ALIEN: ROMULUS Sequel Won’t Repeat This Controversial ALIEN 3 Mistake
At the end of Aliens, Ellen Ripley finally found a moment of peace with Hicks and Newt as they drifted into cryosleep aboard the Sulaco. Sadly, that peace didn’t last. Alien 3 quickly killed off both characters, erasing the emotional arc Ripley fought so hard for and leaving fans furious.
It remains one of the most divisive creative choices in the Alien saga. With the franchise riding a new wave of popularity thanks to last summer’s Alien: Romulus, the creative team is making sure history won’t repeat itself.
During HorrorHound Weekend in Cincinnati, Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez explained why he personally wrote the upcoming sequel, even though he won’t be returning to direct.
“Honestly, it’s because we love the characters we created, so we want to make sure no one kills them right at the beginning of the next one,” he said. “
They went and killed Hicks and Newt just like that. Hey, let’s not let that happen. We wrote it and made sure they stayed alive, and now we can let someone else make it.”
The sequel is still in early development with no director or release date yet, but Álvarez’s comments strongly suggest Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson will return as Rain Carradine and the android Andy.
Their surrogate sibling bond was one of the best parts of Alien: Romulus, giving the film a fresh energy that balanced out its heavy fan service and the controversial use of Ian Holm’s likeness. Many fans left the theater wanting more of their story, and now it looks like they’ll get it.
It’s easy to see why Álvarez doesn’t want to lose them. Both Spaeny and Jonsson’s careers have been on the rise since Romulus. Jonsson wowed audiences in Stephen King’s The Long Walk, proving his ability to bring real emotional weight to genre roles.
Spaeny is about to appear in Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man, which earned rave reviews at TIFF. This sequel has a golden opportunity to showcase both actors even further.
As for the story, Álvarez is clearly drawing inspiration from Aliens. Just as Ripley went from lone survivor in Alien to part of a new group in the sequel, Rain and Andy now carry that survivor’s torch. Romulus ended with the two setting course for Yvaga III, a supposedly peaceful planet. If Alien history has taught us anything, that peace won’t last.
Of course, Álvarez’s assurance doesn’t mean Rain and Andy are safe forever. He simply wanted to avoid the mistake of killing them off without purpose. This is still an Alien movie, and death is always part of the DNA.
What matters most is that audiences get the chance to grow attached to these characters before the inevitable chaos. The best Alien entries have always paired terrifying set pieces with characters worth caring about, and if Álvarez’s approach is any indication, the Romulus sequel is heading in the right direction.