The use of special effects is quite common in movies nowadays but director Fede Alvarez is making sure everything feels authentic in his 2024 movie, Alien: Romulus. In one of his recent interviews, the director explained that he preferred to create the movie without green screens. The film serves as a standalone interquel set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986). Unlike Romulus, Alien and Aliens both relied on CGI.
The film focuses on a group of young space colonizers who come face to face with terrifying otherworldly creatures while exploring a derelict space station. It’s not like Alvarez hates using CGI as he has used special effects in the past in his movies like Evil Dead (2013) and a short film, Panic Attack! (2009).
Alien: Romulus director Fede Alvarez says all creatures were built on the sets
Director Fede Alvarez recently appeared for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter and talked about his upcoming film, Alien: Romulus. In an industry where using special effects is very common, Alvarez opted to create all the creatures for his film on the sets. The director said,
“I have this obsession with no green screens, so we built every creature and set. Everything had to be built so we were really living and breathing in these spaces.”
Alien: Romulus features some well-known Hollywood stars like Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu. As per VG, the film was shot in Budapest.
Alien: Romulus will hit the theatres on August 16, 2024
Alvarez admitted that not everything was done without special effects as they built spaceships and miniatures and combined them with CGI. However, for face-to-face shots, the director wanted them to be authentic,
“When it comes to face-to-face encounters and moments with creatures, nothing beats the real thing – For the sets, we built spaceships and we built miniatures. We went back to all of that. And then we figured out ways to marry it with the CG world. There’s some things that only CG can do for the scope and movement. So it really has to be the right tool for the shot.”
Alien: Romulus is the seventh installment in the main Alien franchise. The expectations are quite high as Ridley Scott served as a producer for the film and was also closely involved during production. Will Alien: Romulus live up to the expectations? Only time will tell.
