The first trailer for Alien: Romulus has dropped, and its teased the return of the terrifying facehuggers.

The seventh film in the franchise, directed by Fede Álvarez, will focus on a new young group of characters.

We don’t yet know where Romulus sits in the Alien timeline, but we do know is that it’s a standalone story, so it’s not a prequel or sequel to any of the other films in the franchise.

Fans will remember the first time we encountered a facehugger in the original 1979 Alien, shortly after Kane discovers a chamber containing hundreds of large eggs.

Thing is, facehuggers don’t kill their host straight away, in fact they don’t kill their host at all, at least not directly. What happens is way worse.

From the Alien Anthology Wiki:

“Upon making contact, the Facehugger administers a cynose-based paralytic in order to render it unconscious and immobile. After a successful attachment, the Facehugger will insert the ovipositor down the host’s throat while simultaneously implanting an embryo. The Facehugger would remain attached to the host for anywhere from less than a minute to 16 hours, keeping them alive by aiding in their breathing to prevent the host from being smothered. Once the implantation is completed, the Facehugger detaches itself from the host, crawling away until it finally dies. The victim then awakens with no awareness of the implantation, believing themselves to have been asleep, and appears to have a normal, healthy bodily function. The embryo implanted within the host will eventually develop into the next stage of the life cycle, the Chestburster.”

RIP Kane.

“Once a Facehugger has successfully attached itself onto a host, it is almost impossible to remove to prevent implantation. Attempts to remove Facehuggers generally prove fatal to the host, as the parasitoid will respond by tightening its tail around the host’s neck, and its acidic blood prevents it from being cut away. In addition, its grip on the host’s head is strong enough to tear the host’s face off if it is forcibly removed.”

Good times.

Anyway… here’s the new trailer:

Alien: Romulus is set for release August 16, 2024