Fede Álvarez Will Not Direct the Alien: Romulus Sequel
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, nearly a year ago Fede Álvarez revived the Alien franchise with the critically acclaimed Alien: Romulus. The film grossed $350 million worldwide, prompting 20th Century Studios to quickly put a sequel into development. At the time, it was announced that Álvarez would return as both writer and director, but the filmmaker has now revealed that he has decided to hand over directing duties to someone else.
In an interview with Toofab, Álvarez said: “We just finished the script—it’s actually a sequel to Romulus. But this time I’m passing the torch to another director. I’ll be producing alongside Ridley Scott, but right now we’re looking for a new director.”
The Uruguayan filmmaker co-wrote the sequel’s script with Rodo Sayagues. He previously told The Hollywood Reporter: “My philosophy is that you should never make a [sequel] within two years. You have to hold off. You have to make the audience crave it. If you look at Alien and Aliens, there’s a seven-year gap between them. But undoubtedly, we already have ideas for it.”
Alien launched the sci-fi franchise in 1979, followed by James Cameron’s Aliens in 1986, David Fincher’s Alien 3 in 1992, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Alien: Resurrection in 1997. Later came Alien vs. Predator (2004) directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, and Aliens vs. Predator – Requiem (2007) directed by the Brothers Strause, before Ridley Scott returned with Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017).
The Alien universe has since expanded with FX’s upcoming series Alien: Earth, while the Predator films—including Prey and the soon-to-be-released Predator: Badlands starring Elle Fanning—have further broadened the shared world.
