The Alien: Romulus Trailer Revives The Best Sci-Fi Horror Series Ever

If I lived in the "Alien" universe, the last thing I'd ever do is step foot on a mysteriously empty spacecraft. Or heck, leave Earth at all; it seems there's little out there in the cosmos besides Xenomorph hive after Xenomorph hive. Space is terrifying enough as is (no one can hear you scream there, you know) and with bug-looking rape/murder monsters thrown in? Pass.

However, the main characters in "Alien: Romulus" doe not share my trepidation. The official synopsise says the film follows a crew of colonists who, while salvaging supplies from an abandoned space station, discover that it's hosting Xenomorphs. The film's newest trailer does nothing to disabuse the presumption that this is going to end poorly for them.

"Romulus" is set between the 1979 original "Alien" and 1986 sequel "Aliens." The film's set design evokes the steamy, factory look of "Alien" (where the black-skinned and biomechanical Xenomorphs can camouflage themselves, heightening the paranoia). Stan Winston's effects team from "Aliens" was also recruited to create this movie's monsters practically. Get a glimpse of that in the new "Alien: Romulus" trailer and be the judge of how well they pulled it off.

The space station setting of "Alien: Romulus" evokes the 2008 video game "Dead Space" (itself an "Alien" game in spirit), where 26th century starship engineer Isaac Clarke must fight his way out of the Ishimura, a ship overrun by Necromorphs (space zombies). Isaac escapes with his life, but nothing of that sort is guaranteed for the characters in "Romulus." Cailee Spaeny (who you might remember from this year's political thriller "Civil War") leads the cast as Rain Carradine. The first "Romulus" teaser coded her as the new Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), ending on a shot of a frightened Rain holding a rifle before smash-cutting to a Xenomorph close-up. Joining Spaeny are David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu.

"Alien: Romulus" is directed by Fede Álvarez. 2016's "Don't Breathe" proved he can make an effective "kids trapped in a house with a monster" movie. "Romulus" doesn't look like it's aiming to be more than that (though this time, there'll be a zero-gravity scene, which neither "Alien" nor "Don't Breathe" had).

If this looks like yet another cynical back to basics semi-reboot to you, I get it. But me, I'm a sucker for "Alien" style horror and eagerly await "Romulus." If you want even more details, read up on the "Alien: Romulus" footage that /Film saw at this year's CinemaCon.

"Alien: Romulus" is scheduled for theatrical release on August 16, 2024.