Fede Álvarez’s hotly anticipated Alien: Romulus was finally revealed to the public Monday night after the 20th Century Studios film held its world premiere in Los Angeles, and the first reactions have already hit social media.
The eighth installment in the long-running Alien franchise is set between the events of Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien and James Cameron’s 1986 sequel Aliens. Romulus follows young colonists who come across a derelict space station and encounter the horror of the alien creature that is the enduring star of the franchise. The film stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced and Spike Fearn.
The film is produced by Scott, Michael Pruss and Walter Hill.
Romulus was originally slated to be a Hulu release à la Dan Trachtenberg’s critically acclaimed Predator prequel, Prey (2022), but the studio wisely shifted to theatrical at the start of principal photography. “Right when we started shooting it, the studio was like, ‘Fuck it, we’re going into theaters with this,’” Álvarez told The Hollywood Reporter in an in-depth interview in March.
Romulus releases wide in theaters on Aug. 16.
Although full reviews for Romulus drop on Wednesday, read on for a sampling of the first reactions to the film after Monday night’s premiere.
