Jason Momoa arriving for the Amazon Upfront on May 13th, 2025. Photo by Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for Amazon.
Preview:
Jason Momoa will lead the cast of a ‘Helldivers’ adaptation.
It’ll bring the PlayStation game series to screens.
Justin Lin is on board to direct.
Having appeared in one of the biggest box office hits of 2025 thanks to ‘A Minecraft Movie’ –– which was adapted from a video game title –– Jason Momoa is hoping to repeat the trick with a new movie based on video gaming, this time PlayStation favorite ‘Helldivers.’
XjRONFWQLhU4q7msHEdOj4
Justin Lin, who knows a thing or two about action after working on several ‘Fast & Furious’ movies, is in the director’s chair.
While the movie’s storyline has yet to be confirmed, the basic story of the game (released in 2015 by Arrowhead Game Studios), sees an elite unit of soldiers — known as Helldivers — who battle alien creatures that are threatening to destroy the fictional planet of Super Earth.
A follow-up game landed in 2024.
When will the ‘Helldivers’ movie be on screens?
While backers Sony are clearly upbeat about this one, there is no release date on the books yet.
(L to R) Maurice Compte and Gerard Butler in ‘Den of Thieves’. Photo: STXfilms.
2025 is almost over and another new year is upon us.
And there is no better way to spend New Year’s Day than by watching some movies!
10038289
Moviefone has compiled a list of some of the most popular movies ever made, including some released just this year, for you to choose from while you are relaxing on the first day of the new year.
‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ will open in theaters on April 7, 2023.
While working underground to fix a water main, Brooklyn plumbers—and brothers—Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are transported down a mysterious pipe and wander into a magical new world. But when the brothers are separated, Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi.
In ‘The Beekeeper’, one man’s (Jason Statham) brutal campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as “Beekeepers”.
A wealthy entrepreneur (Richard Attenborough) secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of experts (Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum) and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park and help calm anxious investors. However, the park is anything but amusing as the security systems go off-line and the dinosaurs escape.
Senator Walter Chalmers (Robert Vaughn) is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal’s hothead brother Johnny, who is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch of police lieutenant Frank Bullitt (Steve McQueen). When a pair of mob hitmen enter the scene, Bullitt follows their trail through a maze of complications and double-crosses. This thriller includes one of the most famous car chases ever filmed.
After the devastating events of ‘Avengers: Infinity War,’ the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos (Josh Brolin). With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.
Carl Fredricksen (Ed Asner) spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life.
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes.
When Ripley’s (Sigourney Weaver) lifepod is found by a salvage crew over 50 years later, she finds that terra-formers are on the very planet they found the alien species. When the company sends a family of colonists out to investigate her story—all contact is lost with the planet and colonists. They enlist Ripley and the colonial marines to return and search for answers.
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as “The Basterds” are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds, lead by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl (Mélanie Laurent), who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.
Racing legend Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) is coaxed out of retirement to lead a struggling Formula 1 team—and mentor a young hotshot driver—while chasing one more chance at glory.
King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country’s new leader. However, T’Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within his own country as well as without. Using powers reserved to Wakandan kings, T’Challa assumes the Black Panther mantle to join with ex-girlfriend Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o), the queen-mother (Angela Bassett), his princess-kid sister (Letitia Wright), members of the Dora Milaje (the Wakandan ‘special forces’) and an American secret agent (Martin Freeman), to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.
Annie’s (Kristen Wiig) life is a mess. But when she finds out her lifetime best friend is engaged, she simply must serve as Lillian’s (Maya Rudolph) maid of honor. Though lovelorn and broke, Annie bluffs her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals. With one chance to get it perfect, she’ll show Lillian and her bridesmaids just how far you’ll go for someone you love.
Nearly 10 years have passed since Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) was targeted for termination by a cyborg from the future. Now her son, John (Edward Furlong), the future leader of the resistance, is the target for a newer, more deadly terminator (Robert Patrick). Once again, the resistance has managed to send a protector (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back to attempt to save John and his mother Sarah.
A gritty crime saga which follows the lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff’s Dept. and the state’s most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank.
(L to R) Robert Redford and Paul Newman in ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’. Photo: 20th Century-Fox.
In late 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) is the affable, clever and talkative leader of the outlaw Hole in the Wall Gang. His closest companion is the laconic dead-shot Sundance Kid (Robert Redford). As the west rapidly becomes civilized, the law finally catches up to Butch, Sundance and their gang. Chased doggedly by a special posse, the two decide to make their way to South America in hopes of evading their pursuers once and for all.
After losing their academic posts at a prestigious university, a team of parapsychologists (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis) goes into business as proton-pack-toting “ghostbusters” who exterminate ghouls, hobgoblins and supernatural pests of all stripes. An ad campaign pays off when a knockout cellist (Sigourney Weaver) hires the squad to purge her swanky digs of demons that appear to be living in her refrigerator.
In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine (Sam Worthington) is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.
A star quarterback (Dennis Quaid) gets knocked out of the game and an unknown third stringer (Jamie Foxx) is called in to replace him. The unknown gives a stunning performance and forces the ageing coach (Al Pacino) to reevaluate his game plans and life. A new co-owner/president (Cameron Diaz) adds to the pressure of winning. The new owner must prove herself in a male dominated world.
