Alien: Romulus bursts onto the cover of the new issue of Total Film

The covers of the upcoming issue of Total Film have been revealed, and they promise a return to pure interstellar terror as the xenomorph is reborn in Alien: Romulus . The universe's ultimate killer can be seen in all its biomechanical glory on the newsstand cover of the new issue which is landing on shelves on Thursday 18 July, with subscribers getting a close encounter on their copies, due to land on doormats shortly.

In Alien: Romulus, Priscilla star Cailee Spaney heads up a much younger cast than were used to seeing come face-to-face with the iconic xenomorph. Set some two decades after the events of Alien, Spaeny’s Rain Carradine is part of a small group of scavengers looking to leave their futile lives behind by raiding the Renaissance, an abandoned Weyland-Yutani research station. But unfortunately for Carradine and co., the nefarious Company is harbouring a deadly secret.

A pureblood survival horror movie, Romulus aims to take the series back to terrifying basics following Ridley Scott’s ambitious but divisive prequels, even returning to H.R. Giger’s original biomechanical designs for the xenomorph. In the cover story, Total Film talks to stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson and Isabela Merced as well as director and co-writer Fede Alvarez about the film’s practical-first production, the unique sibling relationships that drive the story and why it could be the scariest Alien movie since 1979.

• Preorder Total Film’s Alien: Romulus issue now

Look out for more Alien: Romulus exclusives dropping soon. Elsewhere in the issue, we take an eagle to Middle-earth to report from the set of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 , speak to Zoë Kravitz, Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie about provocative thriller Blink Twice, get tongue tied while talking horror remake Speak No Evil with James McAvoy, unearth throwback folk horror Starve Acre with fantasy TV titans Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark, and investigate the physical media boom. Plus, there’s a deep-dive career interview with M. Night Shyamalan ahead of Trap, and new looks at Paul Feig’s Jackpot, Agatha All Along, The Crow, and loads more besides.

Check out the covers in full below:

Subscribers have the exclusive text-free cover on the way to them right now, with the issue then hitting shops and digital newsstands on Thursday 18 July.

Pre-order the issue here to bag your copy or click here to subscribe to Total Film and never miss another exclusive: you’ll get all this movie goodness throughout the year before it’s in shops, as well as having exclusive covers and saving money on the cover price. With our latest offer, you can save up to 50% – and to sweeten the deal, subscribers now get a brand new bonus too, with access to more than 10 years' worth of digital back issues as part of the subscription. That’s well over 100 issues you can explore, including our most recent issues. What’s not to like?