Romulus Shares Surprising Connections to the Alien Franchise

summary

• Alien: Romulus
  It heavily references the previous films, and acts as a subtle sequel to
  Prometheus
  and
  Space: The Covenant
  .
• The film includes a shocking Xenomorph/human hybrid birth scene reminiscent of
  Alien: Resurrection
  .
• Direct calls to ex
  Space
  Movie references, including iconic lines and scenes, are abundant throughout.
  Alien: Romulus
  .

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Alien: Romulus..

Alien: Romulus It is the seventh film in the main series. Space The Ninth If You Count Movie Series Alien vs Predator It is also the first film in the series to be produced since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox and reshaped it into 20th Century Studios. Alien: Romulus It takes place between the events of 1979. Spaceand 1986 Aliensmeaning fans expected there to be little connective tissue between the two films. However, The film was marketed as an independent film. Space Movie without return characters.

However, anyone who sees Alien: Romulus You'll realize that the film is somewhat intrigued by the broader stories and iconography of the franchise. It certainly works as a standalone entry for anyone who hasn't seen the film before. Space The movie, but fans of the franchise will likely notice references to many of the previous films, both those set before the events of Alien: Romulus And some after that. Alien: Romulus He has connections to all six major films: Space, Aliens, Space 3, Alien: Resurrection, Prometheusand Space: The Covenant.

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Ash returns in Alien: Romulus

In what could easily be considered the most controversial decision in the film, The filmmakers brought back the character of Ash.or at least the Hyperdyne Systems 120-A/2 android prototype first seen in SpaceIn this film, he was played by actor Ian Holm, who died in June 2020. Rather than recast the actor or even use a different robot for the role, the filmmakers decided to recreate the Ian Holmes character from 1979. In wide shots, when the character's face is hidden, he looks like a puppet, but when the character needs to interact with other actors, they use a digital recreation of him, similar to how Peter Cushing was digitally recreated for The Dark Knight. Rogue One: A Star Wars StoryDaniel Bates plays the character on set and provides the voice, which is modified in post-production to resemble Holmes.

Now, this isn't as bad as using CGI to recreate Christopher Reeve in a cheap scene in Flash This was just for the sake of generating applause. Here, the filmmakers are trying to find a justification for the story, as not only is the robot Ash a major part of the second half of the film, but the idea is that this robot model is present on a variety of Weyland-Yutani ships. However, the effect is distracting at times, and we can’t help but feel like it’s another cheap attempt at iconography.

Actors are not toys that never expire and can be played with forever. As much as some actors love their characters, they won't always be with us, so This would push filmmakers to develop new characters. This also keeps the franchise alive rather than a figurative and literal dig at the past. There are real people behind these characters; their images shouldn’t just be exploited as part of a brand extension. Having a new actor or character in the role would be great. Since this isn’t the same robot as in SpaceThere's no reason for it to be there other than to remind fans of the previous movie.

It's made even stranger by the fact that there's an android actor/character they could have used: Michael Fassbender's David/Walter model from both films. Prometheus and Space: The CovenantThis probably worked better because, as is the case, Alien: Romulus It goes on, it turns out, it's more than just a freelance job. Space Movie but it may be a secret sequel to Space: The Covenant.

Prometheus' name and life story confirmed for Alien: Romulus

Ridley Scott had big ambitions for Space A prequel, aiming to tell a huge story that began with PrometheusHowever, after the disappointing response to this film, a second part was produced. Space: The Covenant Many of the ideas Scott had planned were scrapped and simplified into a more traditional Xenomorph origin story. Space: The Covenant The story ends with a dramatic ending as the robot David continues his experiments on the humans tested on the ship. The CovenantHowever, after this film performed worse at the box office than PrometheusIt seemed as though these plot threads would remain hanging, and with news that Noah Hawley's upcoming film Space: Earth The series will ignore the prequel films, and it seems that both Prometheus and Space: The Covenant It will no longer be recognized.

However, with Ridley Scott producing Alien: Romulus, It definitely included some calls to action. Prometheus and Space: The CovenantAnd in many ways, Alien: Romulus This part acts as a hidden sequel to these two parts. When the characters go to the laboratory on the ship Romulus Space station, they discover that the Weyland-Utton Corporation has been studying xenomorphs. A piece of Prometheus The score plays, and the robot Ash/Rook directly states that “Mr. Weyland died while searching for the secrets of the universe” and mentions the name of the mythological figure Prometheus, for whom the ship was created. Prometheus It is named after.

