Audition Videos Provide Potential Story Details For Fede Alvarez’s ‘Alien: Romulus’

JB Augustine |

Mar 13, 2023

Gediman taunts a xenomorph in Alien Resurrection, 20th Century Fox

Fede Alvarez, director of the Evil Dead remake and producer of Netflix’s Texas Chainsaw reboot, is in the middle of production on his Alien sequel dubbed “Romulus,” and the specifics are locked down more securely than a Weyland-Yutani vessel. However, and perhaps fortunately for serious Alien fans who may be looking forward to the project, the Internet is intervening.

David in his laboratory in Alien Covenant, 20th Century Fox

Thanks to Vimeo and fan news site AVPGalaxy, audition videos with character and story beats got out like the black goo in Prometheus. Public long enough for people to see and transcribe before redaction, these auditions cover portions of three scenes involving as many characters – one an android. Each scene includes a guy named Bjorn who coaxes the others into exploring a derelict ship.

Scene one has Bjorn approach Rain, the presumptive main character, and her “brother” Andy, the noted android, after finding the ship belonging to Weyland-Yutani. Being one of their products, Andy will be able to open it. Afterward, he and Bjorn are alone in scene two, likely aboard the ship, as the droid eases the tension by telling “the spooked Bjorn” a joke.

An alien bioweapon in Prometheus, 20th Century Fox

That does nothing to win Bjorn over and he retorts to the robot his desire to never see him again. Bjorn’s agitation only grows once things get heady in the third scene.

He saves a potential fourth character from what AVPGalaxy determines is a Facehugger and tries to escape. Whether Andy has an unknown agenda or simply malfunctions, he gets in Bjorn’s way.

The original Xenomorph attacks Ripley in Alien, 20th Century Fox

Alvarez recently rounded out the cast of Romulus but we don’t know for sure who is playing Bjorn or Andy. Rain, however, has a plausible chance of Pacific Rim: Uprising actress Cailee Spaeny playing her. Transformers: The Last Knight actress Isabela Merced and Phoebe Waller-Bridge are also confirmed along with Archie Renaux and Spike Fearn, known for small roles in Morbius and The Batman, respectively.

Filming of Alien: Romulus began in Hungary a few days ago. The film doesn’t have a release date but is likely destined for Hulu following in the warpath of Prey. An Alien TV series from Noah Hawley is on the way too and elsewhere in the horror genre, Evil Dead Rise, a follow-up to Alvarez’s effort, takes over theaters on April 20th.

NEXT: Noah Hawley Offers Update On Upcoming Ridley Scott-Produced ‘Alien’ Series For FX