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
For Lieutenant Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and his friend and co-pilot Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete’s dreams of becoming an ace pilot.
Batman (Michael Keaton) must face his most ruthless nemesis when a deformed madman calling himself “The Joker” (Jack Nicholson) seizes control of Gotham’s criminal underworld.
The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda (Frank Oz). But Darth Vader (voice of James Earl Jones) is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), cocky Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew ), and droids C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.
At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, “does not exist, nor will it ever exist.” His goal is to locate – and eliminate – a mysterious Green Beret Colonel named Walter Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who has been leading his personal army on illegal guerrilla missions into enemy territory.
Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth in ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’ Photo: Sony Pictures.
Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski (Rafał Zawierucha).
Eighties teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents’ first meeting and attracting his mother’s romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents’ romance and, with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), return to 1985.
In the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino) steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.
Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling) are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.
Almost 30 years after he first said it, James Cameron is still “The King of the World.”
Cameron is the highest grossing filmmaker in history having directed 3 of the top 4 highest grossing movies of all time including ‘Avatar‘, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water‘ and ‘Titanic‘, with each film making over $2 billion dollars each.
1982’s ‘Piranha II: The Spawning’. Photo: Columbia Pictures.
A scuba diving instructor, her biochemist boyfriend, and her police chief ex-husband try to link a series of bizarre deaths to a mutant strain of piranha fish whose lair is a sunken freighter ship off a Caribbean island resort.
A woman and an engineered man are sent in a gigantic sentient starship to search space for a place to start a new life cycle. Raj decides to take a look around the ship. He comes across a gigantic robotic cleaner. Combat ensues.
(L to R) Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and Ed Harris in ‘The Abyss’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver (Ed Harris) soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean’s surface where he confronts a mysterious force that has the power to change the world or destroy it.
(L to R) Jack Champion and Stephen Lang in director James Cameron’s ‘Avatar: The Way of Water.’ Photo: Walt Disney Studios.
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.
(L to R) Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘True Lies’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) might be having an affair with a used car salesman (Bill Paxton) while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.
In the wake of the devastating war against the RDA and the loss of their eldest son, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña) face a new threat on Pandora: the Ash People, a violent and power-hungry Na’vi tribe led by the ruthless Varang (Oona Chaplin). Jake’s family must fight for their survival and the future of Pandora in a conflict that pushes them to their emotional and physical limits.
(L to R) Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña in ‘Avatar’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine (Sam Worthington) is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.
Arnold Schwarzenegger in ‘The Terminator’. Photo: Orion Pictures.
In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the “Terminator” (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior (Michael Biehn) to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?
(L to R) Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in ‘Titanic’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose (Kate Winslet) boards the ship with her mother (Frances Fisher) and fiancé (Billy Zane). Meanwhile, Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Fabrizio De Rossi (Danny Nucci) win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic’s departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.
(L to R) Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn in ‘Aliens’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the sole survivor of the Nostromo’s deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.
Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator in ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day.’
Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger)is sent back in time to protect young John Connor (Edward Furlong) from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah (Linda Hamilton), he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.
In theaters on October 31st is ‘Bugonia’, which finds Jesse Plemons as Teddy, a man convinced that extraterrestrials from Andromeda have been strategically destroying the human race (and bees) and kidnaps a woman (Emma Stone’s Michelle) he believes is one of the marauding aliens.
At this point, we both know what to predict from a Yorgos Lanthimos movie –– weirdness in abundance, but with a moral core –– and also to expect the unexpected as the Greek filmmaker goes in different directions for his work.
Here, re-teaming for a fourth time with Emma Stone and a second with Jesse Plemons (who appeared in last year’s ‘Kinds of Kindness’, he’s found a suitable subject re-making 2003 Korean conspiracy thriller/dark comedy ‘Save the Green Planet!’
Written by Will Tracy, a ‘Succession’ veteran whose big screen work also includes 2022’s ‘The Menu’, ‘Bugonia’ adapts Jang Joon-hwan’s original script into something that works for both international audiences and Lanthimos’ own sensibilities.
While it occasionally lags in pace, it largely keeps the shocks and the laughs coming, and has you guessing whether Stone’s character really is from another planet or if Plemons is simply supremely delusional.
Lanthimos, working again with cinematographer Robbie Ryan, keeps things mostly grounded, letting the performances do the heavy lifting, but adding in stylish touches that help tell the story.
Stone and Plemons are the focus here, with Stone as hard-charging businesswoman who is by turns icily logical and desperately emotional depending on the situation. She really has found a great collaborator in the director, who keeps pushing her in fascinating new directions.
Plemons, meanwhile, also flourishes, feasting on the role of the twitchy, tortured, lank-haired lead, a man convinced his theories are correct even in the face of mounting evidence to the contrary.
But there’s great work too from newcomer Aidan Delbis as Teddy’s cousin/sidekick Don, a young man on the autism spectrum who really wants to go along with Teddy’s plans, but has such a sweet naiveté to how he sees the word.
‘Bugonia’ has more on its mind than the basic clash of conspiracy thriller and farcical comedy you might have predicted, including meditations on the machinations of big pharma and the dire condition of the Earth’s climate.
But it’s all so wrapped in effective entertainment that it never feels like a lecture.
