Comic-Con 2024: Alien: Romulus panel recap

We are just a few weeks away from the start of Alien: Romulusthe latest film in the sci-fi/horror franchise. The film’s cast and crew arrived at Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday to preview the film and share exclusive sneak peeks at footage from the project. Here are the biggest moments from Alien: Romulus‘Hall H sign!

New footage of the planet and Andy, a synth that is starting to malfunction, is shown. The group goes to a lab to try to find parts to replace it and is attacked by a Facehugger in the water. They fight it off, including with a taser, and narrowly escape the bay and into the next room. Before the door can close completely, a swarm of Facehuggers escape into the hallway and begin attacking.

The cast and director Fede Alvarez are introduced by moderator Tiffany Smith. Alvarez confirms that the film takes place between Alien and Aliens and is accessible enough that you don’t need to have seen the previous films. He argues that the franchise ties can’t be the only draw. He wanted a cast of new faces. He teases that anything can die in the story, just as Ripley became the surprise protagonist of the first film.

Spaeny was drawn to the project because of Alvarez but felt she had blown her audition. The priority was to get as many practical effects as possible.

Jonsson was honored to join such an iconic franchise. He found it challenging to play a synthetic, but thought it was an incredible adventure.

Merced highlights the cast and their experience together in Budapest.

Renaux found it surreal to be part of the project and says he will carry this project with him for the rest of his life.

Fearn explains how hands-on the filming was, compared to working with a tennis ball.

Alvarez felt the pressure of the franchise disappear when he physically stepped onto the set. The film was shot chronologically.

The actors tried to focus on making the best movie possible, rather than worrying about joining a franchise. Alvarez maintains that if you care, the fans will appreciate it. He says that “most movies are crap,” but he enjoys the thrill of seeing a movie get off the ground and having high expectations for it. He says the actors went above and beyond to make it happen. Dealing with the practical facehuggers caused complications on set and led to numerous takes. Spaeny periodically told him that the takes weren’t “good enough” and needed to be redone.

A second clip is shown, which Alvarez says is cut differently than what is in the film. As an escape pod attempts to detach from the ship, a crew member named Navarro begins to die from the torpedo. After telling her crewmate not to let her die, she dies and the pod begins to crash into the main ship.

They used nine puppeteers and a fake body to bring him to life.

Ridley Scott asks via video message: What elements does Alvarez add to the franchise? Alvarez explains that the film is called “Romulus” because it’s about siblings and connection and whether you’re willing to die for your brother or sister. He adds that beyond that, explaining the theme of the film would spoil it.

Spaeny and Jonsson talk about how easily they created their dynamic.

A second video question is released by Prey director Dan Trachtenberg: Who would be the winner of a fight, the Alien or the Predator? The casting is leaning more in favor of the Xenomorph.

A third video question comes from Guillermo del Toro: What does it feel like to bring an iconic design back to life? Alvarez explains that it was a huge responsibility that led him to design the original design and the books, as well as hiring the original crew members who worked on Aliens. Alvarez believes that any film he makes will be unwatchable until it is embraced by audiences.

The actors could trust Alvarez completely to communicate his vision. There was a constant conversation about character motivations and filming methods. They would shoot scenes without the written dialogue just to see if it was better.

A fourth video question is posed by Scott: Rank all the Alien movies. Alvarez argues that the first one is the best, and AvP: Requiem is the worst, with the others falling somewhere in between based on personal preference. He still thinks all of these movies were great times at the movies and a great starting point for a conversation with his fellow moviegoers.

Jonsson jokes that as a synthetic, he has some interesting scenes with the facehugger. One of them got attached to his retina on set, and he had to get it sewn back on.

Alvarez was traumatized by the “they’re in the room” scene in Aliens. Merced says she got lost in the world of Romulus, which made it easier for her as an actress. Alvarez continues to have nightmares about being attacked by facehuggers. The lights suddenly go out and facehugger puppets invade the panel, and a man pretends to be killed by a chestburster.

A third clip shows Merced’s character trying to outrun a Xenomorph. It then cuts to the new IMAX trailer.