If you've seen any of Fede Alvarez's movies, such as Evil Dead or Don't Breathe, you won't be surprised to know Alien: Romulus is more sci-fi horror than sci-fi action – or more Alien than Aliens, if you prefer.
However, it seems that if you think you're prepared for Alien: Romulus, you might want to rethink that.
Talking to Digital Spy, Alvarez – who directed and co-wrote the new movie – said that the movie has "a lot of death" and that just when you think it's got as bad as it'll get, it keeps going.
"Out in space, you're like, 'How do you kill someone, how do they die?' It's a big part of it. I don't think you want to see that they're there and the creature shows up and you don't see them anymore," he explained.
Related: Alien: Romulus title has a hidden meaning
"It's just part of the fun of these movies, to come up with strange ways to die that you haven't seen before. And some of that maybe you have [seen] in other Alien movies and I guarantee there's a few that you've never seen.
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"There's a few that are my favourites, but it's very brutal. It gets very brutal. That's the beauty of it. If you've seen my other movies, they have a lot of endings and I always feel like it's ending and it keeps going.
"We really crank it up towards the end, towards the last few minutes. When you think you've seen it and it's f**ked up, it hasn't even started."
Among the potential victims in Alien: Romulus are Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, who play sibling duo Rain and Andy.
Alvarez had previously met with Spaeny for a potential role in The Girl in the Spider's Web, which didn't pan out. However, he always knew he was going to cast her as Rain in the new movie.
Related: Alien: Romulus runtime confirmed ahead of cinema release
"When I started writing the script, I always do a little board, and me and my co-writer would put photos of people on the board," he recalled.
"It might not be someone who is an actor, some street photo of someone for the face of the character so it's easier to remember, and sometimes there are people you hope to cast. Cailee was the first photo to go up on the board in 2021 when no-one was really talking about her at all.
"But I knew it was her and there was no question about it. I told the studio, 'It's her, believe me' and I wrote it with her in mind. When it was ready, I sent it to her and she loved it, and we started working together."
As for Jonsson, Alvarez might not have known as early as he did for Spaeny. But having seen the rising British star in the likes of Rye Lane and Industry, he decided to have a call with him for Alien: Romulus.
"He's just an amazing guy and he's so smart and he understood the character really well," he praised.
Related: The complete Alien timeline
"When you test on those calls, you use the instincts of the actor. If they say things that line up with how you see it, or if you start seeing a bunch of stuff that doesn't line up with what you see, you know it's going to be a pain to make the movie together.
"I cannot wait for you to see what he does because we're not showing any of that here, but he's a massive part of the movie."
Alvarez also spoke to Digital Spy about the hidden meaning in the new Alien movie's title, and also recently clarified the movie's position in the timeline.
Alien: Romulus is released in cinemas on August 16.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