‘Bugonia’ receives 85 out of 100.
XRCUbqx1
What’s the story of ‘Bugonia’?
Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Sydney Chandler as Wendy. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
‘Alien: Earth’ receives 9 out of 10 stars.
IcNWEdNgI1gX025LVpSdv1
Launching on FX and Hulu on August 12 with the first two episodes (six more debut once per week after that), ‘Alien: Earth’ is the latest attempt to get more mileage out of the venerable sci-fi/horror franchise birthed by writers Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, alongside director Ridley Scott back in 1979 with ‘Alien’.
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Alex Lawther as Hermit. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
The ‘Alien’ franchise is one that can be truly hard to get a handle on. Following Ridley Scott’s genre-busting mash-up of sci-fi and haunted house movies in 1979, James Cameron blew the doors off the movie series with the superlative ‘Aliens’ in 1986, but since then it has been on something of a slippery slope –– David Fincher’s divisive ‘Alien³’ has its defenders, but even Scott’s more recent revisitation of the xenomorph universe headed into ponderous pretension.
Fede Alvarez’ 2024 effort ‘Alien: Romulus’ had better luck, but even that was derided for one or two choices (not the least of which was the dreadful application of a classic ‘Aliens’ line).
Now, here comes Noah Hawley, who has worked wonders mining established source material for new TV output, including Marvel’s ‘Legion’ and especially ‘Fargo’, which has evoked the Coen brothers’ movie while existing as its own beast.
He pulls off a similar trick here, respecting what has come before (or, er since this is a prequel, what will come after) with intensity, style and a healthy dose of humanity amongst the creature chaos.
Script and Direction
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
Hawley, leading an accomplished writing team that has worked on shows including ‘WandaVision’ and his own ‘Fargo’, treads the line between evoking what has gone before –– including thematically –– and invention, deepening and layering the story.
The ‘Alien’ franchise is ripe with subtext beyond the xenomorphs, and Hawley and his team take full advantage of the stories’ exploration of artificial intelligence and giant corporations (both could not be timelier).
And TV running times mean there is much more scope to take time with the characters, the initial beats of the first episode graceful and almost operatic, fully tuned into the working class “space-trucker” vibe of the original movie. It’s always compelling and never dull, interspersed with dynamic moments of horror as a deep-space vessel’s crew discovers that transporting weird creatures never works out in humanity’s favor.
There is also a welcome, skillful approach to exposition, bringing those who might not be familiar with the storylines up to speed.
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Adarsh Gourav as Slightly. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
Hawley also directs the first episode (Dana Gonzales handles the second and the lion’s share of the season), kicking things off with real style and epic feel for when the space ship comes roaring back to Earth, out of control.
The horror sequences of people being stalked by creatures (xenomorphs and some lethal new friends) really work well, delivering intensity while not losing focus on the performances.
Cast and Performances
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Essie Davis as Dame Sylvia. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
Sydney Chandler, as Wendy a “Hybrid” (a human consciousness transferred into a synthetic body) is our main way in as the show starts, and Chandler brings a healthy blend of emotion and levity to the show. She’s compelling and watchable, and leads her ragtag band of fellow “Lost Boys” (and girls –– ‘Peter Pan’ is another thematic touchstone here) as they are drawn into the wider story, including a link to her past.
Alex Lawther as Hermit, a military medic working off his contract with the sprawling, powerful Prodigy corporation (one of franchise stalwart Weyland-Yutani’s big competitors and the funding/science behind the programme that created Wendy), gives a soulful, nuanced performance.
On the Prodigy front, company founder and resident genius/trillionaire Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) is also good value, a sort of Mark Zuckerberg type who is endlessly frustrated that no-one is on his level.
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Babou Ceesay as Morrow. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
Elsewhere, Babou Ceesay is great as Morrow, the cyborg security chief of the crashing spaceship, whose concerns once things get out of hand are certainly not the safety of his crewmates, and he puts you in mind of Ian Holm‘s Ash from the original movie.
While what the production has done to Timothy Olyphant’s normally lustrous locks might be more horrifying than being stalked by a slavering beast, he’s typically excellent as the synth scientist at Prodigy who has become a father figure to Wendy.
Final Thoughts
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured (L to R): Samuel Blenkin as Boy Kavalier, Ade Edmondson as Atom Eins. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
Chalk another win up to Hawley’s list of TV shows you thought might not work, as ‘Alien: Earth’, at least on the basis of its initial episodes, is a triumph. Dread drips into emotion, the effects are top notch and the writer/director has mined something special here.
It’s not hyperbolic to suggest that this is a better extension of the ‘Alien’ universe than many previous attempts. Perhaps the xenomorphs are better off on the small screen for now.
Be careful watching it with friends, though –– everyone will hear you scream.
What’s the plot of ‘Alien: Earth’?
When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.
(L to R) Paul Reiser and Colm Meaney in ‘The Problem with People’. Photo: Quiver Distribution.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Paul Reiser and Colm Meaney about their work on ‘The Problem with People’, Reiser’s work developing the screenplay, the relationship between the two characters and their conflict, shooting in Ireland, and working with each other, as well as actress Jane Levy and director Chris Cottam.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interviews.
(L to R) Colm Meaney and Paul Reiser in ‘The Problem with People’. Photo: Quiver Distribution.
