New ‘Alien’ Movie From Fede Álvarez Sets Cast, Filming Starts March 9
Disney and 20th Century Studios are keeping the Alien flame alive. Fede Álvarez was tapped a while ago to direct a new installment in the decades-running franchise, and now the cast has been set.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming film will star Cailee Spaeny as the lead, in a role that will be similar to Sigourney Weaver’s in the 1979 original, alongside David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu, and Isabela Merced. Spaeny’s role had been reported a few months ago, with the rest of the ensemble following this week, ahead of the film’s principal photography start on March 9 in Budapest. Ridley Scott is producing via Scott Free; Álvarez, who is directing, also co-wrote the script with Rodo Sayagues.
Plot details are being kept under wraps, but THR was able to confirm that the story will focus on a group of younger people on a distant colony who start being hunted down by the titular alien, a creature known as the xenomorph. It is unknown whether it will have any ties to either the original Sigourney Weaver films or the most recent Alien prequel films (Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, which were supposed to be two-thirds of a never-finished trilogy).
This is not the only Alien-related project being set up by Disney/20th Century. Announced over two years ago, Noah Hawley (Fargo) is currently developing a live-action series for Hulu, which is in pre-production at the moment and aiming to start shooting in 2023 too.
The Alien IP is one-third of the titles that Disney set out to revamp when they acquired 20th Century Fox back in 2019. Last August’s Prey proved to be an exciting release that put the Predator franchise back on the map, and catapulted its director, Dan Trachtenberg, and star, Amber Midthunder, into the next Hollywood level. The studio is likely interested in a sequel, which the actress hasn’t shut down so far. Additionally, principal photography wrapped in February for The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, a film that will continue the story started by Andy Serkis’ Caesar trilogy and hopefully set up a new trio of movies.
No release date has been set for Fede Álvarez’s Alien film, though if everything goes according to plan, it could roll out in theaters sometime in 2024.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
