Even though the Alien franchise has had a long, complex history that was brought to life by many different directors, Ridley Scott is the mastermind behind it all. The director brought the first film to life and continued to act as a producer on many of the subsequent installments, even returning to direct the prequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. He might have been too busy with the Gladiator universe to return to direct Alien: Romulus (he will still act as producer), but he has nothing but praise for the film’s director Fede Alvarez.
Alvarez shared the advice that Scott gave him before he began shooting the film, which takes place in between Alien and Aliens. On Instagram, Alvarez posted a photo of the note: “Dear Fede, Good luck. Good health. Good hunting. Don’t f*ck up. Very best wishes, Ridley Scott.” It definitely could have been meaner, so this is a good sign!
Scott isn’t the only director to touch base with Alvarez. James Cameron, who directed Aliens, also offered who two cents. He does this plenty and sometimes to humorous effect.
Cameron told The Hollywood Reporter, “I saw a rough cut six months ago, so I’m sure it’s changed a lot,” he said. Cameron added that while he didn’t work on the film as much as it’s been reported, he did have some input. “I viewed it once. I gave some notes to [director Fede Álvarez]. He and I aren’t close pals. I mean, I wish him the best with it, but I think it’s been overstated that I had some big creative input to that film. I think Ridley [Scott] did because Ridley was an actual producer on the film. So I’m just putting it in perspective,” he added.
Aside from both sets of advice, Alvarez seemed to do a pretty good job, as early reactions are praising the new installment. If nothing else, they surely did a good job with that popcorn bucket.