Is The Next Alien Movie A Romulus Sequel? Here's The Current Plan

After the unfortunate box office disappointment of the criminally underrated "Alien: Covenant," 20th Century Studios opted to veer off from director Ridley Scott's trilogy of movies following the adventures of the android xenomorph experimenter David (Michael Fassbender). The studio seemed to view the franchise as one badly in need of a rethink — especially since it's hard to make a cheap "Alien" movie.

At a reported budget of $80 million, Fede Álvarez's "Alien: Romulus" wasn't exactly affordable, but it was cheaper than "Prometheus" and "Covenant," and, most importantly, a straight-ahead horror flick with the kind of stalk-and-seed frights that made the first two movies — "Alien" and "Aliens" — box office smashes. Curiously, the studio's parent company, Disney, initially wanted to take Álvarez's acid-veined thrillride straight to Hulu. But they eventually realized they had an unabashedly mainstream "Alien" installment on their hands, and, $350 million worldwide later, they have a completely rejuvenated franchise.

So what now? Are we going to continue on into space with Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and Andy (David Jonsson) or head elsewhere in this ever-expanding universe? Read on to find out what the top dog at Fox has to say.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter about the future of 20th Century Studios, the company's top production executive Steve Asbell revealed that the "Alien: Romulus" team is still at the helm of the feature franchise. As he told THR:

"We're working on a sequel idea now. We haven't quite closed our deal with Fede [Alvarez], but we are going to, and he has an idea that we're working on. The two survivors, Rain and Andy, played by Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, were real highlights of the film. And so I always think of it like, 'Wow, where do people want to see them go next?' We know there's going to be aliens. We know there's going to be great horror set pieces. But I fell in love with both of them and I want to see what their story is."

Rain and Andy are a lot cuddlier and more likable than Fassbender's murderous David (though he was plenty hot for an android), so it sounds like this new series, for however long it lasts, won't feel like it's headed in some cataclysmic direction (or, in Sigourney Weaver's Ripley's case, a fatal reckoning with the beast). It'll be interesting to see where Rain and Andy end up in the next movie: will they make it to Yvaga or, in classic "Alien" fashion, will their cryosleep be interrupted by a perilous detour? It's too early to say, but it isn't too early to stoke one's excitement via a rewatch of "Alien: Romulus!" Here's hoping Asbell, one of the most trusted and talent-friendly execs around, keeps steering his company in the right direction.