Tickets for Alien: Romulus are now on sale, so are you brave enough to venture into space again? It's the latest chapter in the memorably terrifying Alien saga and picks up with a group of new characters as they confront the most terrifying organism in the universe.
Alien: Romulus is directed by suspense specialist Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead; Don't Breathe) and takes place between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986). Here's everything you need to know about the characters who are set to be face-hugged.
Rain Carradine (played by Cailee Spaeny)
Rain is the hero of the piece and one of the colonists who makes a terrifying discovery when boarding a seemingly abandoned space station. She's played by rising star Cailee Spaeny who gained critical plaudits for her role as Priscilla Presley in Sofia Coppola's atmospheric biopic Priscilla. Spaeny also starred as a tenacious yet naive photojournalist in Alex Garland's hard-hitting thriller allegory Civil War.
Is Rain the heir apparent to Sigourney Weaver's iconic Ellen Ripley? Ripley's battle with the Alien acted as the backbone of the first four Alien movies and the character paved the way for the representation of women in science fiction and horror. Weaver was Oscar-nominated for her role in Aliens, a landmark bit of awards recognition in a genre that's often overlooked by awards bodies. At the point that Alien: Romulus begins, Ripley has been drifting in hypersleep for 20 years having already destroyed her commercial towing ship the Nostromo, and killed the alien by ejecting it from the escape shuttle's airlock.
Spaeny has thrown herself into the physical aspects of the role, telling Entertainment Weekly: “I remember we did one specific take of a scene where I'm with the Xenomorph and [director Fede Álvarez] kept it rolling for about… oh God, it felt like half an hour, but it was probably only 10 minutes. It was just pure terror for 10 minutes straight, with the Xenomorph right there. Fede was great at throwing in little surprises like that and catching us actors off-guard.”
Andy (played by David Jonsson)
The Alien franchise has a long and complex history with 'synthetics' (androids). Some are distinctly bad (Ian Holm's Ash from Alien) while others are more compassionate (Lance Henriksen's Bishop from Aliens who describes himself as an upgrade from the Ash model). Alien: Romulus mixes things up by presenting its latest synthetic, David Jonsson's character Andy, as a substitute sibling for Cailee Spaeney's Rain Carradine.
“In this one, Rain’s brother is a synthetic," she tells Entertainment Weekly. "She loves him like her brother, but there are difficulties growing up with a synthetic, and some of the challenges that she faces during the film are related.
"That relationship dynamic is really interesting to flip on its head; it was really fun to explore having a synthetic as a family member and the questions it poses. David Jonsson, who plays that character, was so brilliant and really nailed that performance."
"You can definitely say goodbye to a 12A," Jonsson tells Total Film. "The halfway house with Fede [Alvarez, director] is just not his style. If you’re going to try and scare people, then you scare them."
Tyler (played by Archie Renaux)
Tyler is another one of the space colonisers and is played by Shadow and Bone actor Archie Renaux. In one promotional still, Tyler appears to be showing Rain how to angle a pulse rifle, which calls to mind a similar scene between Ripley and colonial marine Hicks (Michael Biehn) in Aliens.
Kay (played by Isabela Merced)
Rising star Isabela Merced plays the coloniser Kay. "I really do believe that there are specific sequences in this film that will scar some kids that sneak into the movie for life," says Merced in an interview with Total Film.
Bjorn (played by Spike Fearn)
Rising British actor Spike Fearn has already appeared in big blockbusters like The Batman (2022) and acclaimed indie dramas like Aftersun (also 2022). He now adds the new Alien movie to his CV.
Navarro (played by Aileen Wu)
We know from the Alien: Romulus trailer that Aileen Wu's character Navarro becomes impregnated by a face-hugger. This becomes clear when she applies some kind of ultra scan device to her chest to reveal the horrific entity growing within.
Alien: Romulus is released on August 16th. Click the link below to book your tickets.
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