In space no one can hear you scream. But your cries of anguish definitely reverberate through a spaceship. That is if you’re even capable of screaming. That’s hard to do while a facehugger is using your throat to make you a human incubator. And that’s why so many unfortunate scavengers in Alien: Romulus won’t be able to call out for help when the meet the galaxy’s greatest terror. At least they won’t be able to until it’s too late. The horror-action film’s final trailer features a plethora of those iconic parasitic creatures running wild.
20th Century Studios describes Alien: Romulus as a film that takes the franchise “back to its roots.” Everything we’ve seen from it so far more than confirms that. This entry from writer-director Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe), which takes place between the first and second film, looks and feels like those two entries.
But there also seems to be more going on here than just an “unlucky” encounter for some colonizers “scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station.” They come “face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.” Literally and often. Those facehuggers are everywhere. Why are there so many onboard in the first place? And what does that mean for this group’s already low survival chances? Probably not high considering what baby Xenomorphs grow into.
Alien: Romulus also comes from co-writer Rodo Sayagues (Don’t Breathe 2), with Ridley Scott serving as a producer. It stars: Cailee Spaeny (Civil War), David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), and newcomer Aileen Wu.
How many of them will escape with their lives and how many of them will see a baby Xenomorph escape from their chest? We’ll find out when we hear their screams later this summer. Alien: Romulus flies into theaters on August 16, 2024.