Fede Álvarez was supposed to be the captain of the Alien: Romulus sequel, but in the last few days we learned that he’s stepping aside. In his own words (via TooFab), he actually decided to “pass the baton”. That’s the story he’s telling fans, but, honestly, many of them aren’t buying it, especially when Ridley Scott is looming in the background.
Back in June, Álvarez said he was deep in prep for the film, aiming to shoot in fall. Now he’ll stay on as producer alongside Ridley Scott, while a new director is sought to take over the helm. Jeff Sneider from The Hot Mic isn’t convinced Álvarez is telling the full truth. He suggests this “pass the torch” line is spin and that the real reason might be a clash with Scott himself.
“This whole ‘we’re going to pass the torch’… you have been talking and planning this for the last year. The torch got passed over him,” Sneider said. Apparently, Álvarez wanted Michael Fassbender in the Alien: Romulus sequel, but Scott reportedly objected, saying he might want Fassbender back later. Creative differences, Sneider says. And who usually wins those? Ridley Scott, of course.
But Scott has been talking a lot during his BFI retrospective, confirming his next three projects but making it clear none are Alien.
Sneider also claims Álvarez had bigger plans, like introducing David, the android, or even crossing paths with the Predator at some point.
But with Álvarez gone, who actually steps in for the Alien: Romulus sequel? Noah Hawley has the Alien: Earth series on FX, which has been very well-received. Could he possibly jump over to the sequel, or does Scott actually want to grab the reins himself again? No one knows for sure yet.
The first Alien: Romulus surprised everyone. It was a back-to-basics revival, leaning on the structure of Scott’s 1979 original, and it grossed $350 million worldwide on an $80 million budget. Caillee Spaeny as Rain (basically a modern-day Ripley) was a standout and likely a reason Disney fast-tracked the sequel.
Disney’s acquisition of Fox in 2019 had sci-fi horror fans panicking. Alien and Predator under Mickey Mouse? Would the Xenomorph suddenly start singing show tunes? Thankfully, no. Instead, Disney quietly let creators do their thing.
Prey (2022) dropped on Hulu and reminded us the Predator could still scare the hell out of us. Then came Alien: Romulus, which felt more like the original Alien than Prometheus ever did. And now Alien: Earth on FX shows the franchise still has life.
Scott himself admitted to Screenrant, “Where it’s going now, I think I’ve done enough, and I just hope it goes further.” He also said, “I think mine was pretty damn good, and I think Jim’s was good, and I have to say the rest were not very good. And I thought, ‘F***, that’s the end of a franchise which should be as important as bloody Star Trek or Star Wars.’”
Disney didn’t seem to plan for any of this to work. Prey and Romulus were supposed to be throwaways for streaming. No big stars, no studio interference, just horror, heart, and acid-bleeding chaos. And it worked.
Maybe the takeaway here is simple: let creators create. Executives can stick to spreadsheets. If Disney can revive Alien and give it real life again, there’s hope for other franchises. Just don’t hand Ridley Scott the controls again. Especially not for the Alien: Romulus sequel.
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