Moviefone: To begin with, Paul, can you talk about developing the screenplay and the themes you wanted to explore with this family comedy?
Paul Reiser: Good question. The inception was I always wanted to go to Ireland. I had been to Ireland years ago and loved it and was hungering to make a movie there and just be in that kind of environment. So, for many years, I would play with the idea, and I never found a story that, why is this American going to Ireland and what would be funny? So, we needed a conflict. Then I met my co-writer, Wally, because it felt like I had been sitting with it long enough. I should probably bounce it off with somebody else. It’s always helpful. Then we came upon this story, and I wondered if it’s a family feud and the goal, so now there’s a reason for this. He’s going, he’s invited. It wasn’t even his idea. I’ve been invited by the long-lost cousin I’d never heard of to settle this silly generational fight. So I go, “That’s interesting. That’s fun to write and you know it’s going to go bad.” So, the idea that there’s two guys, good people, well-intended, very noble intentions who just can’t stop tripping over themselves and falling to their worst instincts. That’s a fun thing to write. Then getting to play opposite Colm Meaney to do it, well, that was a dream. So, every family, I don’t know any family that doesn’t have some crap that they’re going through. This sister doesn’t talk to that brother. It’s like, “Why? I don’t even remember.” It’s just been nine years. I remember I’ve had stuff in my family, and I thought, let me see if I can get together. I remember I once planned a family trip and it blew up on me. It was like, “Well, that was bad. We aren’t doing that again.” So, I’ve always been fascinated by why do people cross each other? Why is there such suspicion and how could we possibly make it otherwise? Hopefully this movie is a fun, funny example of people trying to resolve conflicts to the best of their limited abilities.
MF: Colm, what was your first reaction to Paul’s screenplay and the relationship between these two cousins?
Colm Meaney: I loved it. I absolutely loved it. It kind of came out of the blue. I mean, I was a fan of Paul’s. I admired his work for years, but I thought, “Oh, he wrote a script set in Ireland?” I didn’t know he was a writer. I’ve said a few times before, as an Irish actor, you tend to approach scripts written by Americans set in Ireland with a little bit of trepidation because of past faux pas. It’s a very outdated and kind of strange view of Ireland as this kind of stuck in the Middle Ages or something. Ireland is a modern country. When I read the script, it was thrilling to read a script that captured the kind of Ireland of today, so accurately and so well, and yet was able to incorporate into that in many ways, Irish humor, in terms of people’s attitudes to each other and the exchanges they might have. I thought Paul had spent years in Ireland for some reason and I thought, “This is great. This is just so good.” The dialogue was wonderful. It made me laugh. I told Paul the other night, I saw the film for the first time the other night. It made me cry in three or four places, which is quite an achievement. I don’t do that. That was my reaction to the script, and it just got better and better from there. It became a real joy to do, and it’s a real tribute to Paul’s soul, for want of a better word, that he was able to achieve this in this script.
(L to R) Colm Meaney and Paul Reiser in ‘The Problem with People’. Photo: Quiver Distribution.
MF: Paul, why was Chris Cottam the right person to direct this movie and tell this story?
PR: He’s British, but he’s shot and worked a lot in Ireland and done a lot of, almost mostly comedy, and a great visual sense. He’s a very successful commercial director, and we hit it off and he really got the script in all the best ways. I know when somebody says, “Oh, I read the script and I liked this scene,” I went, “Well, okay.” If somebody goes, “You know that little thing that doesn’t look like it’s anything, I love that.” I went, “Okay, this is the guy for me.” But he was very committed to doing everything authentically. He said, “If nothing else, I want the audience in Ireland to go, ‘yes, that’s factual. That’s not too cutesy. It’s not too romanticized.’” Other than Jane Levy and I, the cast is entirely Irish. All the actors and all the background actors. The sets, we didn’t build any sets, those were real places. But you know, it’s funny, you talk about a sense of humor. The first scene, and I remember we had this idea right off the top, when Colm’s character picks me up at the train station, and we’re driving and there’s that awkwardness of like, “Oh, we’ve never met, but we are both friendly.” What was written in the script, it’s like they should be friends. They almost have the same sense of humor, but it’s not locking. They’re just, “What’s wrong with him? What’s wrong with him?” It’s like, that’s where it starts. It’s like, “Okay, I made a joke. He didn’t get the joke.” He’s going, “He didn’t get my joke either.” I’m like, that’s the beginning of trouble right there because he didn’t get the joke.
MF: Colm, can you talk about the dying wish Ciáran’s father makes and what happens when he meets Barry?
CM: Well, it’s an imposition. My dad is a pain in the ass. He’s been dying for the last 35 years. I mean, I take care of him, and I look after him. I had been married previously, so I lived out of the house. But since my divorce, I’ve come back to take care of him and I’m doing it, but it’s a pain in the ass. He really is. Now this, “Go find this cousin in New York,” for God’s sake, you know.
(L to R) Colm Meaney and Paul Reiser in ‘The Problem with People’. Photo: Quiver Distribution.
MF: Paul, can you talk about Barry’s reaction to receiving a call from his long-lost cousin, and how things begin to go wrong between them?
