The Next Reel Film Podcast
Alien: Romulus
We dig into Fede Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus—what the franchise long needed, a course correction—and what the film can’t stop doing to itself. Closing the Alien series.
May 14, 2026
Seven films. Five directors. Half a century of fear. The Next Reel has covered the complete Alien series—from Ridley Scott’s 1979 original to Fede Álvarez’s Romulus—and the conversation is different every time.
We dig into Fede Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus—what the franchise long needed, a course correction—and what the film can’t stop doing to itself. Closing the Alien series.
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The Alien franchise has morphed more times than its titular creature—and The Next Reel has been there for most of it. Pete and Andy covered the original five films in 2012, from Ridley Scott's haunted house in space through Jean-Pierre Jeunet's stranger-than-fiction Alien Resurrection, then returned in 2026 to give Alien: Covenant and Alien: Romulus the full Next Reel treatment after The Film Board covered both during their theatrical runs.
What makes the series worth following is how completely each film reimagines what an Alien movie can be. Scott's original is spare and terrifying, a masterclass in dread. James Cameron's Aliens turns the dial to action-packed military sci-fi without losing the tension. David Fincher's Alien³ takes a nihilistic turn that still sparks heated debate. Alien Resurrection does something that's harder to categorize. The prequels go somewhere else entirely—into questions of creation, origins, and what it means to design life. And Fede Álvarez's Romulus proves the franchise still has somewhere to go, even half a century after the original.
Andy and Pete trace what persists across all seven films—the corporate menace, the body horror, the question of who gets to survive and why—while taking each director's vision on its own terms. The quality varies across entries, but the conversation never does. In space, everyone can hear the fanbase debate.
If you loved one of these films and haven't heard the conversation about the others, this is where to start.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Next Reel's Alien series complete?
Yes. The series wrapped in 2026 with the episode covering Alien: Romulus, closing a run that began in 2012 with the original five films. All seven episodes are available now.
How many Alien films did The Next Reel cover?
All seven: Alien, Aliens, Alien³, Alien Resurrection, Prometheus, Alien: Covenant, and Alien: Romulus. The first five were covered in Season 1 (2012); the final two in Season 15 (2026).
Where should I start if I'm new to The Next Reel?
Start with the Alien episode from Season 1—it covers Ridley Scott's 1979 original and sets the tone for everything that follows. Each episode works as a standalone, but the Season 1 run especially rewards listening in order.
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Related Listening
If the Alien series brought you here, you might also want to explore The Thinking Machines—The Next Reel's Season 15 look at artificial intelligence in cinema, from Colossus: The Forbin Project to Brian and Charles. It covers different territory but asks some of the same questions about creation, control, and what we're afraid our inventions might become.