Movies Alien: Romulus director shows off upcoming film's facehugger in new video Fede Álvarez celebrated Alien Day (April 26) with a tease of this summer's sequel. By Christian Holub Christian Holub Christian Holub is a writer covering comics and other geeky pop culture. He's still mad about 'Firefly' getting canceled. EW's editorial guidelines Published on April 26, 2024 02:11PM EDT The original Alien is celebrating its 45th anniversary with a limited theatrical rerelease this weekend, but don't forget that there's a new Xenomorph on the way as well this summer. Fede Álvarez, director of the upcoming Alien: Romulus, celebrated "Alien Day" on Friday by posting a video of his film's new facehugger in action. For a few years, April 26 has been celebrated as unofficial "Alien Day" in honor of the planetoid (designated "LV-426") where Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and the rest of the Nostromo crew first discovered the Xenomorph in the original Alien. The occasion has extra meaning this year because fans have the chance to see Ridley Scott's 1979 masterpiece in theaters again. The new Xenomorph glimpsed in 'Alien: Romulus' trailer. Courtesy of 20th Century Studios Then, in August, fans of the Alien franchise can treat themselves to the newest installment Alien: Romulus. Alvarez previously told Entertainment Weekly that he intentionally recruited crew members from both Alien and James Cameron's beloved sequel Aliens to design new versions of the titular creatures. "We’ve got puppeteering, animatronics, all the old-school techniques. We had the right guys because they worked on the originals," Alvarez told EW in March. "So, for some creatures, we needed those guys to nail the look and make them exactly as you’ve seen them in the past. But then when we needed something new, we had those guys as well, so that we made sure we’re faithful to the spirit of the original movies.” In Alvarez's new video, you can see one of the new creatures in action. Specifically, it's the facehugger, an alien form that attaches itself to a human's head so it can impregnate them with the embryo that will eventually burst out of their chest, ready to become a full Xenomorph. "Playing with my favorite toy on set of #AlienRomulus last summer," Alvarez wrote in his tweet. "RC Facehugger created by the amazing team from @wetaworkshop. Happy #AlienDay everybody!" Alien: Romulus hits theaters on Aug. 16, 2024. Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. Related content: Alien: Romulus director teases new movie’s mix of familiar designs and all-new visuals Ridley Scott thinks new Alien movie is 'f---ing great,' director says Sigourney Weaver says the 'ship has sailed' on her playing Ripley in Alien sequel: 'I put in my time in space'