If you’ve spent more than five minutes in an Alien fan group over the last few days, you’ve probably noticed one name popping up everywhere: Demián Rugna. Yes, the Argentine director behind last year’s horror shocker When Evil Lurks might be stepping into the Xenomorph pit to direct Alien: Romulus 2. At least, that’s what the rumor mill is screaming. And this time, it may actually have some truth behind it. World of Reel claims Rugna could be in serious talks, and even Fede Álvarez and his writing partner Rodo Sayagues dropped his name during a panel at HorrorBound Weekend.
Álvarez surprised fans when he confirmed he wasn’t returning to direct the sequel, despite the success of Alien: Romulus. His explanation was that he always intended to make just one film. “Pass the baton,” he told fans at the convention (via TooFab). A nice, neat answer, but one that’s tough to swallow considering he was prepping the sequel as recently as June. His producer duties are still ongoing, but directing is now somebody else’s problem. Or maybe Ridley Scott’s problem, depending on who you ask.
Some insiders aren’t buying Álvarez’s story about Alien: Romulus 2. Jeff Sneider on The Hot Mic podcast suggested Álvarez didn’t leave voluntarily at all. According to him, Ridley Scott and Álvarez clashed over creative choices, particularly Álvarez’s push to bring Michael Fassbender’s android David into the sequel. Scott apparently shut that down, keeping Fassbender on ice for some future plan of his own. Sneider wasn’t shy about it: “This whole ‘we’re going to pass the torch’… the torch got passed over him.” If that’s true, then Disney and Scott might’ve quietly shown Álvarez the door.
Meanwhile, Rugna is becoming the frontrunner. His When Evil Lurks earned praise for its raw, unsettling energy, and that’s exactly what Alien fans have been craving. The first Romulus movie worked because it stripped things back to the bones of Scott’s 1979 original. No convoluted lore, no godlike Engineers, just a creepy, claustrophobic nightmare. Rugna’s unflinching style could inject that same primal fear into the sequel. It’s not the obvious choice, but maybe that’s the point.
Timing is another clue. Production is supposed to kick off in October, which means a new director announcement has to come soon. Perfect Organism, a long-running Alien podcast, even cited a source confirming Rugna is the guy for Alien: Romulus 2. Still, until Disney makes it official, fans are left wondering if they’ll be seeing chestbursters through his lens or somebody else’s.
One thing’s for sure, though: the Alien franchise has found new life. Disney’s takeover of Fox had everyone panicking in 2019: would the Xenomorph start singing in a Mickey Mouse musical? Instead, Prey proved Predator still has teeth, Romulus grossed $350 million on an $80 million budget, and FX’s Alien: Earth series is winning praise. Even Scott, during his BFI retrospective, admitted, “Where it’s going now, I think I’ve done enough.” Then again, he also claimed only his film and James Cameron’s sequel were “pretty damn good,” so take that with a pinch of salt.
If Demián Rugna really is in line to direct Alien: Romulus 2, fans might be in for something brutal, terrifying, and unforgettable.
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