“I was like, F**k, if I could do anything”: Moment of Epiphany ‘Alien: Romulus’ Director Fede Álvarez Had While Playing an Iconic Video Game Led Him to Make the Film
- Fede Álvarez reveals how did he recognize the potential in the Alien franchise.
- The filmmaker shared the warning he received from Ridley Scott for Alien: Romulus.
- Ridley Scott backs up Fede Álvarez with stating that Alien: Romulus is going to do really well.
Directed by Fede Álvarez, the upcoming science horror fiction movie Alien: Romulus is going to serve as the seventh installment in the Alien franchise. Regarded as a standalone interquel set between Alien from 1979 and Aliens from 1986, Alien: Romulus has got the audience and the movie critics excited for its world premiere.
Starring Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Isabela Merced, Aileen Wu, and more, the movie is going to follow a group of space colonists coming face-to-face with what’s described as the most terrifying life form. Álvarez recently shared how he was able to recognize the potential in the franchise.
Fede Álvarez reveals Alien: Romulus’ connection to modern-classic video games
Ahead of the release of the highly anticipated science horror movie Alien: Romulus, filmmaker Fede Álvarez spoke to Games Radar about the upcoming standalone interquel that is going to take the franchise back to its roots. The filmmaker also talked about the moment that he recognized that there was a lot of potential in the franchise. He said,
Alien: Isolation was kind of what made me see that Alien could truly be terrifying and done well today. I played a few years after it came out. Don’t Breathe was coming out. Or was I waiting for Don’t Breathe to come out, and I was playing the game? That’s why, at the time, I was like, F**k, if I could do anything, I would love to do Alien and scare the audience again with that creature and those environments.
Fede Álvarez shared during the interview that it was then that he realized how terrifying Alien could be if taken back to the original tone. The filmmaker not only realized that the franchise had potential while playing the video game but also managed to pay homage to the video game.
The publication explained that in the first behind-the-scenes image from the upcoming movie, a familiar-looking emergency phone has been shown. In the game it is shown as Registration Points, which allow the player to save, but because they work slowly, the main character Amanda Ripley is left vulnerable to the pharyngeal jaw to the back of the skull.
Álvarez mentioned that the movie is set up in a way that every time something bad is about to happen, the audience will see a phone. It’s very similar to how it’s shown in the game that if the player sees a phone, they know the s** is about to go down. He, however, clarified that the phone is planted strategically throughout the movie.
Fede Álvarez reveals one thing Ridley Scott asked him when it comes to the Alien franchise
The filmmaker, who is excited about the upcoming movie, shared a post on social media with a note that was addressed to him by Ridley Scott and read,
Dear Fede Good luck. Good Health. Good Hunting. Don’t F**k Up. Very Best. Wishes Ridley Scott.
Ridley Scott, who serves as the lead producer on Romulus, had spoken to the Los Angeles Times earlier this month about the movie and shared that the danger of all franchises is that they eventually die unless someone revives them. He added,
Fede is a surge of energy, and I had to step back and let him do it. Fede had a blueprint firm in his mind, and his script was pretty clear. It was also long, but the screenplay is always long. And so we got into that a little bit.
The filmmaker also explained why he decided to keep his distance while Álvarez made his movie because he understands that the last thing someone needs is to have someone give them advice. He added that he did not need advice, and if he fell on his sword, he’d lay on the ground bleeding.
Scott showcased encouragement for the director as he said that he hopes that Álvarez has another Alien movie up his sleeve because the upcoming one is going to do really well.
Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus comes out in cinemas on August 16, 2024.