PR: Yeah. He goes, “I want you to do something.” “No, I want you to go find a guy that you never heard of and don’t know where to look.” But what was from the get-go and was always in my mind for the first scene, we meet Colm, who is just over it. We meet him and there’s a beautiful rainbow. He goes, “Yeah, I’ve seen it. I don’t care. You’re not impressing me.” Colm, personally, is a force. I mean, he’s just a big strong personality. To see him, his character bullied and beaten down by his frail father. It’s like, that’s funny to see this guy and you see, “Go find him.” You see Colm and it’s like, “Oh, this poor guy.” He’s been in this unglamorous business running the funeral parlor, taking care of his father, and he just wants to get out of there and he wants to see the world. Here’s me in the thick of the action in New York like, “I would just love to sit by a cottage by a lake.” So, we’re just in the wrong place, is all it is. Then we hopefully get closer to our intended goals. But that from the beginning of him being obligated, you also are right away like this guy, like he’s taking care of his old man, for God’s sake. He must be a good fella. To me, the shorthand is when the phone rings and anybody calls on a landline, it isn’t for you. So, I literally, I answer the phone, “I’m not interested.” “Do I have the right number?” “I doubt it.” It’s like there’s just a huge veneer of skepticism and impatience. Then he says the right thing. He went, “Was your father’s name Joseph? Do you by chance have relatives in Ireland?” I’m like, “Oh, actually, I don’t know who you are, but that’s not untrue.” He slowly gets under my skin and the skepticism is there and Jane Levy goes, “You didn’t think it was a scam?” “Oh, I thought it was a scam, believe me, of course. But no, he said some right things.” Even then it takes my daughter to say, “I think you should go. I got things under control. You can stop worrying. Go take it easy.” That’s how I go places by the way. It’s never my own choice. It’s like, “We can’t say no to this invitation.” All right. That’s the only way I go anywhere.
MF: Paul, can you talk about Barry’s relationship with his daughter and working with Jane Levy?
PR: She doesn’t have that much screen time, but she’s just so powerful and great. I was saying the other night at the screening, there’s a scene where she gets a call and she gets teary-eyed, and there’s no dialogue. I just start watering every time I see her face, I go, “Wow, I don’t even know what that is. Is that acting?” She’s just so powerful and good. As it turns out, I grew up with her dad. Her dad is an old buddy of mine. That’s not how she got the job. I knew her as an actress. Then way later (I realized) I grew up with (her dad), we were in a band. I played keyboards. He was a guitar player. We were a very bad band in 1969 and 1970. We made over $300 in over seven years. But to play her father was instinctive. It’s like, she is my friend’s daughter, so it’s close enough. But we were the only Americans. Everybody else, it was a purely Irish cast and crew.
(L to R) Jane Levy and Paul Reiser in ‘The Problem with People’. Photo: Quiver Distribution.
MF: Colm, as an Irishman yourself, what was it like shooting a movie in Ireland with a predominantly Irish cast?
CM: It was wonderful there, but that again came from the nature of the project and the joy and all that. I mean, I’ve been on some tough shoots in Ireland, as well. But I always enjoyed working in Ireland. As time goes on and the older I get, I feel very drawn to our work in Ireland to be there. But yeah, I really enjoy working and now there’s good facilities and terrific crews, and it’s not a hardship to go and work in Ireland anymore like it used to be.
MF: Colm, what was your experience like working with Paul?
CM: We only met the week we started shooting. We’d spoken to each other and texted each other over the three years that Paul had spoken about, trying to get the thing up and running. We kept in touch intermittently and we got on as you do to the extent that you can on the phone. But then we first met in Dublin just the week we started shooting and had a pint. I think we just hit it off and we enjoyed each other’s company. Then when the actual work started, it just clicked. He is a wonderful man to spend time with, wonderful company.
(L to R) Paul Reiser and Colm Meaney in ‘The Problem with People’. Photo: Quiver Distribution.
MF: Finally, Paul, what was your experience like working with Colm?
PR: It was lovely. I was reminded, somewhere in the middle of the shoot, Colm says, “How’s it all going, producing?” I went, “Yeah, it’s good.” He goes, “Everything’s okay?” I went, “Yeah, did I miss a meeting? ” He goes, “No, you seem like very calm.” I went, “I don’t know. It’s all going well.” There was something very blessed about the whole production. We have beautiful weather. A lot of it is, again, to do with our director Chris who has a great sense of humor and a great lightness of touch and great preparation. There’s usually chaos, trauma and drama. As far as we know, that didn’t happen. I’m happy to say and report that people do see it on the film. They go, “You guys look like you were having fun.” I go. “We really did.” It was really a lovely experience, and we hope everybody goes see it.
upZM2CXfM3kkjVaWcDQBN1
What is the plot of ‘The Problem with People’?
Two distant cousins (Paul Reiser and Colm Meaney) who’ve never met – one in NYC, the other in the smallest town there is in Ireland – come together to finally put an end to a generations-long family feud. It doesn’t go well. ‘The Problem with People’, set in beautifully lush Irish countryside, is a heartwarming comedy about family, world peace … and sheep.
Director Ridley Scott‘s 1979 film ‘Alien,’ which featured Sigourney Weaver‘s first appearance as series hero Ripley, spawned one of the most successful and durable science-fiction franchises in cinema history.
