Fede Alvarez Won’t Direct the ‘Alien: Romulus’ Sequel

After Alien: Romulus^[1] proved to be a success for 20th Century Studios, grossing $350 million globally, sequel plans were quickly announced, with its director, Fede Alvarez, thought to be returning.

Turns out that’s not entirely the case, as Too Fab^[2] reports that Alvarez will not be coming back to direct the Alien franchise^[3] follow-up feature after all. The filmmaker attended the red carpet for Universal Studios’ Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood and shared, “We just finished the script, actually, for a sequel for Romulus. But I’m gonna pass the torch on this one as director,” and added, “I’m going to produce it, with Ridley Scott, we’re gonna produce it together, and we’re right now trying to find a new filmmaker to come in.”

The script for the Alien: Romulus sequel at least has Alvarez re-teaming with co-writer Rodo Sayagues, who he has long collaborated with on past features, including their Don’t Breathe series and Evil Dead (2013). The Alien franchise is currently experiencing a resurgence in the zeitgeist between Alvarez and Noah Hawley’s current FX series, Alien: Earth.

It will be interesting to see what filmmakers step up to the plate to continue Ridley Scott’s original sci-fi universe. Our only request besides more stories is for Disney to just please bring back Alien Encounter at Walt Disney World so we can have our terrifying Alien meet and greet since you can argue now the Aliens are official Disney royalty, and they can feature prominently everywhere. Hey, the Alien: Earth immersive experience at SDCC was met with a lot of love^[4]. We stan the Disney Alien Queen and its offspring’s takeover of the Disney pop culture sphere.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel^[5], Star Wars^[6], and Star Trek^[7] releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV^[8], and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who^[9].