Summary
Marvel just announced anAlien: Romulusprequel comic, claiming that it will"expose an illuminating backstory behind the film’s main threat.“The comic was written in partnership with the creative team behind the upcoming film,including Director Fede Álvarezand frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues.The comic is intended as a tie-in to the film, depicting early events set before - but closely tied to - the movie itself.
The seventh installment in theAliencinematic universe,Alien: Romulusis set between the events ofAlienandAliens, following a group of young colonists who discover a seemingly abandoned space station and its deadly Xenomorph inhabitants. Described as a"back to basics"approach, the movie stars Cailee Spaeny and will hit cinemas August 16, with the one-shot prequel comic launching in October, planned to answer lingering questions fans will have about the origin of the movie’s central antagonists.
Cover Artist:
Leinil Francis Yu (main), Björn Barends (variant)
Marvel Comics presents an all-new story revealing secrets of the film’s legendary antagonists and this issue shines light on them all!
TheRomulusprequel is only the latest in Marvel’sAlienline, published under its new 20th Century Studios imprint. In a press release from Marvel, Writer Zac Thompson says:
The Alien franchise is responsible for my lifelong love of body horror, so needless to say, I’m ecstatic to be contributing a small piece to the canon. Working with Fede Álvarez to craft a prequel to Alien: Romulus was a genuine dream come true and a responsibility I don’t take lightly. The result is a thrilling, terrifying story that slowly gestates into something wholly unpredictable.
The Perfect Companion to the Latest Xenomorph Movie
WhileAlien: Romuluswill tie into the wider universe, it’s intended as a standalone sci-fi horror reminiscent of 1979’s originalAlien, depicting the same kind of claustrophobic story of humans hunted down by the terrifying Xenomorphs.However, how did the Xenomorphs ends up on a derelict space station to begin with?As versatile as they are, it’s not something the acid-bleeding killers could manage on their own, suggesting that for some reason, a human brought them aboard.It’s likely this mystery that will be solved in the prequel comic.
Using comics to build out movie backstories has a long history, but it’s becoming more and more common for the creatives behind the films to get fully involved. The recentThe Riddler: Year Oneused Paul Dano’s character notesto reveal the origin ofThe Batman’s obsessive villain, while theMonsterVersehas released multiple installments depicting Kong and Godzilla’s adventures between movies.
Fans who loveAliencan get the complete story behindRomulusin the upcoming comic prequel, which will hopefully also link into Marvel’s ongoing, canonAlienseries and its terrifying villain,the Woman in the Dark- the final fusion of human and Xenomorph. 2024 is a great year to be anAlienfan, asAlien: Romulususes film and comics to tell the full story of the latest unfortunate humans to stumble across the Xenomorphs.
