San Diego Comic Con was a big event for the superhero genre, but it also celebrated the horror genre. Alien: Romulus was a major focus during this celebration.
The panel for this film happened last Friday and included director Fede Álvarez and a cast of young stars. They were there to help build excitement for the sequel, which will be released next month. Álvarez talked about why seeing Romulus in IMAX is a great idea.
In an interview with Steven Weintraub at Collider’s SDCC Studio, Álvarez explained, “We didn’t want to make it in IMAX just to be like, ‘Well, you can see it on IMAX, and the screen is bigger.’ We want it to be a different experience.” He added:
“For the IMAX version, we went the full aperture. We shot it on cameras that were IMAX certified, and they were almost 4:3, where you have a lot of top and a lot of bottom.
All the other versions are just your classic aspect ratio for film. If you go to IMAX, you just get that massive screen, and you get more of the movie, actually, more of the top and bottom, so you get to see a lot more things, and it’s really gorgeous.”
Álvarez concluded by saying, “I mean, nothing beats that IMAX experience. Unfortunately, not everybody’s lucky enough to have an IMAX close to their home, but if they do, they should definitely check it out in IMAX.”
Recent big horror films like Scream (2022) and Evil Dead Rise have also benefited from the IMAX format. This format is especially good for sound, and Alien has always been great with sound effects.
What’s ‘Alien: Romulus’ About?
Alien: Romulus is set between the events of Ridley Scott’s original Alien and its first sequel, Aliens. The film follows a group of space colonizers, led by Cailee Spaeny (Civil War), Isabela Merced (Superman), and Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone).
They explore an abandoned space station but find it full of Xenomorphs and facehuggers. The panel at SDCC even showed a facehugger, which added to the horror.
From the trailers, the sequel looks like a great return to the horror genre with amazing special effects. Romulus will be the first film in the series since 2017’s Alien: Covenant.
Alien: Romulus will hit theaters on August 16, 2024. Tickets are available now. The Alien franchise is celebrating its 45th anniversary, and you can stream the entire series on Hulu.
