The upcoming Alien film from director Fede Alvarez is now officially titled Alien: Romulus, Deadline reports. While the film has made use of the Romulus subtitle as a working title for a while now, the name is now official, in line with the franchise’s long history of religious and mythological references.
The official name was revealed by Disney CEO Bob Iger, as part of the company’s Q1 earnings call. The film is written and directed by Uruguayan horror filmmaker Fede Alvarez, best known for Don’t Breathe and the 2013 Evil Dead. Alvarez pitched the concept for the film to 20th Century, who proceeded to make the film a top priority for production.
Alien: Romulus takes place between the events of 1979’s Alien and 1986’s Aliens. The blurb for the film states: “Young people from a distant world must face the most terrifying life form in the universe.”
Romulus stars Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, Aileen Wu, Spike Fearn, David Jonsson, and Archie Renaux, and will be the seventh film in the main Alien franchise. The film is unrelated to the Alien TV series currently in production with FX, which is being developed by Noah Hawley, and likely won’t release until next year due to delays related to last year’s entertainment industry strikes.
Alien: Romulus is currently scheduled to release on August 16, and is now due for a theatrical release, instead of releasing on Hulu as originally planned.