“Don’t Breathe” and “Evil Dead” remake director Fede Alvarez’s upcoming standalone feature film set within the “Alien” universe appears to have locked in a start date. One that’s near enough that we should be hearing more casting news very soon.
According to a listing on the Film & Television Industry Alliance website (via Collider), the project is currently in pre-production under the working title “Alien: Romulus”.
In addition, it reportedly states that filming is slated to begin on February 6th 2023, with most of the film’s shoot taking place in Budapest, Hungary. Like this year’s “Predator” spin-off “Prey,” this is intended to premiere on Hulu with no plans for a theatrical release at this time. That said, expect calls for one in the wake of such good reception for “Prey”.
So far, the only reported casting is that of “Mare of Easttown” alum Cailee Spaeny. Otherwise, little is known – including the point in time in which the film unfolds, be it post-“Covenant”/pre-“Alien”, during events of any of the films, or post-“Alien 3” or even “Alien: Resurrection”.
We do know the studio picked up the new take purely off the strength of Alvarez’s pitch which is said to boast a “bunch of characters you haven’t seen before” in the franchise. Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues are co-writing the project, which Ridley Scott is producing.
The film is separate from the Noah Hawley-created “Alien” series in the works for FX. That series, still in development, will be Earth-based and unfolds in the territory of a rival megacorporation to the Weyland-Yutani of the films.
