Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez explains whether his film is more like Alien or Aliens. The latest entry in the beloved Alien franchise, Alien: Romulus tells the story of a group of space colonizers who must search the ends of an old space station while facing up against the scariest creature they have ever seen. Alien: Romulus features a leading cast including Cailee Spaeney, Isabela Merced, Archie Renaux, David Jonsson, Spike Fearn and Aileen Wu. Alien: Romulus is set for release on August 16.

Speaking with Empire, Álvarez explains whether his film is more similar to Alien or Aliens. According to the Romulus director, Alien and Aliens are both such masterpieces that they should not be compared. To honor this perspective, Álvarez decided that he wanted to make a film that was a blend of the two, inspired by the aesthetics of both films as well as the pacing and rhythms of both. The director cited specific moments wherein elements of both Alien and Aliens show their face within Romulus. Check out the full quote from Álvarez below:

To ask an Alien fan to choose between them is a perverse question. So I thought, ‘How do I do both?’

There’s a moment where the characters are walking around areas familiar from the Nostromo. Then they cross through that building and on the other side: boom! You’re in a hallway that looks like Hadley’s Hope [the colony from Aliens].” The cross-pollination is reinforced by the feel of the film, with the first hour adopting the more deliberate, dread-laden atmosphere of Alien, before the action shifts from Remus to the titular Romulus and starts to lean closer to Aliens in both style and tempo.

Your subconscious is like, ‘Why am I feeling I’m in Aliens again?’ The [mood] is telling you that shit is about to get more actiony and intense.

Why Álvarez’s Decision Will Likely Be the Right One

In his interview, Álvarez went on to cite additional inspirations that Alien: Romulus took from the original Alien films. This includes the sibling relationship between Spaeny’s Rain and Jonsson’s Andy. It was Aliens that provided the inspiration for these two characters. The director also noted that Rain and Andy were made to seem working class, relatable characters for the audience. With these James Cameron-inspired characters, Álvarez shows how he is incorporating the previous films not just in the esthetics and structure, but in the story beats themselves.

Visually, Álvarez explained that Romulus takes most after Alien in its decor. Like the Ridley Scott film, the ships in Alien: Romulus are stripped down, utilitarian, and sanitized. This visual minimalism is combined with the advanced technology present in Aliens, harkening back to the Cameron film while still borrowing elements from Scott’s work.

While the reviews for Alien: Romulus will ultimately reveal whether or not Álvarez made the right choice, drawing from both films is likely the best way to go. Like the Romulus director mentioned, it is nearly impossible to parse whether Alien or Aliens is the better film. Both are directed by tour-de-force directors who went on to make numerous other acclaimed films. Their starkly different styles also give the two films very different feels, despite existing in the same franchise. By using elements from both films, Álvarez took the route of highest appeal potential for Alien: Romulus.

Source: Empire