Despite rumors that the sequel to Alien: Romulus was being shelved, 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell seemed to confirm on social media that a follow-up to the film is still in development. When a (now-deleted) X post suggested the movie was no longer happening, Asbell retweeted it from his own account with a simple “nope”. The rumour largely stems from a report posted on World of Reel suggesting that a variety of behind-the-scenes issues were causing the studio to step away from a direct sequel in favour of a separate Alien film, to be directed by Whalefall’s Brian Duffield. Yet it seems the plan is still to move forward with the continuity established by the film, even if casting may prove challenging.
Alien: Romulus was a solid box office hit, grossing a strong $350 million worldwide on an $80 million budget. Part of the reason it was so profitable is that director Fede Álvarez’s film eschewed big-name actors in favor of a cast of relative unknowns. However, one issue is that the film’s two leads, Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, are now among the fastest-rising stars in Hollywood. Spaeny has the successful Civil War and Wake Up Dead Man under her belt, and she is heavily rumored to be joining the upcoming X-Men reboot as Rogue. If she ends up in the MCU, she’ll be joining Jonsson, who was announced as the star of Black Panther 3 at Comic-Con last week.
The report also states that creative differences between producer Ridley Scott and Fede Álvarez may have been to blame for the latter’s exit from the sequel, specifically over his desire to use Michael Fassbender’s David, from Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, in the movie. Whatever the case, the Alien saga seems to be alive and well at 20th Century Studios, with Alien: Earth coming back for a second season shortly. Even if we may have to wait a bit longer for another big-screen Alien movie, plenty of xenomorph action is seemingly in the works.
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