Cailee Spaeny revealed further details of the 2024 film
Sci-fi and horror fans have been chomping at the bit for information about the forthcoming 'Alien' film ever since rumours first began swirling in 2019.
Although 'Alien: Romulus' was confirmed last year, with Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez (Don't Breathe, Evil Dead) set to write and direct it, news on the plotline or timeline of the latest installment in the long-running film franchise has been thin on the ground.
However, the film's star Cailee Spaeny - whose star is on the ascent with the titular role in Sofia Coppola's biopic 'Priscilla' - has given fans more information about when the film is set.
She told Variety at last night's Gotham Awards: "It’s supposed to slot in between the first movie and the second movie. They brought the same team from 'Aliens', the James Cameron film. The same people who built those xenomorphs actually came on and built ours. 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."
As you may recall, the first 'Alien' film from 1979 ends with Sigourney Weaver's Ripley sending a xenomorph into space via her escape pod, while she puts herself in a cryogenic sleep as she returns to earth.
The second, meanwhile, sees Ripley agreeing to accompany a crew to investigate a potential alien colony on a derelict spaceship.
It's not yet known whether 'Alien: Romulus' will have a direct link to Ripley's story, although you would assume that there is some crossover, however vague.
'Alien: Romulus' is set for a cinematic release in August 2024, while there is also a TV series based on the 'Alien' franchise in the works for FX by Noah Hawley ('Fargo', 'Legion'.)
The last 'Alien' film was 2017's 'Alien: Covenant', directed by Ridley Scott.