Another Alien: Romulus Popcorn Bucket Has Been Revealed, And While It's Pretty Rad, I Have Concerns

We’re getting even closer to the release of Alien: Romulus, which is quite possibly my current 2024 movie obsession. Part of the reason I’ve been locked into this title in particular is because of my love for the Alien movies. But recently, that insane Romulus popcorn bucket caught my attention for deliciously creepy reasons. As if that wasn’t enough, a new variant of collectable snack vessel has been unveiled for director Fede Alvarez’s new flick, and it actually looks pretty rad. That said, I still have some concerns with this one. 

Another Alien: Romulus Popcorn Bucket Enters The Arena

Thankfully my questions pertaining to this new Alien: Romulus collectable don’t involve the choice to model this new piece after a Xenomorph head. Visually, it’s a cool look, and I’d only find it creepy if I was getting up for a drink of water in the middle of the night. Picture accidentally locking eyes with one of these sitting on your shelf at 3 am: 

While Fede Alvarez doesn’t want to rely on showing the Xenomorph too much in the next chapter of the Alien saga, this corner of the marketing is leaning into some familiar territory. Cinemark’s popcorn bucket is very reminiscent of a limited edition Alien Anthology DVD set that packaged its discs in its own Xenomorph head. Which makes sense when taking into account that self-professed fan Alvarez's feelings on the Alien series would peg him as the type of person that'd value this sort of throwback.  

So if you’re someone who believes the only good variety of this creature is one that’s no longer breathing, you’ll be able to freely much popcorn out of its skull pretty soon. That’s an advantage that leads to my concerns when it comes to Alien: Romulus’ latest keepsake. 

My Concerns With The Alien: Romulus Xenomorph Popcorn Bucket

Ok, so right out of the gate, this looks like a fantastic plastic creation. One would think that’s good for keeping costs down, and making a durable product. As correct as that may be, can you imagine how difficult it’s going to be to reach into this Xenomorph head as you’re getting to the end of your popcorn supply? Say what you will about the Facehugger, a creature that had its horrifying day in the first Alien: Romulus trailer, but at least that little menace would let you eat your popcorn without major obstruction. 

Also, holding a plastic popcorn bucket with buttery hands doesn’t sound like a fun time at the movies to me. That might just be a sensory issue unique to my tastes, but I believe you could start a drinking game by counting how many people accidentally fumble this beauty during the film of their choice.

Closing out my list of potential issues is the fact that Alien: Romulus’ new popcorn bucket doesn’t look like it holds much popcorn at all. I mean, that might be a medium-sized portion in there, at best. 

You can also bet that the pricing is going to be, at the very least, a large combo and a half to procure. It’s like limiting a Xenomorph to one human kill a life cycle: delicious, but limiting and worth wondering if we’re working smarter or harder here?

I apologize to anyone who’s as jazzed for Alien: Romulus as I am, but is already on board with purchasing any snack vessel available in the name of fandom. Trust me, I ask these questions in a public forum like this so I can make peace with it before getting up to the concession stand. As it stands, with the movie’s August 16th debut still roughly a month away, I have plenty of time to grouse into the void, before making my choice. 

You can be certain that as a fan, I’m planning to take at least one of these beauties home with me. But for now, I’ll just have to enjoy my Hulu subscription marathons of Alien movies with a regular-shaped bowl of snackage. To be continued, Alien popcorn buckets. To be continued.