“Alien” is my favorite movie franchise, so it’s little surprise that “Alien: Romulus” is my most anticipated movie of the year. And it would stand to reason that I dropped everything to watch the new “Alien: Romulus” trailer that debuted this week.
However, almost 48 hours after it first surface online, and in the wake of a colleague describing it as “the best trailer I’ve ever seen", I still haven’t watched it. My social media feeds are abuzz with reactions (all of them positive), and even my horror-agnostic partner has watched it and declared that it looks “pretty good”.
So why haven’t I seen the new “Alien: Romulus” trailer yet? It’s not because I’ve spent the last couple of days trapped in an internet-free bunker. Instead, I’ve purposefully gone out of my way to avoid this two-minute preview of the latest flick in the “Alien” cannon as I don’t want even a single second spoiled. And I’m confident this approach will yield its reward later this summer.
I don’t need to be sold on “Alien: Romulus”
The purpose of a trailer is simple. Trailers provide a snapshot of a movie to entice the watcher to seek out the full feature. However, when it comes to pretty much anything “Alien” related, I do not need to be enticed. I’m fully on board already.
“Alien: Romulus” has had my full attention from the moment it was first announced. Even when there was no official title, I was already booking my cinema ticket in my head. So, with that in mind, watching this new trailer can only spoil potentially cool moments that I’d rather experience for the first time when I see the movie on the big screen on opening night.
Admittedly, I did watch the initial teaser trailer that dropped in March, and much as I loved this first look at the movie, especially as it assured me that director Fede Álvarez is the right helmer to take the franchise forward (sorry, Ridley Scott!), it already spoiled too much for me. There’s one scene (involving Facehuggers) that would have been so much more exciting to see for the first time in a cinema.
The new trailer is getting a rave reception from what I can see (my mutuals are telling me the flick looks fantastic), so it’s taking a lot of willpower to avoid clicking that play button. Still, I’m confident my restraint will be rewarded come August when I get to enjoy “Alien: Romulus" with almost entirely fresh eyes.
The problem with movie trailers
Part of my job involves watching a lot of trailers. As an entertainment writer, I need to have a good handle on all the new movies and TV shows arriving in theaters and on the best streaming services. But over the years it's becoming pretty clear that trailers are often more harmful than helpful.
I’ve lost count of the number of trailers I’ve watched that spoil the whole movie including key plot points, the best gags and the slickest action sequences. A great recent example would be the horror movie “Abigail”, which contains a very neat mid-movie twist that is entirely spoiled in the trailer. I would have loved to watch the movie for the first time unaware of what was coming, but the trailer robbed me of that opportunity.
There’s a strong argument to be made that the best way to consume new movies is without first watching trailers, but of course, this isn’t practical for most people. Finding the time to catch a whole movie can be tricky, so when you do settle down to watch a flick, it’s not unreasonable to check you’ve picked a flick that will appeal to you by first watching a trailer.
Nevertheless, I wish that the trailer-makers of Hollywood would go a little easy on the spoilers, and be more confident in holding some cards closer to their collective chest. While there’s no chance I can cut trailers out of my life entirely, I’m glad to be making an exception for “Alien: Romulus”. I’m certain that avoiding its trailer now will lead to a better watching experience in the long run.
“Alien: Romulus” is scheduled to hit theaters on August 16, and it’s not the only slice of the Xenomorph fans have got to look forward to. A new Alien VR game is scheduled to launch this winter, and there’s also an “Alien” TV show from “Fargo” writer Noah Hawley that is reportedly due to debut in 2025.
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