It’s taken some time for the Alien movie franchise to find its footing again – but it seems as though Alien: Romulus finally rejuvenated the brand. As such, fans expected director Fede Alvarez to helm the follow-up to the film, but the director revealed that’s not the case. Now he’s sharing why he won’t return to direct the Alien: Romulus sequel despite writing its screenplay.
Alvarez and his frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues both co-wrote Alien: Romulus which Alvarez directed, and then they returned to co-write its sequel. Now, as shared in a new interview via SFF Gazette, Alvarez explained why he’s passing the torch to a new director. He also explains why he still wanted to have a hand in the film as a co-writer.
Here’s what he shared:
“I don’t think I was ever going to. We always knew right when we finished – this is one of those things where you come in, and you do one, and get out,” Álvarez began.
“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.”
Naturally, fans may wonder why Alvarez felt comfortable co-writing the screenplay if that was the case. He has a good reason and it’s to prevent instances like the opening of Alien 3 from happening:
“We did want to write it. Honestly, it’s because we love the characters we created, so we want to make sure no one kills them right at the beginning of the next one. They went and killed Hicks and Newt just like that. Hey, let’s not let that happen,”he continued.“We wrote it and made sure they stayed alive, and now we can let someone else make it.”
Hopefully more concrete developments regarding the sequel to Alien: Romulus and who will be the new director can be shared soon. For now, though, we’ll just have to be patient and enjoy other projects like Predator: Badlands. A release date for the follow-up has yet to be announced. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for more news as we have it.