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Alien: Romulus Released A Video Of 'Real' Facehuggers And They're Nightmare Fuel

Facehugger on Kane 20th Century Studios
By Nick Staniforth

It's been 45 years since John Hurt got himself way too attached to an otherworldly entity, and after all this time, the sight of a facehugger from the "Alien" franchise is still a horrifying sight. It's understandable, then, why X, formerly known as Twitter, gave a terrifying reaction to a glimpse of a remote-controlled one running free on the set of the upcoming film, "Alien: Romulus." The video, courtesy of director Fede Alvarez, startled timelines as he posted the video on social media, writing, "Playing with my favorite toy on set of #AlienRomulus last summer. RC Facehugger created by the amazing team from @wetaworkshop Happy #AlienDay everybody!"

Admittedly, the video only raised the excitement levels already set by the "Alien: Romulus" trailer, which has a facehugger infestation almost too gross to watch. With dozens of the alien creatures scurrying at a frantic speed across the floor in the initial teaser for the film, "Romulus" might end up holding a new record for faces getting hugged than previous entries in the space-based saga, and in doing so, find itself adding to some of the best kills in the "Alien" franchise. 

The free-roaming facehugger rekindles a frightening moment from the Alien franchise

Burke pulling facehugger from Ripley 20th Century Studios

It's wild to think that there was a time when the initial facehugger design of "Alien" was bigger and grosser than the one we ended up with. Nevertheless, this footage, along with the teaser trailer, proves that sometimes the smaller things are, the scarier they can be. Just a glimpse at the pace Alvarez's remote-controlled pet is moving reignites the fear felt when James Cameron left Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and Newt (Carrie Hens) alone with a pair of these parasites in "Aliens," which is understandable, given that the crew that worked on that film are back at the creature factory this time around as well.

As revealed by star Cailee Spaeny in a November 2023 interview with Variety, who also let slip that "Romulus" would take place between "Alien" and "Aliens," "The same people who built those xenomorphs actually came on and built ours." Married with the cushioned walls reminiscent of the Nostromo in Ridley Scott's "Alien," it's clear in the trailer that Alvarez is constructing an acid-soaked love letter to the franchise. We'll see if it's worth bursting into (preferably not via our chests) when "Alien: Romulus" sneaks into theaters on August 16.

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