Scott would return to the franchise to direct two prequels, ‘Prometheus‘ and ‘Alien: Covenant,’ and now is a producer on the latest installment, ‘Alien: Romulus,’ which was directed by Fede Álvarez and opens in theaters on August 16th.
In honor of the new release, Moviefone is counting down every ‘Alien’ movie ever made, including the ‘AVP’ movies and ‘Romulus’.
2007’s ‘Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
After a horrifying PredAlien crash-lands near a small Colorado town, killing everyone it encounters and producing countless Alien offspring, a lone Predator arrives to “clean up” the infestation.
(L to R) Katherine Waterston and Michael Fassbender in ‘Alien: Covenant’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise but is actually a dark, dangerous world.
Sigourney Weaver in ‘Alien³’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
After escaping with Newt (Carrie Henn) and Hicks (Michael Biehn) from the alien planet, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) crash lands on Fiorina 161, a prison planet and host to a correctional facility. Unfortunately, although Newt and Hicks do not survive the crash, a more unwelcome visitor does. The prison does not allow weapons of any kind, and with aid being a long time away, the prisoners must simply survive in any way they can.
2004’s ‘AVP: Alien vs. Predator’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
When scientists discover something near Antarctica that appears to be a buried Pyramid, they send a research team out to investigate. Little do they know that they are about to step into a hunting ground where Aliens are grown as sport for the Predator race.
Michael Fassbender in ‘Prometheus’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
(L to R) Ron Perlman, Dominique Pinon, Sigourney Weaver and Winona Ryder in ‘Alien Resurrection’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Two hundred years after Lt. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) died, a group of scientists clone her, hoping to breed the ultimate weapon. But the new Ripley is full of surprises … as are the new aliens. Ripley must team with a band of smugglers to keep the creatures from reaching Earth.
(L to R) Ian Holm, Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and John Hurt in ‘Alien’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host (John Hurt) is birthed.
(L to R) Sigourney Weaver and Carrie Henn in ‘Aliens’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the sole survivor of the Nostromo’s deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.
The ‘Alien’ franchise has gotten especially convoluted in the 21st century, with spinoffs (‘Alien vs. Predator’), origin stories (‘Prometheus’) and sequels to prequels (‘Alien: Covenant’) clogging up the trajectory of what started out as something simple and elegant: a haunted house movie set in space. ‘Alien: Romulus,’ directed by Fede Álvarez, works hard to bring the brand back to the basics. And in many ways, Álvarez succeeds: working off a script he co-wrote with Rodo Sayagues, Álvarez has created a mostly tense, atmospheric, and to-the-point monster movie that – much like the first ‘Alien’ – has a terrific central character at its core.
But Álvarez also makes the mistake of leaning too heavily on nostalgia, with ‘Alien: Romulus’ – particularly in its second half – playing like the franchise equivalent of a greatest hits package and showing a decided lack of imagination in its callbacks to not just the first ‘Alien,’ but ‘Aliens,’ ‘Alien: Resurrection,’ and even the controversial ‘Prometheus.’ And one creative choice in particular is not only incredibly distracting and jarring, but bordering on unethical – and also a spoiler.
Story and Direction
Director Fede Álvarez at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
‘Alien: Romulus,’ we find out fairly early on, is set around 20 years after the events of the first ‘Alien.’ It opens on a mining colony on a brutal, storm-tossed world where it’s hard enough for humans to survive, let alone work. Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny) works for, of course, the ever-present Weyland-Yutani Corporation, and gets the bad news that her contract – more like indentured servitude – has been extended another six years without her knowledge.
Devastated by the news that she cannot get herself and her child-like (because he’s been damaged in the past) android “brother” Andy (David Jonsson) off the planet, Rain joins a group of four other young co-workers who have detected an abandoned space station drifting above the planet. Their plan: fly their own ship up to the derelict, break in and load its cryosleep pods into their vessel, and fly off to the distant planet Yvaga, where life is presumably more pleasant and one can actually see a sunrise instead of round-the-clock darkness.
We’ve already glimpsed that space station in a brief prologue, and it’s no spoiler to tell you that our young friends find out the hard way that while there is no crew in sight, the spacecraft is definitely inhabited. The initial buildup of the story is brief, with the six colonists getting up to the station in relatively short order. The exploration of its darkened, abandoned corridors is one of the highlights of the film and most reminiscent in spirit of both the original ‘Alien’ and the space Marines’ foray into the deserted colony on LV-426 in ‘Aliens’ (although why no one else seems to know this rather large space station is floating above the colony is a mystery that the film never answers).
The pace continues to pick up as our friends make their first contact with Xenomorphs (come on, it’s right in the trailer) in their facehugger form, ending in a bad way for one of their number. There are other revelations to come as well, including how a Xenomorph first got on the station, what the station’s purpose was, and how the seemingly innocent Andy undergoes an upgrade that suddenly has Rain wondering if her adopted mechanical sibling can be trusted even to save her life.
A lot of exposition comes courtesy of a plot device we won’t discuss in detail here, but is the one that audiences – ‘Alien’ fans in particular, but also people with a conscience in general – may find difficult to reckon with. Yes, that’s the one we mention above that’s distracting and frankly ghoulish; we can only hope the right people got paid well for it, but even then it may set a terrible precedent. That in turn opens the floodgates for a series of callbacks to various other ‘Alien’ movies as Rain, Andy, and their dwindling band try to escape the growing infestation of Xenomorphs and the station itself, which in time-honored ‘Alien’ tradition is on a path to destruction in less than the two hours it takes to watch ‘Alien: Romulus.’
