We were joined on the Popternative show by Aileen Wu, who plays the cynical pilot Navarro, adopted sister to Spike Fearn’s Bjorn in Alien: Romulus. Navarro helps the adventuring team, led by Cailee Spaeny’s (Civil War) Rain Carradine, to the titular station in Alien: Romulus. The sci-fi horror sequel also stars David Jonsson (Rye Lane), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), and Spike Fearn (The Batman).
Alien: Romulus, which released on August 16, is a bridging sequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien and Aliens. While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young colonizers come face-to-face with the most relentless and deadly life form in the universe. With the Xenomorph, and more, on their tail, the team must find a way to safely excavate what they can or die trying.
On shooting Navarro’s facehugger scene with Merced, Aileen says, “[Isabela] was my rock during those three days, those were intense days. I had to wait a bit, but every time the assistant director sent out a new master schedule, I would be like, “Where’s my chestburster scene? It’s my time to shine!”
“I realized, ‘Oh shit, the scene is not about me at all.’ It’s about the creature and the birth of this creature,” Aileen said. “What eludes people sometimes is that the death of Navarro means the birth of everyone else’s demise. And then, just leaving it all on set, take after take, was so gratifying to do.”
Alien: Romulus is directed by horror master Fede Alvarez from a screenplay by Alvarez and frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. Ridley Scott — who directed the original Alien and the series entries Prometheus and Alien: Covenant — produces with Michael Pruss and Walter Hill.
Watch the full conversation with Aileen below.
Alien: Romulus is available now on all digital platforms, Hulu and will be out on Blu-ray December 3.
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Christopher Gallardo is a freelance entertainment writer and critic. While not running The Reel Roller, Chris can be found writing reviews and breakdowns on all things films and TV. Outside of entertainment writing, he’s currently taking classes for a Bachelor’s of Science with a minor in Digital Media & Journalism. Plus, he loves Percy Jackson, animated films and shows, and Fallout! Follow Christopher on Instagram & X.