Additionally, the Xenomorphs are referred to as biological weapons, created as the ultimate living organism, which is what David designed them to be. Space: The Covenantwhich Ash referred to as a Xenomorph in the first part. Space The movie. The black goo, chemical A0-3959X.91 – 15, that David used to eliminate the engineers in Space: The Covenant And injured several crew members during PrometheusThe image shows aliens being studied. Engineers designed this chemical to cleanse planets of unwanted life, and Xenomorphs are the embodiment of this substance. They are an evolution of this weapon, now transformed into living beings that can spread across the galaxy. In a short scene, Alien: Romulus Helps to link events closely. Prometheus and Space: The Covenant With Alien and the rest of the franchise.

A Xenomorph/Human hybrid from the Alien Resurrection test subject.

In the film's stunning climax, the standard set piece for the fourth act of the series where there is only one more Xenomorph to deal with, Alien: Romulus Delivering one of his most shocking and bloody films, this is a film that clearly belongs to the same school of director Fede Alvarez in his previous films, the 2013 film evil dead And 2016 Don't breatheThe film follows the character Kay (Isabala Merced), who is pregnant and, after her vital signs drop, decides to take a sample of an experimental drug being used by alien scientists. While her friend Rain Carradine (Kelly Spaeny) initially forbids her because she does not trust the mysterious substance, Kay takes it in a desperate attempt to stay alive.

While Kai seems safe in her body, her vital organs begin to fail. Ray pulls her out, but Kai begins to give birth despite only being pregnant for a few months with no visible sign. She gives birth to a xenomorph/human hybrid, and instead of bursting from her chest, it emerges from her like a normal human birth. It emerges like an egg, quickly hatches, and grows into a massive hybrid of the two creatures. Fans will surely see this as a call for the hybrid creature. In a lot of defamation Alien: Resurrectionwith the graphic birth scene representing the opposite of how the Xenomorph Queen is in Alien: Resurrection Here, a human gives birth to a hybrid in the manner of aliens.

The idea is that the hybrid in Alien: Romulus The perfect hybrid would be between human and alien, as in Alien: Resurrection It was a failed experiment because it was created by cloning an alien queen. What is more interesting is the hybrid design in Alien: Romulus It is very close to the engineers in Prometheus. Because Prometheus This world was created, where the Engineers created humans, then humans created the robot David, then David created the xenomorph; this hybrid creature is the distorted embodiment of this cycle of creation and destruction. The hybrid, which in many ways resembles a mix of Xenomorph and Engineer, is the film's mission statement incarnate, tying every part of the franchise together..

Direct references to the previous Alien movie.

Alien: Romulus It takes place in the year 2142, about 20 years after the events of the previous year. Space And 37 years before that AliensThe events of the film are directly related to… Space When the Xenomorph Ripley exploded into empty space, it was discovered fossilized by a Weyland-Yutani spacecraft and transported aboard the Romulus space station for study. The original creature exploded and was killed, but not before Weyland-Yutani was able to engineer new versions of it, and while this is never directly stated, The film indicates that they obtained samples of the Xenomorph embryos that David had. Space: The Covenant.

Although it has happened before AliensThe film includes many obvious references to the movie. In one scene, the survivors find rifles similar to those used by the Space Marines. Aliens Meanwhile, the biggest and most interesting moment was when robot Andy (David Johnson) saved Ryan from the Xenomorph, He killed her while saying, “Get away from her, you son of a bitch,” a direct quote from Ripley in AliensThis definitely feels forced, as not only does the statement make no sense in the context of the movie, but it also refers to a movie that never happened with characters who never interact. It's just there for the fans and feels forced because, unlike predator“You are such an ugly mother” This line only exists in Aliens.

The film includes many other references to the film.Andy says he would rather be called an “artificial person” than a robot, a direct quote from Bishop in Aliens He says he prefers to be called. Meanwhile, in one scene, a Xenomorph corners Rin, turning her head as the mouth of a second Xenomorph appears. This frame evokes the iconic image of Space 3Where the Xenomorph confronts Ripley in the same way. Meanwhile, the look of the character Navarro (Eileen Wu) with a shaved head evokes Ripley's distinctive haircut from Space 3.

Finally, Alien: Romulus The story ends with one of the survivors leaving a message before falling into a deep sleep. SpaceRipley records a message before going into a deep sleep. It also has an element in common with Prometheuswhere the two survivors are a lone human female and an android. Alien: Romulus End with a note that could lead to a continuation. Which will be set before the events Aliens This will not conflict with what happened in this movie. Fans will have to wait and see how Alien: Romulus He does it at the box office to see where this story goes next. Alien: Romulus In theaters now.