Meet the crew facing the perfect organism in these exclusive new images from Alien: Romulus

No horror movie this year is more feverishly anticipated than Alien: Romulus . Taking equal inspiration from Ridley Scott’s seminal, slow-burn chiller and James Cameron’s masterfully muscular sequel, Romulus is synthesising Alien and Aliens into one perfect cinematic organism, while adding fresh ideas and fresh blood all of its own.

Set predominantly aboard the abandoned Weyland-Yutani research station the Renaissance, and some two decades after the destruction of the Nostromo in Alien, Romulus sees a young crew of scavengers in search of a way out and a brighter future, only to find the perfect killing machine instead. Civil War’s Cailee Spaeny heads up the cast as Rain Carradine, alongside her synthetic ‘brother’ Andy, played by Rye Lane star David Jonsson.

Director and co-writer Fede Alvarez has previous form reimagining legendary horror properties, having helmed 2013’s vicious Evil Dead remake, and looks set to bring a similar mix of reverence, reinvention and ultraviolence to Alien: Romulus. It’s placement on the timeline between the events of Alien and Aliens also means Alvarez will draw upon two masterworks stylistically and tonally, while potentially drawing narrative connections to the series at large.

Alien: Romulus is on the cover of the upcoming issue of Total Film magazine (on sale Thursday 18 July), and inside there’s an in-depth making-of feature including new interviews with stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Isabela Merced and director Fede Alvarez. Here (and above) you can take an exclusive look at some new images from the upcoming issue, featuring the imperilled cast.

• Pre-order Total Film’s Alien: Romulus issue now

Inside the issue Spaeny tells us about taking inspiration from Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, Rain’s unique relationship with ‘artificial person’ Andy (Jonsson) and what it’s like to come face to face with a xenomorph. Plus, Alvarez reveals the extraordinary lengths he and the crew went to create the world of Romulus practically, including bringing back the special effects technicians who worked on Aliens, the meaning behind that enigmatic title, and why he wanted to take Alien back to its pureblood horror roots.

Alien: Romulus opens in UK cinemas on 16 August. For much more on the film, don’t miss the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves and digital newsstands on Thursday 18 July. Check out the covers below:

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?