Fede Álvarez did with Alien: Romulus what Ridley Scott failed to do and breathed new life into the franchise, earning $350M in the process. Álvarez has always been keen on returning to direct the sequel, and everything he’s said in the meantime, including in my interview with him, made that clear. We know he wrote the screenplay for it, but a few weeks ago it was learned that he would not direct. So…what’s going on here?
Álvarez appeared at HorrorHound weekend (via Alien-Covenant, h/t World of Reel) and said that he was never attached to direct the Alien: Romulus sequel. Say what?
“I don’t think I was ever going to (direct the sequel). We always knew right when we finished – this is one of those things where you come in and you do one, and get out. Cameron, Fincher… all those directors I love, they went and did one. Obviously Ridley created it, he has the right to make a bunch of them. We did want to write it […] We wrote it and made sure they stayed alive, and now we can let someone else make it.”
That doesn’t make any sense. Álvarez has been wildly enthusiastic about Alien and coming back for more. Production was set to begin this fall, but now the search is on for a new director. What happened that has changed what looked like a pretty straight-forward process?
According to Jeff Sneider’s sources, Álvarez was actually fired over creative differences, including with Ridley Scott. And we know Scott is going to get the last word on pretty much anything involving his beloved Alien.
What now? Will Disney seek out another horror director to take the reins? Maybe Noah Hawley, who is apparently doing good work over on the Alien: Earth TV series, could be a replacement? Chances are we’ll find out very soon, but I find this troubling. It was Álvarez’s vision that worked so well, and a new filmmaker might want to ditch everything he accomplished so well.