Some of the homages are subtle and kind of neat, like a reference to the events of ‘Prometheus’ that works in context. Others, however, approach ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ levels of inanity and over-slavish fan service, while another climactic reveal channels the last plot turn you’d expect from one of the less popular entries in the series.
In fairness, Álvarez – who has covered this kind of territory before with his underrated 2013 ‘Evil Dead’ remake – keeps the action moving, the shocks visceral, and the atmosphere grimy and bleak, aided by Galo Olivares’ excellent cinematography and Benjamin Wallfisch’s score. Both effortlessly channel the vibe and tone of the early ‘Alien’ movies. In many respects, this is the most intense and effective film in the series since the first two, which makes the decision to lean hard into blatant nostalgia bait down the stretch all the more irritating.
Following her recent sterling work in ‘Priscilla’ and ‘Civil War,’ Cailee Spaeny is a bit flat here as Rain. Like the rest of the cast, she seems a bit too young to have been laboring for years already under Weyland-Yutani, although the future’s child labor laws may have started her in the field at a young age. She’s clearly meant to continue the time-honored ‘Alien’ tradition started by Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, but her character isn’t given enough development early on and her line readings tend to veer toward monotone. Spaeny does handle her eventual (and expected) transformation into action-oriented warrior well, and she’s still an engaging screen presence.
Even though Spaeny is top-billed, the movie belongs to David Jonsson as Andy. It’s also been a feature of the ‘Alien’ films that its synthetic characters are among its best, and Andy follows in the tradition laid down by Ash, Bishop, and David. But he’s also his own unique creation: found “in the trash” by Rain’s late father and adopted as a sort of little brother with intellectual disabilities that she must take care of, Andy undergoes the best, most fully realized (and arguably only) character arc in the film, an arc that creates its own narrative tension and makes for the most compelling parts of the story. Jonsson is spectacular throughout, handling Andy’s transformation with nuance, mystery, and a mix of empathy and unease. It’s also interesting to see more of the ‘Alien’ universe here, in terms of how synthetics are perceived and treated, which opens up all kinds of possibilities should the series continue.
As for the rest of the small cast, they also unfortunately follow a time-honored ‘Alien’ tradition of simply being Xenomorph fodder. But while previous installments were often peppered with seasoned character actors who could make something out of nothing (Harry Dean Stanton, Jenette Goldstein, and many others say hello), this crew is largely forgettable, as hard as they try and as fully as they commit.
On the other hand, special props should go to the actors and operators behind the practical and animatronic Xenomorph manifestations – it’s refreshing to see Álvarez return to physical creations on set, which also keeps ‘Romulus’ in line with the franchise’s initial, classic entries.
As we said earlier, as so many legacy sequels and franchises are prone to do, Álvarez’s film feels the need to rely on obvious and even silly callbacks in the name of fan service. Like so many filmmakers nowadays, he seems to worry that the fan base may not be perceptive enough to handle new ideas without reassuring them that he’s not straying too far. This, along with that one unsettling element we mentioned earlier, hurts ‘Alien: Romulus,’ but not fatally.
Yet there is a lot to like in the movie too; in a series that’s yielded far more disappointments and squandered opportunities than not, it’s nice to see an entry fashioned by a filmmaker who’s clearly passionate about this mythology and legacy. ‘Alien: Romulus’ is an often exciting, suspenseful, and gruesome crowd-pleaser that fits well into the existing canon and works hard – almost too hard – to recreate the experience of watching the saga’s best films.
‘Alien: Romulus’ receives 6.5 out of 10 stars.
YKUhZEUMhFOvSbejPM47l3
What is the plot of ‘Alien: Romulus’?
A group of young space colonists hatch a plan to salvage technology from an abandoned space station and inadvertently come face to face with an incredibly dangerous life form that threatens all their lives.
James Cameron has let slip he’s developing a new ‘Terminator’ project.
He offered no details on the mystery project.
A wide-ranging interview saw him cover other topics.
James Cameron is not a man to mince words. He’s been outspoken on a variety of topics and continues to be a no-BS talker when he’s interviewed.
And though it seemed he would be busy with ‘Avatar’ projects for the foreseeable future, he’s someone who has always had time to figure out other ideas, even if he ends up handing them off to other filmmakers.
bt7NtLBOeKrxtuDRYgz7m4
The Hollywood Reporter recently sat down with him to discuss one of his new projects, a docuseries called ‘OceanXplorers’ that channels one of his other big passions: diving deep into the sea.
Yet it was his comments about something potentially new in the ‘Terminator’ world that drew the most excitement…
3281
What did James Cameron say about a new ‘Terminator’ project?
Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator in ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day.’
When asked about the upcoming ‘Terminator Zero’ animated project landing on Netflix on August 29th, he admitted that he had nothing to do with it but hoped that it would be a success.
Still, more intriguingly, he dropped word of his own development in that sphere.
