20th Century Studios is reportedly developing a new Alien movie with Whalefall’s Brian Duffield. The news comes shortly after it was revealed that the Alien: Romulus sequel would not be directed by Fede Álvarez.
A rumor report published by World of Reel shared that Duffield is reportedly working on a new Alien movie with the studio, with insiders Jeff Sneider and Daniel RPK both discussing the possibilities. Duffield will reportedly serve as the writer of the mysterious Alien movie, and it is unclear if he will direct as well. As always, rumors like these should be taken with a grain of salt, but given the recent uncertainty surrounding the Alien: Romulus sequel, it certainly does seem promising.
Whalefall’s Brian Duffield Could Be Working on New Alien Film with 20th Century Studios
The rumor that Duffield would be working with 20th Century Studios for a new Alien project only gained further traction when the studio president, Steve Asbell, responded to the rumor on X (formerly Twitter). Asbell reposted the rumor, adding ‘Who?’—a clearly coy and sarcastic remark, given Duffield’s Whalefall will be distributed by 20th Century Studios when it hits theaters this October.
Duffield’s other credits include writing for The Divergent Series: Insurgent as well as the 2017 black comedy slasher film The Babysitter. He served as director, writer and producer for the 2023 sci-fi horror film No One Will Save You and most recently worked in an uncredited capacity on Predator: Badlands.
Whalefall will see Duffield returning to the thriller genre in a survival story about a scuba diver named Jay Gardiner (played by Austin Abrams) who goes looking for the remains of his father (Josh Brolin) and gets swallowed alive by a whale. With only one hour to find an escape, Jay finds himself with limited oxygen — but that doesn’t stop him from finding a reason to live despite the odds.
Whalefall won’t hit theaters until Oct. 16, but the film is already generating plenty of buzz online. Critics have already been comparing it to both Jaws and Mission: Impossible, based on the teaser trailers that have been released at this time.
The Alien: Romulus Sequel Will No Longer Be Helmed by Fede Alvarez
It remains to be seen if Duffield will actually be involved in an upcoming Alien flick, but the future of the iconic sci-fi series seems more uncertain now than ever before. Despite the success of both Alien: Romulus in 2024 and Alien: Earth in 2025, the greenlit Romulus sequel appears to be struggling to get off the ground.
In October 2024, Asbell revealed that Romulus director Fede Alvarez had an idea and was working with the studio for the Romulus follow-up. In February 2025, Alvarez confirmed he was working on the script and that production was tentatively scheduled for later that year. Unfortunately, that never happened, and in September 2025 he revealed that while the script was completed, he would only remain as a producer and would not return to direct.
More details about the mystery Alien film and Brian Duffield’s potential involvement, as well as potential news regarding the Romulus sequel, are likely to emerge in the coming months.