“It’s fuckin’ amazing!” That was the opening statement by Director Fede Alvarez when asked what it feels like to be in Hall H at San Diego Comic Con talking about the newest entry into the Alien franchise, ‘Alien Romulus’. And that was generally my reaction to the Hall H panel which included Alvarez, several members of the cast, sneak peek footage that literally had the ground shaking (and the audience screaming) and several thousand facehuggers unleashing themselves on the crowd.

The ‘Alien Romulus’ panel was on my list of things to watch at SDCC, mostly out of an anxious curiosity because frankly, I’m scared that we’re going to get a bad movie. I’m not deeply entrenched in to the world of Alien, other than I love (like most) ‘Alien’ and ‘Aliens’ and have an appreciation for ‘Prometheus’. But what I also know is some of the films have been awful. ‘Alien 3’ was disowned by it’s director, David Fincher. ‘Alien Resurrection’ had some fun moments but basketball dunking Ripley felt like a “jump the shark” moment. ‘AVP’ – let’s not even discuss it.

So with the trailer for ‘Alien Romulus’ releasing several weeks ago, I was a bit nervous. From my uninformed perspective, the trailer was exciting because it seems to have somewhat of an aesthetic between ‘Alien’ and ‘Aliens’. But what was concerning in my eyes was the lack of any well-knwon actors in the cast, or a director I’m familiar with (I don’t do much horror). Even Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace seem like big stars compared to the current cast. Is this a low-budget effort with the hopes of just getting the predictable horror audience? Have they given up trying to satisfy the die-hard fans of the Alien mythology?

So all I really have to say now is – let’s fucking go! Without offering any spoilers, the footage looked great. We saw some extended footage of a couple of scenes that were featured in the trailer that indicate viewers should be in for a fun, thrill-filled ride that pays homage to fan-favorite “creatures” and scenes from the first tow movies of the franchise. It’s worth noting that the sound quality and screen size in Hall H are exceptional which also leads me to think that the best way to view this film is on the IMAX. Luckily, attendees of the panel recived vouchers for IMAX ticket upgrades!

Perhaps more confidence-building than the footage was the moderated panel conversation with Director Fede Alvarez (‘Evil Dead’) and cast members Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, Archie Renaux, David Johnson and Spike Fearn. This is a younger cast than what we’ve seen in most of the Alien movies but there was a definite appreciation of the legacy of the franchise as well as an understanding of the enormous expectations on any crew that is granted the privilege of making the next installment for the franchise. It also was quite clear that the way the set was crafted and the preference for practical effects over too much CGI created an environment where the actors could immerse themselves into the Alien world that made their jobs easier. And as Alvarez noted and attendees of the panel observed with their own eyes, there is a kinship among the actors which may serve the story well. Romulus, after all, was a twin in Roman mythology. This sets up an intriguing question – if one was trapped on a spaceship with a sibling, how does that affect the actions those siblings would take vis-a-vis other crew members?

Just to make sure Comic Con attendees whom love swag didn’t go home empty handed, there was a fun moment during the panel where the audience Q&A was interrupted when the lights went completely out in Hall H, followed by red blinking alarm lights that are all too familiar to Alien fans. As lights came back on, a facehugger had planted itself on one of the audience members and an (animatronic) spacehugger was running loose in front of the stage. Finally, a man stumbled on stage in front of the cast just in time for the audience to be greeted by the iconic chestburster busting out of his chest. And yes, everyone of the 6,000 attendees left with their own chestburster. Thank you Hall H, I’ll take that over a poster or T-shirt any day!

I remain cautiously optimistic that ‘Alien Romulus’ could be more satisfactory than not. It is unrealistic to hope that any new franchise entry will surpass ‘Alien’ or ‘Aliens’. But my gut tells me ‘Alien Romulus’ will be a thrilling an emotional ride, that serves the source material well, and focuses on drawing audiences to have an emotional connection to the characters, more so than adding any new mythology to the Alien world. In other words, this should be popcorn-level fun that brings in a new generation of fans to the Alien franchise.

‘Alien Romulus’ hits theaters August 16th.