to know more about the Alien franchise before the Fede Álvarez-directed, Ridley Sott-approved flick hits theaters next year? Lucky for you, Popverse has an Alien movie watch order to help with that.

And if you're looking for even more movie recs, check out our list of all the major films coming soon.

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.