The art behind Alien: Romulus

Xenomorphology Tanya Combrinck meets the Alien-obsessed concept artists who revived the visual style of the classic films

Set between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), Alien: Romulus, the latest addition to the sci-fi horror franchise, eschews the slick look of the last two instalments and takes us back to the chunky, grimy aesthetic of the original films. We're back in a world where computer operating systems are text-based and DOS-like, where every grainy video feed jitters to life on an analogue screen, and every creaky, dishevelled piece of tech is ancient-looking and coated in filth, but somehow still works. Just about.

For director Fede Álvarez and his production designer Naaman Marshall, evoking the look and feel of the earliest films was more than just a case of assembling a world-class art department. It was also a matter of putting the team to work in a way that took full advantage of the synergy that arises when immensely talented creatives get in a room together - or in this case a Zoom call. With just two artists working in-house, most of the team was remote, drawing talent from the UK, Australia, the US and beyond.

Naaman asked them to combine their powers by staying in touch and sharing assets, references and ideas.

And that initial instruction gave rise to a level of collaboration that went well beyond what the artists were used to, and the group evolved into a tight-knit team that stayed in continual contact via regular video chats, and shared everything they were working on in a group Dropbox.

TEAM ENVIRONMENT