The Alien franchise has continued entertaining fans by presenting a terrifying adventure due to extraterrestrial life. Given that each installment has added its unique flavor, the upcoming Alien: Romulus promises fans to bring a new perspective while bringing back to its basics.
Among many surprises, director Fede Álvarez reflected that the movie is paying homage to one of the most iconic video games, Alien: Isolation. He talked about bringing one crucial detail to the movie, making it more nerve-wracking.
Alien: Romulus Incorporated Alien: Isolation Element, Making the Movie More Menacing
For the unversed, Alien: Isolation is a popular game, set 15 years after the events of the original Alien film. It follows Amanda Ripley, the daughter of Ellen Ripley, as she navigates a space station infested with a Xenomorph.
One of the most nerve-wracking aspects of the game was the use of ‘Registration Points,’ which appear as Emergency Phones scattered throughout the space station.
These phones allow players to save their progress in the game but it has disadvantages as well – their slow operation often left Amanda vulnerable to attack. This mechanism turned out to be a risky move for players, who had to gamble every time they decided to save.
Fede Álvarez, who is credited as a co-writer and director of the upcoming movie, Alien: Romulus, incorporated the same mechanic into the movie.
In a recent interview with the Inside Total Film podcast and GamesRadar+, Álvarez revealed that every time something bad is about to happen in the movie, a phone will appear on the screen.
He shared,
The movie is set up in a way [that] every time something bad is about to happen, you will see a phone. In the game, every time you knew there’s a phone you’d go, ‘F**k, I’m about to go into some bad set-piece.’ It’s the same thing here.
He teased the audience to brace themselves for impact if they see the phone in any sequence, which he added has been “planted strategically” throughout the movie.
Alien: Romulus Will Reveal 1 Major Thing That the Franchise Kept Hidden for Years
His decision to incorporate a detail from Alien: Isolation into Alien: Romulus is beyond a fan-pleasing Easter egg, which reflects the director’s deep understanding of the franchise.
However, this is not the only major thing that he is bringing in the movie, as he reflected on revealing the method with which Xenomorph kills its prey.
Since its introduction in Ridley Scott’s 1979 movie, Alien, the terrifying creature has brutally hunted its prey however, his method of killing has remained a mystery for years now.
While the movies set a menacing atmosphere to showcase the creature’s hunting ground, the filmmakers have left it to audiences to imagine his killing procedure. But the upcoming movie is finally disclosing the secret.
In Collider Interviews, the director reflected,
We’re probably doing that in this movie. Without spoiling it, we actually got there, and we show a few times what the Xenomorph does to people when it actually gets to you, and you keep rolling, and you keep showing it.
Set in a dystopian future, Alien: Romulus follows a new group of characters as they battle for survival against the deadly Xenomorphs. It stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu.
Alien: Romulus is set to hit the screens on 16 August 2024.
