Fede Álvarez Won’t Direct ‘Alien: Romulus’ Sequel

Despite the Uruguayan filmmaker previously saying he was in pre-production on the xenomorph follow-up, he’s now stepping away and will only produce.

Director Fede Álvarez at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 'Alien: Romulus' panel. Photo: Disney.

Preview:

Director Fede Álvarez is stepping away from the ‘Alien: Romulus’ sequel.
But he will produce the movie with franchise overseer Ridley Scott.
The hunt is on for a new director.

The ‘Alien’ franchise is enjoying a real resurgence of late –– ‘Alien: Earth’ is getting good reviews and solid viewing figures on Hulu, while last year’s ‘Alien: Romulus’ did more than $350 million at the worldwide box office.

You might think, then, that ‘Romulus’ co-writer/director Fede Álvarez would be eager to jump back in for the sequel to that movie. Yet despite previously indicating so, and talking up kicking off pre-production, he’s now stepping away, moving to simply produce the next outing.

Untitled Alien: Romulus Sequel

Not Yet RatedHorror Science Fiction

Here’s what Álvarez told website TooFab about the decision:

“We just finished the script, actually, for a sequel for ‘Romulus’. But I’m gonna pass 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 pass 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.”

What was the story of ‘Alien: Romulus’?

(L to R) Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine and David Jonsson as Andy in 20th Century Studios' 'Alien: Romulus.' Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

‘Romulus’ was the story of a group of young space colonists who are looking for a way off the mining colony moon they call home.

While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, they come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.

As for the sequel’s story, those details are being kept inside a Facehugger’s egg for now. But talking to The Hollywood Reporter in October last year, 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell had this to say:

“We know there's going to be aliens. We know there’s going to be great horror set pieces. But I fell in love with both of them [Álvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues, who have crafted the story for the next movie] and I want to see what their story is.”

What else is Fede Álvarez working on?

(Right) Director Fede Álvarez at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 'Alien: Romulus' panel. Photo: Disney.

Álvarez is one of those filmmakers who always has something in development. Right now, he has the likes of video game adaptation ‘Dante’s Inferno’ bubbling away alongside ‘Incognito’, about a super-villain in the witness protection programme.

He admitted to TooFab that he had something in mind to make next, but is keeping specifics close to his chest:

“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.”

Spoilsport!

When will the ‘Alien: Romulus’ sequel be on screens?

David Jonsson as Andy in 20th Century Studios' 'Alien: Romulus.' Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Since it’s now in a holding pattern awaiting a new director, don’t expect to learn a release date for the currently untitled sequel until a team is in place.