“Alien: Romulus” Comic-Con Panel Interrupted by Crawling, Chest-Bursting Creatures

Cailee Spaeny plays one of a team of “space colonizers” who “come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe”

Horrors in the darkness of space await in Alien: Romulus — and for the crowd at this year's San Diego Comic-Con.

Actors Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced and Spike Fearn, as well as director and co-writer Fede Álvarez, appeared in Hall H to tease the upcoming 20th Century Studios movie on Friday, July 26.

Answering a question about whether he ever has nightmares about the Alien franchise's face-hugging, chest-bursting xenomorphs, Álvarez, 46, confirmed that he had. Before he could elaborate, Hall H plunged into darkness. Crawling animatronic creatures were projected onto the screen, appearing between the rows of attendees and onstage in front of the panelists.

As the lights shut on and off and alarms blared, an actor appeared onstage and began convulsing. In keeping with franchise tradition, a miniature alien emerged bloodily from his chest before he slumped over, foaming at the mouth.

Produced by the franchise’s original director Ridley Scott, Alien: Romulus is set between the events of the Sigourney Weaver-starring Alien and sequel Aliens. Described as taking the space-thriller franchise "back to its roots," the synopsis for the seventh film reads, "While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe."

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The Hall H crowd was treated to panel questions via video message from noted horror directors Scott, Dan Trachtenberg and Guillermo del Toro, as well as several extended scenes from the film.

It is titled Romulus "because it’s really a story about sibling-hood," revealed Álvarez. While previous Alien movies have featured close human connections in the face of trauma, the filmmaker says this installment is "the first time you have people who are really really close who really really love each other... 'Would you die for your brother or sister?' was a theme."

Priscilla star Spaeny, 26, described Álvarez as "a confident director with a vision," adding that he "really wanted to do something for the fans, as a fan."

Jonsson, 31, recalled the challenges of filming with the creatures of Romulus — largely practical, rather than computer-generated, effects. Repeating a take in which his character, a Synthetic or artificial person, throws a xenomorph, he recalled, “I take the big boy and I throw it and it whips back around and detaches my retina."

“A vengeful motherf---er,” quipped Álvarez.

When asked for their expert advice on how to deal with face-hugging aliens (before they were faced with the dramatic Hall H interruption), actors on the panel recommended covering one's mouth. "Just run, man," advised Fearn. "That’s what I’d do."

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Alvarez previously told Entertainment Weekly that he "wanted to go back to the roots, to the era of the first film… We had the right guys because they worked on the originals. So, for some creatures, we needed those guys to nail the look and make them exactly as you’ve seen them in the past. But then when we needed something new, we had those guys as well, so that we made sure we’re faithful to the spirit of the original movies."

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Spaeny has a busy schedule, fresh off the success of the Kirsten Dunst-starring Civil War, released in April. In addition to Romulus, she has a new season of Beef and Daniel Craig’s Knives Out follow-up Wake Up Dead Man on the horizon. 

San Diego Comic-Con runs July 24 to July 28. Alien: Romulus is in theaters Aug. 16. 

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