“In space, no one can hear you”: 20th Century Studios drops chilling new Alien: Romulus trailer

20th Century Studios has launched a new trailer for its forthcoming Alien: Romulus, and it’s got all the hallmarks of producer Ridley Scott‘s 1979 classic and James Cameron‘s beloved 1986 sequel. 

Fede Álvarez calls the shots this time around, bringing all of the claustrophobic horror of his micro-budgeted 2016 horror hit Don’t Breathe to the trailer for the film, which the studio claims is a trip back to the “roots” of the franchise.

“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,” the logline teases. 

The film’s cast includes Civil War‘s Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced from The Last of Us, Aftersun‘s Spike Fearn, Shadow and Bone‘s Archie Renaux and newcomer Aileen Wu. The trailer touches on hallmarks of the previous pictures, including the ominous beeping of a motion tracker device and saving the reveal of the full-sized alien for as long as possible to build suspense. 

Meanwhile, there’s a new scary twist. A pounding sound is heard throughout, until it is revealed it’s actually the sound of a chestburster trying to make its way out of the sternum of Wu’s character, who’s watching it happen in horror via a handheld X-ray type device.

The trailer closes with some scary images of the aliens hunting down the humans, but in silence. “In space, no one can hear you,” a title card reads, emulating the original’s iconic tagline, “In space, no one can hear you scream.”

Alien: Romulus invades theaters Aug. 16.

20th Century Studios is a division of ABC News’ parent company, Disney.