New ‘Alien’ Film Stalking Cailee Spaeny as the Potential Lead
The xenomorph eggs are getting ready to hatch again as 20th Century Studios is already working on the cast for a new Alien film from Fede Álvarez.
The powers at Disney made the promise that they’d mine former Fox franchises such as Planet of the Apes, Predator, and Alien to offer blockbusters that differ from the stuff that comes out of their other studios. So far, they’re moving on those IPs even faster than we initially expected; Prey resurrected the Predator franchise this summer despite a Hulu-only release; Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is almost ready to start shooting and will be setting up a brand-new trilogy that sounds quite exciting; and Alien has lined up both a Noah Hawley-created series for FX/Hulu and a standalone film by Fede Álvarez (Don’t Breathe) that is said to arrive on Hulu too.
While news concerning Álvarez’s new Alien feature surfaced for the first time in early 2022, the project appears to be a top priority for 20th Century Studios and Scott Free after a pitch that many industry sources have described as very strong. In fact, it’s already begun to lock down a cast, with Pacific Rim: Uprising star Cailee Spaeny lined up for the leading role, according to Deadline. Sources claim she has been the top choice for some time. She’ll be seen next in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla and Alex Garland’s Civil War.
The current plan is to be shooting the film in early 2023, following extremely positive feedback by the execs for a script which was turned in recently. While details are being kept under wraps, word on the street is that Álvarez’s film isn’t a prequel nor a sequel to previous Alien entries. Noah Hawley’s show is also expected to be doing its own thing, though leaked details suggest some ideas from Ridley Scott’s unfinished prequel trilogy might have had a huge influence on the story.
Francisco J. Ruiz is that guy who has watched Jurassic Park a thousand times and loves Star Wars. His hunger for movies is only matched by his love for video games. He graduated in English Studies from the University of Malaga, in Spain. As he keeps writing about what he enjoys (and doesn’t) for websites all over, he’s continuing his studies.
