September 14, 2024

By Zue Wei Leong

Aileen Wu Bursts onto The Scene

Photographer
Raul Romo

Fashion Stylist
Timothy Chernyaev

Hair Stylist
Marc Mena

Makeup Artist
Hinako

It has been 45 years since Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror movie Alien (1979) became a global phenomenon, spawning sequels, prequels, and a crossover with the equally thrilling Predator series. The latest installment in the Alien movie franchise, Alien: Romulus (2024), is the seventh time Hollywood has revisited this expansive universe of xenomorphs.

Chronologically, Alien: Romulus takes place in 2142 between the first two Alien movies, centered around Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, a warrant officer aboard the spaceship Nostromo. This offshoot introduces a new set of blue-collar workers with plans to escape life working in deadly mines by joining an expedition to retrieve cryostasis chambers from Romulus, a derelict space station. As the format dictates, they discover that they are not alone.

Directed by Fede Álvarez, Alien: Romulus captures the intoxicating essence of the Alien franchise that has kept fans coming back again and again for almost five decades. Its claustrophobic set design lays the groundwork for action. With the masterful score and cinematography, there is a constant tension, easily escalated as the terrifying creatures are revealed one by one. Each encounter is more terrifying than the last, a result of Álvarez’s insistence on the xenomorphs being brought to life with practical effects in the form of eerie, life-like animatronics and puppets.

Audiences will undoubtedly tremble at the sight of these creatures on the big screen but the best heart-stopping, suspense-filled moments come from watching the young, dynamic cast navigate this gory interstellar nightmare. These relatively new actors, Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu, are at the heart of the film.

In particular, Aileen Wu delivers an impressive, spine-chilling performance in her debut role in a feature film. The actress, whose previous work was predominantly on the stage, has earned praise for tackling her character, invaluable spaceship pilot Navarro, with immense skill. Wu does not spend much time on screen; Navarro’s fate is hinted on the theatrical poster with her face consumed by the violent facehugger. However, her appearance early in the film is pivotal in transporting the audience to the metal chambers of Romulus.

Notably, she had the opportunity to portray the iconic chest-bursting sequence, where an aptly named chestburster alien claws its way out of its victim’s body. It is a scene sparingly used by filmmakers over the years for fear of not living up to the original scene’s impact but Wu’s execution is pitch-perfect. She adapts the best of her physical acting experience from the stage and layers it with the whole spectrum of emotion, from plucky defiance to abject horror and resignation, to fully immerse the audience—they are simply not given the option to look away.

In this interview, Wu reflects on her time on the set of Alien: Romulus and how it feels to be on the other side of it as the movie premieres worldwide. She also teases her upcoming role in The Chinatown Diner, an indie film directed by Lawrence Le Lam. An exploration of the Asian diaspora’s evolving relationship to art, music, and culture, it tells the story of a wealthy wannabe rapper Richard who abandons his dad’s business to work at a diner doubling as an underground club.

ZUE WEI — Hi Aileen! Congratulations on Alien: Romulus! How does it feel to be part of the beloved Alien franchise? Did you know much about the universe before taking on this role?

AILEEN WU — I honestly wasn’t too familiar with the franchise before this, so I had to do my homework and watched all the movies before stepping on set. But even when I started filming, I wasn’t totally aware of the cultural impact this franchise has had on our society for the past half a decade. It wasn’t until when the teaser and trailers and posters started coming out and fans started reacting intensely in anticipation for this film that I realized the “perfect organism” (xenomorphs) has quite the cult following. I feel very honored to be a part of something so iconic.

ZUE WEI — Do you have a favorite movie from the Alien franchise?

AILEEN — Mine is Alien: Resurrection (1997). Unpopular opinion, I know! But I think out of all the Alien movies, I had the most fun watching Resurrection. I still haven’t watched the Alien vs. Predator movies—maybe those are even more fun.

ZUE WEI — This is your first major movie role. In terms of production, it’s quite a departure from theater. As an actor, what were the biggest differences for you between the two mediums?

AILEEN — As a theater actor, there was a lot of learning on my feet about the technicalities of filmmaking. Eyelines—I remember that was a big thing for me to adjust to. Sometimes, I was more worried about my eyeline in a take than my acting. The way I have come to understand it is like, when you’re acting on stage you have your live audience over there off stage. In film, the camera replaces that audience, and the camera moves! The audience are no longer spectators that you can choose your level of interactions with. Depending on the shot, sometimes the audience is in the scene with you.

ZUE WEI — Your character, Navarro, is attacked by the facehugger and has her own chestburster scene. What did you expect going into it? How did you get into the right headspace?

