VHS comeback! "Alien: Romulus" is released on video cassette

In a world dominated by streaming services, 20th Century Studios is going back to the good old days and releasing "Alien: Romulus" as a limited edition VHS cassette. This was announced by director Fede Alvarez during a "Beyond Fest" screening in Los Angeles.

Sales start on 3 December. The cassette comes in a stylish retro sleeve with artwork designed by Matt Ferguson. This can also be downloaded here as a poster. Alvarez emphasised during the announcement that the VHS tape is not a gag, but a tribute to the 45th anniversary of the "Alien" franchise, which aims to make the hearts of film fans and nerds beat faster.

It remains to be seen whether the image material was specially adapted to the 4:3 format of the cassette. The exact number of available cassettes and their price are also unknown.

An additional detail that potential buyers should bear in mind: The VHS will be released in NTSC format - which means that it cannot be played on European PAL recorders without special hardware modifications. If you want to secure this VHS, you either need a VHS recorder that supports both formats or simply see it as a collector's item - which is likely to be the primary appeal for many anyway.

Pure nostalgia - or the return of physical storage media?

VHS cassettes shaped an entire generation: the chunky, black housing and the ability to record films on television defined home cinema in the 1980s and 1990s. Including the VHS cassette of the first "Alien" film.

The fact that "Alien: Romulus" of all films is getting a VHS release is no coincidence: if any of the now seven "Alien" films has the most in common with the original from 1979, it's this one. I already wrote this in my film review:

Now, almost 20 years after the last major VHS release, this format is returning in the form of a collector's edition. Interestingly, the VHS release of "Alien: Romulus" not only marks a nostalgic trip down memory lane, but also a return to physical media.

While streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ have changed our viewing habits, physical formats are currently experiencing a small renaissance. After all, films and series can disappear from streaming catalogues from one day to the next. For example, Disney recently removed the first four "Indiana Jones" films from Disney+. This is because Disney, through the purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012, Disney acquired the rights to the "Indiana Jones" brand. in 2012, but only a limited licence for the first four films - which director Steven Spielberg made with the film studio Paramount Pictures.

However, if you have a DVD, Blu-ray or even a VHS on your shelf, you don't have to worry about such licence problems.