10 Status Updates On Iconic Horror Movie Franchises

9. Alien

Freddy Krueger Lament Configuration Ash Williams Ghostface Jason Voorhees
20th Century Fox

Last Film Entry: Alien: Covenant (2017)

What's Going On? A new, non-Ridley Scott movie; that's what's going on. Oh, and a prequel TV series!

Yep, it's a busy time for the Alien franchise, with the property looking to move away from the ambitious but somewhat muddled Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. 

First up, and with a theatrical release booked in for this August, is Fede Alvarez's Alien: Romulus. That would be the one and the same Fede Alvarez who helmed 2013's Evil Dead reboot and 2016's likewise impressive Don't Breathe. 

Story specifics are tight-lipped at this time, but we do know that Romulus will take place between Alien and Aliens, with some of the same SFX crew from Aliens having worked on the Xenomorph design of this new picture. Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu are the announced cast, although their roles have yet to be revealed.

As for that prequel TV series, Fargo and Legion's Noah Hawley serves as writer and director on a show simply titled Alien; a show set three decades before Ridley Scott's original 1979 movie, and one that's looking to premiere in the first half of 2025. Notable names in the confirmed cast include Don't Worry Darling's Sydney Chandler, The End of the F***ing World's Alex Lawther, The Mandalorian's Timothy Olyphant, and Bottom and Young Ones favourite Adrian Edmondson

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.