AILEEN — On our first call before I even got the role, Fede (Álvarez) talked extensively about how he planned to shoot those scenes with Navarro, which prepped me mentally. I knew that it was going to be several long days in a row of filming those two bits. Once we started, there were also a lot of rehearsals and fittings, so I felt pretty prepared and honestly quite excited leading up to it. I remember every time the AD’s sent over an updated master schedule, I’d look for those two scenes; I couldn’t wait. When we finally started, I found myself in the headspace of rolling up my sleeves, ready to show people what I’ve got.

ZUE WEI: How closely did you work with the effects team?

AILEEN — Both the practical effects and VFX team were very hands on during the filming of those scenes. It was incredible to watch how they work and communicate with each other. It was such a collaborative process for everyone involved. You know, hearing Eric Barba, who was head of VFX say to Fede, “Yeah, I can take care of that in post” or to the practical effect guys,

“Hey, can you guys get it to be more like that? That’ll really help me”. I was able to watch how everyone adapted on their feet; it was so inspiring.

ZUE WEI — Looking back, how would you describe the filming process?

AILEEN — It was definitely a team effort. It was very magical when it all came together, to see my rehearsals with the stunts and puppeteers teams. It’s like watching one big, beautiful film equation be solved.

ZUE WEI — This movie franchise has a long-established, loyal fanbase. With that comes a lot of expectation and speculation on how Alien: Romulus will fit into the universe. Did you feel the pressure when taking on this role?

AILEEN — I tried to think of it like there’s a big task at hand, instead of big shoes to fill, because then it becomes about whether I’m enough or not, and I don’t think that kind of pressure would’ve helped me nor my performance on set. I tried to approach it with the mindset of telling myself, “I’m about to do this great big hike, and it’s gonna be hard, I’m gonna be doing it with people I’ve never met whom I will have to trust, so just commit, don’t quit, and leave with no regrets.”

ZUE WEI — Forget about Navarro for a second. Do you think Aileen Wu would survive Alien: Romulus?

AILEEN — I don’t think so! Knowing myself, once I realized what we were dealing with, I would’ve pulled a Newt (a character introduced in Aliens (1986) as surviving a xenomorph attack by hiding the ventilation ducts) and tried to hide to survive. But the problem with that is the station was already on its way to crash into the ring so even if I managed to find a hiding spot, I still would’ve combusted into a million pieces upon impact.

ZUE WEI: The movie stars a relatively new ensemble cast, including yourself. What was it like on set? Tell us more about meeting your co-stars and working alongside them in such close proximity.

AILEEN: I’m in absolute awe of these people’s talents, hearts, and kindness. They really took care of me and showed me the ropes when I first got on set and was struggling to find my footing. But yeah, in the film we play these kids that aren’t blood related, but all grew up together in such close proximity that they’re basically each other’s family. On and off set, we meshed so well, spent so much time together and had so much fun that our characters’ relationships came so naturally to us.

“I tried to think of it like there’s a big task at hand, instead of big shoes to fill, because then it becomes about whether I’m enough or not, and I don’t think that kind of pressure would’ve helped me nor my performance on set.”

ZUE WEI — You recently reunited with the cast at the movie premiere at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California. How did it feel walking the red carpet for your first major film role?

AILEEN — Being able to share the fruits of our labor with the world and see how many people are excited about the movie, nothing beats that feeling. To be honest, afterwards I looked at the photos and I was like, “Damn, I need work on my posing.”

ZUE WEI — I also read that your brother is a big fan of the Alien franchise! What was his reaction to the news that you were joining the cast? And more importantly, what were his thoughts after watching the movie?

AILEEN — I’m pretty sure when I told him he was like, “Nice dude, good job, proud of you.” And I don’t think he’s watched the movie yet. I’m sure he will at some point. But he’s always been hard to impress and rarely shows enthusiasm towards all things Aileen-related. Not because he doesn’t love me, I just gave him a lot of headaches growing up. And I think for him, I’ll always be his annoying little sister. That’s what I love about my relationship with him, it grounds me and humbles me like nothing else in this world, which I think comes in very handy in this line of work.

ZUE WEI — If you had the opportunity to join any other cinematic universe, what would it be?

AILEEN — Oh, I would kill to be in a Godzilla movie! Godzilla Minus One, in my opinion, was the best movie of 2023. Never did I anticipate a Godzilla movie would make my husband and I cry like babies, but that one actually did.

ZUE WEI — What’s next for you after Alien: Romulus?

AILEEN — I have a film coming out in 2025 called Chinatown Diner that I’m really excited about! We filmed that last year in Vancouver five months after I wrapped Alien, so I was feeling a lot more comfortable on a film set at that point. I’m looking forward to seeing how that confidence translates on screen. It’s also just a very beautiful and important story told in a very passionately vibrant and animated way.

Alien: Romulus now in theaters worldwide. Watch the trailer below:

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