At the end of Aliens, Ellen Ripley finally gets to experience a moment of peace as she, Newt, and Hicks go into cryostasis aboard the Sulaco and head far away from LV-426. Unfortunately, that peace wasn’t meant to last. In one of the most controversial creative choices in the franchise, Newt and Hicks are killed off early on in Alien 3 — essentially rendering Ripley’s plight in Aliens pointless. It was a move that upset a lot of fans, as the dynamic Ripley shares with Newt and Hicks is one of the many highlights in James Cameron’s films. The Alien franchise has experienced a bit of a resurgence in part thanks to the success of last summer’s Alien: Romulus, and the creative team is ensuring its sequel won’t repeat the sins of the past.
Speaking at HorrorHound Weekend in Cincinnati (via Screen Rant), Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez explained why he wanted to write the sequel even though he isn’t returning to direct. “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,” he said. “They went and killed Hicks and Newt just like that. Hey, let’s not let that happen. We wrote it and made sure they stayed alive, and now we can let someone else make it.”
The Alien: Romulus sequel is still in early development, as there’s no director attached and no release date is set. But Álvarez’s comments all but confirm Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson will return to portray surrogate siblings Rain Carradine and android Andy, respectively. That is a very exciting update; while some took issue with Alien: Romulus‘ moments of fan service and questionable decision to digitally recreate the likeness of the late Ian Holm, Spaeny and Jonsson’s performances were a definite highlight. Their dynamic brought something fresh to the Alien franchise, and it will be fun to see it continue to grow.
It isn’t surprising to hear that Álvarez wants to keep Spaeny and Jonsson around; both are rising stars in the industry who have only gotten bigger in the time since Romulus premiered. Jonsson, of course, was a standout in the critically acclaimed Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk. It would be a colossally missed opportunity if the Romulus sequel didn’t bring him back in a meaningful capacity, as Jonsson’s demonstrated the ability to deliver genuinely moving and affecting performances within the confines of genre work. Spaeny’s profile should get another boost later this year with the release of Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man, which earned rave reviews out of the Toronto International Film Festival this year.
Plot details are being kept under wraps for the time being, but it looks like Álvarez is taking a page out of the Aliens playbook for the Romulus sequel. After being the lone survivor in Alien, Ripley encountered a new group of characters and went through a trying ordeal in Aliens. Now, it’s Rain and Andy who are the survivors. Based on Álvarez’s comments, the Romulus sequel’s story will likely revolve around them as they deal with a new situation. Romulus ended with the two siblings setting course for Yvaga III, so perhaps the sequel will pick up shortly after they arrive on the planet. Rain’s friends believed Yvaga III was a peaceful world, but there could be unexpected dangers waiting for them there.
Álvarez’s comments should not be taken as confirmation that Rain and Andy will make it through the Romulus sequel unscathed. He just wanted to avoid having another filmmaker come in and kill the characters off unceremoniously in the opening moments. This is still an Alien movie after all, and after spending two movies following Rain and Andy, it could be an emotional gut punch to have to say goodbye to one of them. The Alien films are built around thrilling set pieces, but the best installments have characters audiences care about. The Romulus sequel should deliver in that department.
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