Alien: Romulus Footage Reaction: Practical Xenomorphs And Facehuggers Bring The Horror [CinemaCon 2024]

Director Fede Álvarez (2013's "Evil Dead") is looking to revitalize the "Alien" franchise with his new film: "Alien: Romulus." No, "Romulus" isn't hinting at a "Star Trek" crossover, but it does feature rising stars like Cailee Spaeney ("Priscilla") and Isabella Merced (2025's "Superman").

After the mood-setting first trailer for "Alien: Romulus" and some positive buzz (including recruiting the effects team from "Aliens" who built the Xenomorph Queen), /Film's Ryan Scott caught another glimpse of "Romulus" at CinemaCon during the presentation by 20th Century Studios' parent company, Disney.

Set between the events of 1979's "Alien" and 1986's "Aliens," the film features its young stars dodging aliens — from facehuggers to Xenomorphs — on an otherwise empty space station (I wouldn't guess it's "abandoned" since there could be other reasons why there are no humans on board). How will "Romulus" stand out next to the previous film in the franchise, 2017's "Alien: Covenant," or indeed the original film? Here's what we found out.

Spoilers follow! Be warned!

The footage opens with Cailee Spaeny's character wandering through a spaceship with another character played by Aileen Wu. The ship appears to be in tatters: broken down and ruined. The characters are trying to solve a problem — and it might have something to do with the fact that the ship is in rough shape. They also come across a destroyed android that appears to have been ripped apart. In short, things are bad.

Another crew member, played by David Jonsson, is suddenly in a room with red flashing lights. The doors are locked shut, separating the crew members from one another. Everyone appears to be panicking — and can you blame them? They're in an "Alien" movie.

David Jonsson's character turns out to be an android in the process of rebooting. As he's in the midst of doing this, a swarm of facehuggers come bursting through the walls and swim in some shallow water the characters find themselves standing in. One of the crew members is pulled under the water. It's worth noting everything here looks practical, not overly done with CGI., At one point, a facehugger is crawling on the ceiling, only to drop down and attack. Eventually, the sealed doors open and the characters run for their lives, chased by dozens of facehuggers. 

This tense moment was followed by another scene: the aftermath. Aileen Wu's character was attacked by a facehugger — which means a chestburster is on its way. Yikes. A character played by Isabela Merced is left alone with Aileen Wu's character. "Please don't leave me," Aileen Wu's character says — but it's too late; the chestburster is, well, bursting. It results in lots and lots of blood, and eventually, a tiny baby Xenomorph crawls forth. 

Again: all of this appears to be done practically, and it looks genuinely scary. Here's hoping the entire film matches the intensity of this footage.

"Alien: Romulus" opens August 16, 2024.