We learned way back in 2019 that horror director Fede Alvarez ( Don't Breathe , Evil Dead ) would be tackling a new standalone film in the Alien franchise . Personally, I had mixed feelings on the heels of the disappointing Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017). But the involvement of Alvarez was a hint that perhaps the franchise was returning to its stripped-down space horror roots. Now we have the first teaser for Alien: Romulus , and yep—that seems to be the case. And that's very good news for those of us who adored the original Alien (1979) and its terrifying sequel, Aliens (1986).

(Spoilers for Alien and Aliens below.)

Alien: Romulus is set between the events of Alien and Aliens . That is, after Ripley, as sole survivor of the Nostromo , destroyed the killer Xenomorph and launched herself into space in the ship's lifeboat—along with the ginger cat, Jonesy—and before she woke up after 57 years in hyper sleep and battled more Xenomorphs while protecting the young orphan, Newt. Per the official premise: "While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe."

Enlarge / John David Washington stars as a US sergeant on an undercover mission who befriends an AI "child" in The Creator . (credit: 20th Century Studios)

It's rare to get an original piece of science fiction filmmaking not based on existing IP in this era of adaptations and superhero mega-franchises. So The Creator is a welcome offering in the genre, combining elements of District 9 , Ex Machina , Blade Runner , and Apocalypse Now , among others, to produce a visually stunning and timely tale of a war between humans and AI. It's directed by Gareth Edwards, best known for 2014's Godzilla and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in 2016.

(Some mild spoilers below but no major reveals.)

The inspiration for The Creator came post- Rogue One , when Edwards took a road trip through the Midwest. He spotted a strange building with a Japanese logo in the middle of one of the endless fields, and his mind instantly jumped to robots. What would a robot built inside that factory think when it encountered the field and broader outside world for the first time? "It felt like the beginning of a movie," Edwards recalled, and locked himself away in a hotel in Thailand to write the screenplay. He also joined a fellow director on a tour across Vietnam. "I started envisioning massive futuristic structures rising out of paddy fields... and I got really excited about the idea of something Blade Runner -esque being set in Vietnam," he said. The end result was The Creator .

Director James Cameron has spent more than a decade making the first of a planned four sequels to his 2009 blockbuster film Avatar. We got our first peek at the first of those sequels, Avatar: The Way of Water, in May with a brief, visually stunning teaser that showcased Cameron's undisputed skill at world-building. Yet despite enthusiasm for the visuals, the overall response was fairly muted. Perhaps more audience excitement for the upcoming film will emerge now that we have the full official trailer.

As we've reported previously , Cameron wrote a treatment for Avatar way back in 1994, and it was supposed to be the director's next big project after he wrapped his blockbuster Titanic . But Cameron realized the technology did not yet exist to make the film he envisioned. He spent several years working to develop what he needed, including a cutting-edge virtual camera system to direct the motion-capture scenes. (He compared it to "a big, powerful game engine.")

The finished film set new box office records upon its release; it was the highest-grossing film until Avengers: Endgame briefly took the top spot in 2019. (A March 2021 Chinese rerelease put Avatar back on top.) Critics were mostly positive, praising the technological achievements, although some pointed out that the storytelling suffered. Cameron also consulted with multiple scientists while designing the world of Pandora (a moon orbiting a gas giant exoplanet called Polyphemus in the Alpha Centauri A system). Avatar was nominated for nine Oscars, ultimately winning Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Visual Effects.

If you ventured into the theater to watch Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness this weekend, you probably got to see the first teaser for Avatar: The Way of Water , the long-awaited sequel to the 2009 science-fiction blockbuster Avatar . Director James Cameron has spent more than a decade making the first of a planned four sequels, a large fraction of which takes place in underwater environments.

(Spoilers for the 2009 film below.)

Cameron wrote a treatment for Avatar way back in 1994, and it was supposed to be the director's next big project after he wrapped his blockbuster Titanic . But Cameron realized the technology did not yet exist to make the film he envisioned. He spent several years working to develop what he needed, including a cutting-edge virtual camera system to direct the motion-capture scenes. (He compared it to "a big, powerful game engine.")