Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1526889
5 2 P E R S P E C T I V E | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 2 4 In 2022, horror director Fede Alvarez was selected by Sir Ridley Scott after hearing his pitch for a new installment of the iconic Alien franchise at 20th Century Studios. Alvarez, known for his gripping horror films, Don't Breathe and Evil Dead, pitched a story set against the backdrop of a Weyland Yutani space colony on a distant mining planet. The movie follows a group of young adults attempting to escape an exploitative and hopeless existence in the colony. After the success of the latest Predator installment, Prey, 20th Century was looking to reinvigorate the iconic Xenomorph series. With Scott's seal of approval, Alvarez's vision promised to breathe new life into the celebrated Xenomorph universe, blending suspense, science fiction and the timeless allure of deep-space terror. Soon after Alvarez got the greenlight, he began building his team and he tapped Naaman Marshall to head up the design. Marshall was an obvious choice since he and Alvarez had already established a shorthand after working together on the successful 2016 horror film Don't Breathe. Marshall also brought a wealth of experience to the table, having worked on blockbuster productions, The Dark Knight and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. His work as Production Designer for the deep-ocean thriller Underwater, demonstrated his ability to visually echo the dark atmospheric look of the original Alien film. With Alvarez directing and Sir Ridley Scott producing, pre-production for Alien: Romulus kicked off. "We needed to establish the design aesthetic upfront," Marshall explains. "What version of Aliens were we looking to achieve?" There have been six previous Alien films and they range from the gritty industrial cassette-futurism of Alien, to the ultra-modern sleek sci-fi aesthetic in Prometheus. Fede wanted his film to go back to its '80s roots. He envisioned it to be sort of a hybrid of Alien and Aliens—the era right in between those two films is when this story takes place. Marshall R e i m a g i n i n g a S p i n e - C h i l l i n g U n i v e r s e D E S I G N I N G A L I E N : R O M U L U S B Y A L E X N I C E , I L L U S T R AT O R A. RENAISSANCE STATION EXTERIORS ILLUSTRATION BY ALEX NICE. CREATED USING ZBRUSH, 3DCOAT, 3DS MAX AND PHOTOSHOP. B. ASTEROID OPENING SEQUENCE. 1 OF 3 SEQUENTIAL ILLUSTRATIONS DEPICTING THE OPENING OF THE MYSTERIOUS ASTEROID IN THE PROLOGUE. ILLUSTRATION BY ALEX NICE USING 3DCOAT, 3DS MAX AND PHOTOSHOP. C. ASTEROID IN THE SPACE STATION'S HANGAR BAY. SET PHOTO. D. ECHO SPACE PROBE CONCEPT ARTIST BY GUS MENDONCA. A