Alien: Romulus Star Spoils The Movie's Surprising Place In The Franchise Timeline

There's been very little coming up on the scanners regarding "Alien: Romulus," the new xenomorph movie from "Don't Breathe" by director Fede Álvarez. The last detail to come out was that the originator of the "Alien" franchise, Ridley Scott, has seen the movie and called it "F*****g great" (via Variety). Now, though, one of its stars has let slip just where we're going to be dropping into the "Alien" saga, and this new info suggests that we might be revisiting a significant spot in xenomorph history.

Speaking to Variety about the new film, Cailee Spaeny said, "It's supposed to slot in between the first movie and the second movie," referring to Ridley Scott's original nail-biter "Alien" and James Cameron's fire-powered fright fest "Aliens." That's a bold move, but, thankfully, Álvarez got a helping hand from those who originally crafted the creatures. "The same people who built those xenomorphs actually came on and built ours," Spaeny said. "So getting to see the original design with the original people who have been working on these films for 45-plus years and has been so much of their life has been really incredible."

What does the timeframe revelation — and the fact that the monster makers from the original films are on board — tell us about the potential plot of this new entry into the "Alien" franchise? Could "Alien: Romulus" show us a story that was only briefly touched upon in the director's cut of "Aliens" before things went to hell?

While it hasn't been confirmed yet, given that we'll be reunited with the xenomorphs, there's a chance that "Alien: Romulus" could take place at Hadley's Hope. That's the name of the colony that was hit with an alien infestation, which led to Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the team of colonial marines paying it a visit in "Aliens." This would align with an image that Fede Álvarez posted on Instagram, showing a hallway resembling the colony base.

If this does end up being the case, it would certainly make for a worthy watch. There are scenes in the "Aliens" director's cut that show the start of the xenomorph takeover and briefly introduce Newt (Carrie Henn). "Romulus" could expand on that and show us the doomed families that the conglomerate corporation Weyland-Yutani sent to Hadley's Hope to work. We'll have our answers when "Alien: Romulus" arrives in cineplexes on August 16, 2024.