Alien: Romulus looks like a promising return to the franchise's sci-fi horror roots

This week, 20th Century Fox — which if you recall is now owned by The Walt Disney Company following 2019's acquisition — debuted the trailer for Alien: Romulus. And as a longtime fan of the franchise, I'm cautiously optimistic.

Admittedly, the latest movies have been a disappointment, so I understand if you're a bit skeptical with this, but the first trailer for Alien: Romulus teases a return to the franchise's sci-fi horror roots. And that's something to be at least a bit excited for.

The teaser very much reminds me of the trailer for Ridley Scott's 1979 film, Alien, which jump-started the entire franchise. If you recall, that trailer didn't feature any dialogue, but instead relied on eerie sound effects and suspenseful clips that culminated in the line: "In space no one can hear you scream."

Alien: Romulus channels the original Alien trailer with an equally ominous and suspenseful tone. The trailer drops us into a derelict space station where something has clearly gone wrong.

As we explore the claustrophobic halls we can hear the all-too-familiar sounds of the space station's alarms. Overlayed on top of this are the sounds of a panicked crew, fighting for their survival against a deadly predator. We then see a blood-splattered cryo-tube before we cut to black.

And then the chaos ensues. "Run," a voice says. And then its pure pandemonium as we see sequences like an army of Face-Huggers, lone crew members facing what is sure to be death, and more. It isn't until the very end that we get a brief glimpse of the actual Xenomorph.

It has all the makings of a classic sci-fi horror. Something we really haven't seen from the Aliens franchise in quite some time.

Alien: Romulus is set between the events of Alien and Aliens. It follows a group of young space colonizers who, while scavenging a derelict space station, "come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe."

The last film in the franchise was 2017's Alien: Covenant, a follow-up to 2012's Prometheus. These films served as prequels to Alien. These movies delved more into the origins of the Xenomorphs.

The movies were met with generally positive reception from critics and could be viewed as a box office success, but they were a far cry from the original movies. For me, Alien: Romulus represents a welcomed return to the franchise's sci-fi horror roots.

It's been a long time since I've been truly scared by an Alien movie, but I'm cautiously optimistic that Alien: Romulus will at least give me a healthy dose of suspense.