“I’m working on my own ‘Terminator’ stuff right now. It’s got nothing to do with that. Like with ‘The Sarah Connor Chronicles’, they occasionally touched on things I had been playing with completely independently. It’s totally classified. I don’t want to have to send out a potentially dangerous robotic agent if you were to talk about it, even retroactively.”
Intriguing! Despite his obvious need for secrecy, there’s much to anticipate about a ‘Terminator’ that includes real involvement from Cameron. The movies and shows that followed his groundbreaking 1984 original and its even more impressive sequel, ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ have been hit and miss (mostly, let’s be honest, miss, even 2019’s ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’, which boasted Cameron as a producer), but if he’s excited by something in the ‘Terminator’ world, we’re not going to bet against someone who has made some of the most successful movies in history.
(L to R) Director James Cameron and Jamie Lee Curtis at D23 2024. Photo: Disney.
One of the better answers Cameron gives in the interview is when he’s asked about comments Roland Emmerich made at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con about leaving the ‘Fantastic Voyage’ remake because Cameron (who wrote a draft and was a producer on the still-unmade movie) was, to quote Emmerich, “Overbearing”.
Here’s what Cameron said:
“I’ve never said anything negative about Roland. But anyway: Yes, I’m overbearing. Damn right. When it’s a project where I’ve contributed to the writing, I might actually have an opinion on it. I actually don’t even remember talking to Roland Emmerich about ‘Fantastic’. I remember the other directors that we worked with for months on end trying to develop that project. If I talked to Roland, it was for two minutes. I have a pretty good memory and I don’t remember that at all.”
There was one other subject that caused a hot-button response. Asked about complaints with regards to the look of the new 4K transfers of ‘Aliens’ and ‘True Lies’.
This is what he said:
“When people start reviewing your grain structure, they need to move out of mom’s basement and meet somebody. Right? I’m serious. I mean, are you f****** kidding me? I’ve got a great team that does the transfers. I do all the color and density work. I look at every shot, every frame, and then the final transfer is done by a guy who has been with me [for years]. All the ‘Avatar’ films are done that way. Everything is done that way. Get a life, people, seriously.”
Oh, James Cameron… never change.
(L to R) Director James Cameron, Zoe Saldaña and Sam Worthington at D23 2024 presenting ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’. Photo: Disney.
(L to R) Spike Fearn, David Jonsson, Isabela Merced, Cailee Spaeny, director Fede Álvarez and Archie Renaux at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
Preview:
‘Alien: Romulus’ brought terror to the San Diego Comic-Con.
Director Fede Alvarez and his cast were in attendance.
The movie’s team brought Facehuggers to the presentation.
It’s always a challenge to stand out at a panel at the San Diego Comic-Con; but when you have the compelling terror of an ‘Alien’ movie and the resources of 20th Century Studios, you can afford to put on a show.
With journalists previously teased by a VHS tape begging up the idea of the panel weeks before, the Con event itself proved to be memorable, launched with flashing red lights and red smoke piercing the pre-show gloom and closing with a planted audience member stumbling on stage, attacked by a Facehugger (AKA the larval stage of the xenomorph aliens we love to hate), others of the creature scuttling across the stage and another person having an alien burst from his chest with a spray of fake blood.
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
YKUhZEUMhFOvSbejPM47l3
Who is in ‘Alien: Romulus’?
(L to R) David Jonsson, Cailee Spaeny, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Cailee Spaeny, and Spike Fearn at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
The actors talked about their roles and the experience shooting the movie, which blended practical and physical effects –– Fearn talked about not having to shoot “with tennis balls”, while Spaeny enthused about being enveloped by the huge practical sets.
What did we learn at the ‘Alien: Romulus’ Comic-Con panel?
(L to R) Director Fede Álvarez, Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Isabela Merced, Archie Renaux and Spike Fearn at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
Director Fede Alvarez, who wrote the script with regular collaborator Rodo Sayagues, answered the lion’s share of the questions, including those submitted by the likes of Ridley Scott (director of the original 1979 ‘Alien’ and a couple of more recent spin-offs, who is a producer on ‘Romulus’), Dan Trachtenberg (director of Predator movie ‘Prey’) and Guillermo del Toro (a filmmaker who surely needs little introduction).
Asked by del Toro about his approach to leading the design for the latest take on the xenomorph creature, he admitted it included lots of reading and looking through old films to make sure they honored what came before. “If you love it, it’s hard to f*** it up,” he said.
Trachtenberg asked who would win between a Predator and a Xenomorph, with Alvarez and his cast clear that the Xenomorphs would triumph.
Cailee Spaeny at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
Scott got two questions –– one about the themes of the new movie (“It’s called ‘Romulus’ because it’s really a story about siblinghood,” Alvarez said, explaining that he wants to explore more human connections in a way the original movies didn’t.
The other Scott query could almost have come from the fan Q&A section, grilling Alvarez on his favorite ‘Alien’ movie, with the proviso that he directed the original –– which Alvarez confirmed he loved the most (well, it wouldn’t do to be fired at this point).
Dotted through the panel was footage from the movie, including a chestburster scene that the director explained upfront had been edited differently to the final film version so as to preclude some spoilers. All the scenes shown from the movie had the audience screaming and cheering in equal measure.
When will ‘Alien: Romulus’ be in theaters?
The movie itself is due to unleash horror in cinemas on August 16th.
(Right) Director Fede Álvarez at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
