More aliens are coming.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that the next Predator solo movie, Predator Badlands, will be released in theaters on November 7, 2025. Following that exciting development, 20th Century Studios head Steve Asbell has announced a sequel to Alien: Romulus. The app is currently under development.
The exciting news comes from a Hollywood Reporter interview with the Fox executive who led the studio’s biggest property into a new era under Disney. Its impressive slate includes new releases of Avatar, Planet of the Apes, Alien, and Predator, all of which have released new releases in the post-Disney takeover era, and now the ball is rolling. It’s time to keep rolling. The entire interview is worth reading in its entirety, as it also includes information about what’s next for the secretly produced Predator movie and other major properties.
Contains spoilers for “Alien: Romulus”.
As for the future of Alien’s big-screen adaptation (remember, there’s an Alien TV show coming next year as well), Asbell first plans to move Romulus from its original direct-to-streaming plans to the now-dead full-fledged We explained why we chose to move to a theatrical release. It was a huge success for both the studio and Disney. “We started development during the coronavirus pandemic, but the strategy for theatrical and streaming versions was not clear, so we started as a streaming movie.”
He also pointed out that all movies these days are made with “the same care and curation” regardless of distribution method, and he’s right, and 2022’s Hulu-exclusive Prey was great, too.
Andy played by David Johnson in Alien: Romulus. (Image credit: 20th Century Studios)
Of course, after Alien: Romulus impressed most critics and horror aficionados, while still making a sizable profit thanks to smart budgeting, there was still a fresh feeling in the air and around the timeless sci-fi series. There is a sense of excitement. Will the next step be another standalone story without Ripley? Or will we follow the survivors of this final turmoil into the next chapter?
The current plan seems to be to realize the latter: “We are currently working on the idea of a sequel. We haven’t signed a deal with Fede (Alvarez) yet, but we intend to do so and ‘We’re going to sign a contract with you.’
“The two survivors, Lane and Andy, played by Cailee Spaeney and David Johnson, were the real highlight of this movie. So I always think about this movie, ‘Wow, people think they’re the next Where do I want to see them go?’ I know there’s going to be aliens, but I know it’s going to be a great horror set. I want to see what the story is,” Asbel admitted.
THR also used the opportunity to ask executives about a possible return to Alien vs. Predator. And it seems like the conversation may have already taken place, as many of us suspected. When asked if we’ll see another Alien vs. Predator installment, Asbel simply replied, “Maybe.”
Still, don’t expect it right away. “If we do this, it will be created organically from these two franchises that we’ve continued with characters that we fell in love with, and those characters will combine…maybe. But we still don’t know that… I’m not at the point and I’m not going to just get done.”
