ALIEN Romulus: JAWS (2) in space?

“You’re gonna need a bigger pinball!”

“JAWS in space!”… That was the original studio pitch by Alien screenwriter, Dan O’Bannon, to sell his soon to be sci-fi classic. Of course, Alien is not a remake of Jaws; it’s more of a haunted house movie in space. Learn more about the shared movie DNA between JAWS and ALIEN here.

Today the trailer and poster artwork for ALIEN: Romulus was released and while not revealing too much about the story or characters, the content indicates a return to the core tone of what made Ridley Scott’s orginal ALIEN the phenomenon it is.

What I loved about the ALIEN Romulus trailer is that it was short (just over a minute long - classic teaser territory) and didn’t reveal much about the story or characters. Definitely taking a leaf from the JAWS playbook of less-is-more.

The trailer starts with a space ship approaching what looks to be a space station of some sort - echoes of the Quint’s Orca venturing out to sea. I also really like the use of sound. JAWS won the academy award for Best Sound in 1976, and the trailer’s first half is the sound of people terrified and doors slamming. much like the screaming of Chrissie and the water crashing around her in the opening of JAWS.

However, what caught my eye beyond the trailer was the IMDB plot description: Young people from a distant world must face the most terrifying life form in the universe. Sound familiar? Change a few key words and you have the plot for JAWS 2.

JAWS 2 sees a group of teenagers venture out to sea and and be terrorised by a gigantic Great White shark. Aside from a few shark inflicted deaths prior to this part of the story kicking in, a series of jump-scares, action set pieces and one death are what we got. What JAWS 2 managed to do well was balance the shark action with character. We cared about these teens and cheered when Chief Brody returned to save them.

The cast is also interesting as they are all relatively unknown (like JAWS 2) so allows for more suspense around who, when and how people will meet ther Xeno-demise. It also avoids the unexpected big-star death that has become somewhat of a cliche (although Kevin Spacey’s death in L.A. Confidential rules).

Directed by Fede Alvarez - Evil Dead (2013) & Don’t Breathe (2016) - I really hope ALIEN Romulus can give the ride fans have been waiting seven long years for. In the absence of a JAWS movie for over thirty years, the ALIEN franchise is the closest we seem to get to 70s classics getting the modern treatment.

ALIEN Romulus is expected 16th August 2024.

Watch ALIEN Romulus trailer

Words by Ross Williams

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