Another year, another entry in the decades-spanning, Xenomorph infested Alienfranchise.
While director and co-writer Fede Álvarez's latest entry, Alien: Romulus, has received some divisive feedback from fans and critics alike, I think it can be universally appreciated as an extremely well-made movie that honors the lore of the franchise with extreme reverence and care. I personally loved it, and think Romulus will age well with time similar to what we've seen with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant the past couple weeks.
Those movies were always cool! And it's great to see them getting a second wind.
Although Ridley Scott's originally conceived Prometheus trilogy never got its final entry (sad), Romulus honors the prequel series still with several references and nods—as well as a bonkers ending that is straight out of the Prometheus playbook. Also—especially considering Romulus takes place between Alien (2122) and Aliens (2179) in the year 2142—it is deep rooted in the fan-favorite, OG Ripley outings of the Alien timeline.
Let's explore what goes down during the climax at the titular ROMULUS space station and what it means in the grander context of the franchise.
Let's Breakdown That Ending
So, you and your rag tag friends make an organized effort to loot cryopods from an abandoned space station in an attempt to shuttle off-world to a more habitable planet (Yvaga) from the doomed servitude of a fascist mining planet. Once you get to the abandoned station, you realize it's infested with predatory alien creatures that slowly hunt and use you to breed.
On top of that there happens to be an abandoned service android (or "synthetic") named Rook programmed with the sole intent to ensure the completion of a previously failed mission to deliver a bioweapon (or bio enhancement?) back to the big wigs at the sketchy, omnipotent Weyland-Yutani Corporation for who-knows-what.
We've all been there.
As our crew dwindles down to our main hero Rain (Cailee Spaeny), her (mostly) trusty synthetic Andy (David Jonsson), and the tumultuously pregnant Kay (Isabela Merced), things start to get pretty wild.
In an effort to both complete abandoned synthetic Rook's previous mission, our final three head for their escape route on cyropods station in the escape pods. Kay—already taken hostage by a Xeno and saved by Rain and Andy—give her the bio experiment found in the ROMULUS lab Rook is destined to get home. In a desperate attempt to escape, Kay injects herself with said bio-weapon in the hopes that Rook is correct in that it will mix with her DNA and make her a "more perfect human" or specimen or whatever.
Well, this is Alien, folks, so it doesn't go quite as planned. While it does help Kay escape to the Corbelan while Rain and Andy are dealing with anti-gravity acid and elevators, it has a particularly bizarre side effect...
Considering the implications of Kay's pregnancy we had to know that would result in some sort of adverse reaction, right? Well. It sure does.
The Offspring, The Engineers, and Their Goo
Prometheus
20th Century Studios
The black goo in question (AKA: A0-3959X.91—15—but we'll stick with black goo), was introduced in Prometheus on the original planet of The Engineers—those giant, godlike humanoid baldies that may-or-may-not have created the xenomorphs. When Kay injects herself it acts as a catalyst for her pregnancy, but instead of a regular, cute human baby we get a scary-as-hell monster that's something of a human/Engineer/xeno hybrid credited as "The Offspring". Yikes.
Speaking with Variety, Álvarez puts it best:
"The black goo is the root of the whole thing that was introduced in Prometheus. It's the root of all life, but also, particularly the xenomorphs come out of that thing, which means it has to be inside them. It's the xenomorphs' semen, almost. So we thought, if it affects your DNA, and the Engineers clearly came out of the same root of life, it made complete sense to me that [the offspring of a human and a xenomorph] was going to look like that."
Pretty gnarly stuff! But all in line with Alien's MO through and through. This ensues a (pretty kick ass) square-off sequence between Rain and The Offspring, inevitably ending in The Offspring sucked into deep space half frozen in liquid hydrogen. The movies are back, baby!
Is that the last we'll see of The Offspring? Considering Rain and Andy escape via the Corbelan with some black goo still in tow, I wouldn't count it out just yet. Also—although only distantly related—let's not forget the similarly humanoid xeno-hybrid in Alien: Resurrection.
In the Alien franchise, there's always something new to make you scream.
What's Next for Alien?
Prometheus
20th Century Studios
Next up from our favorite creepy crawlies out in space? The xeno fam is coming to Earth in Noah Hawley's (Fargo, Legion) upcoming FXX series Alien: Earth.
Not much is known about the series quite yet other than it will be set as a prequel in the year 2092 and that we're blessed with a Timothy Olyphant performance. However, Hawley did have this to say to keep up the hype:
"I'm in post, editing away, and obviously there's a large visual effects component that takes time. But I couldn't be happier with the show we shot… If people wanted a television series based on the world of Alien, I think I'm gonna give them something special."
Bringing Alien's classic capitalist commentary to the home planet and setting it a year before Prometheus!? Considering Hawley's track record of amazing TV, there's a lot to be excited for.
Alien: Earth is expected sometime in 2025.
