A new BTS video for Alien: Romulus teases the soft reboot’s Xenomorphs and emotional family story. The Fede Álvarez-directed installment of the influential space-bound sci-fi horror franchise takes audiences onboard the Romulus Space Station between the events of Alien and Aliens, as a new Xenomorph outbreak places the crew in crisis. Alien: Romulus stars Cailee Spaeney, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu as the feature’s poor crew of survivors.

As the Xenomorph menace prepares to re-emerge this summer, a new Alien: Romulus behind-the-scenes featurette has been shared by 20th Century Studios, unpacking the core of the movie. Check it out below:

Álvarez breaks down the stripped-back nature of the feature and focuses on the horror elements of the franchise, while Spaeney and Jonsson discuss how the sibling dynamic between Rain and Andy Carradine is the emotional foundation of the story. Alongside new glimpses at the Xenomorphs, the grungy home of the crew, and their travels to the Romulus, the footage teases low gravity scenes and tense chases.

Is Alien: Romulus A Return To The Franchise’s Most Successful Moments?

Alien: Romulus Is Teasing A Stripped-Back, Personal Story

For the first new Alien movie to release since 2017, Álvarez and his crew have taken a similar approach to how Prey reinvigorated the Predator franchise. While later installments under director Ridley Scott focused on answering the mysteries behind the franchise, Romulus‘ scope is seemingly limited, primarily focusing on the titular space station that is reminiscent of the Nostromo’s corridors. Furthermore, while hordes of Facehuggers have been seen swarming the characters, the Xenomorph threat is seemingly limited to aliens resembling the original “Big Chap,” showing a return to the simpler apex predator of the first movie.

However, it is clear that Álvarez isn’t simply looking to the original movie as inspiration. While the Alien: Romulus crew is seemingly a team of ambitious young go-getters eager for greatness akin to the original’s characters, the sibling dynamic of Rain and Andy adds a personal, more familial element, similar to Ripley’s adoptive parent relationship with Newt in Aliens, to create greater emotional tension. As such, Alien: Romulus isn’t simply a retread, but a distillation of the franchise’s best.

While Alien: Romulus‘ marketing is playing things close to its chest when it comes to the horrors viewers will witness, the latest featurette is a welcome tease for the stakes of the film. Not only does the video preview some unique, terrifying scenarios for creature scares, but the tease of the characters’ personal relationships also sets viewers up for a potential tragedy. As such, Alien: Romulus seems set to be an impactful, long-awaited reawakening of one of horror’s most iconic menaces.

Alien: Romulus releases in theaters on August 16.

Source: 20th Century Studios