Alien: Romulus Is Confirmed To Fix A Major Ridley Scott Mistake From His $241 Million Prequel

Summary Alien: Romulus will feature mostly practical effects, fixing the CGI mistakes of Ridley Scott's prequel Alien: Covenant.

Scott actually filmed practical creatures for his film, but replaced them with computer effects in the final cut.

Fede Alvarez's approach to Romulus embraces real sets and effects, staying true to the original franchise's style.

Alien: Romulus has a hard road ahead to get audiences excited about the franchise again, though it has been confirmed to fix a mistake Ridley Scott made with his prequel Covenant. On paper, the return of Scott to the Alien movie franchise sounded incredible. Not only did the 2012 prequel/spinoff Prometheus mark the filmmaker's return to the series he helped create, it was his first sci-fi movie in three decades. Unfortunately, both Prometheus and its sequel Alien: Covenant proved very divisive. Some great visuals and performances were undercut by sloppy storytelling and unlikeable protagonists.

Scott had planned at least one more sequel featuring Michael Fassbender's murderous android David, who the filmmaker intended to use as a replacement for the titular alien. The underperformance of Covenant put paid to that notion, and after a seven-year break, the series will return with the upcoming Alien: Romulus. Taking place between the first and second entries, this Fede Álvarez-directed outing finds a group of young scavengers encountering the creatures on a space station and struggling to survive.

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Alien: Romulus Fixes Ridley Scott's Practical Effects Mistake

Covenant replaced all its practical creature effects with inferior CGI

There was also the use of CG to bring the Xenomorph creatures to life, with Covenant, in particular, suffering from unconvincing effects. Descriptions of Alien: Romulus' CinemaCon 2024 confirms that the movie uses mostly practical creature effects for the Facehuggers and adult Xenomorphs.

Despite Prometheus and Covenant featuring some impressive production design, they felt visually at odds with the original Alien movies. Their tech was far too sleek and advanced, especially considering the duology took place before the first Alien. There was also the use of CG to bring the Xenomorph creatures to life, with Covenant, in particular, suffering from unconvincing effects. Descriptions of Alien: Romulus' CinemaCon 2024 footage confirms that the movie uses mostly practical creature effects for the Facehuggers and adult Xenomorphs.

By all accounts, these effects look great too, and really evoke the style of the earlier movies. What's unfortunate about Covenant is that Scott filmed practical creatures during production, but opted not to use them in the final edit. Behind-the-scenes photos and footage show performers in suits bringing the monsters to life, but they were only used as references for the CGI used in the 2017 sequel.

Related Alien Movies In Order (Release & Chronological) From Ridley Scott's Alien to the sci-fi franchise's prequel series beginning with Prometheus, here's how to watch the Alien movies in order.

Romulus' Effects Approach Will Make It More In Line With The Original Alien Films

Romulus is trying to make Alien feel real again

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One thing that made the original Alien films so intense were their practical effects, and the sense the actors were sharing the same space as the monsters. Covenant's Facehuggers and Xenomorphs had a cartoonish, unnatural edge that betrayed their computer-generated origins, undermining the tension. Romulus, if early descriptions can be trusted, won't have that issue. Simply evoking the look and tech of the earlier movies doesn't mean Álvarez's midquel will be another classic entry either, but it shows an understanding of what made them tick. Speaking with THR in March 2024, the director stated his approach to the effects:

I have this obsession with no green screens, so we built every creature and set. Everything had to be built so we were really living and breathing in these spaces.

The filmmaker himself is a fan of the saga, and as his feature debut Evil Dead 2013 proved, he knows how to reinvent a classic while still pleasing devotees. Romulus is designed to fill the gaps between the first and second movies, but if it took the same approach Ridley Scott did with his prequels, it would feel out of step with them. With the renewed focus on practical sets and effects, Alien: Romulus is learning the right lessons from Covenant and Scott's series missteps.

Speaking with THR, Fede Álvarez confirmed both James Cameron and Ridley Scott have seen Alien: Romulus, with the latter telling the filmmaker “Fede, what can I say? It’s f***ing great.”

Source: THR