Summary
WhileAlien: Romuluslooks set to take theAlienfranchise back to basics, the sequel also seems like it might give FX’s upcoming TV show a helping hand.The upcomingAlien: Romulusis taking a refreshingly straightforward approach to the sci-fi horror series. After the divisive philosophical navel-gazing of director Ridley Scott’s prequelsPrometheusandAlien: Covenant,director Fede Alvarez’sAlien: Romuluspromises to bring the same no-frills efficiency that the helmer offered theEvil Deadfranchise in 2013.Alien: Romulusis set betweenAlienandAliensand, by all accounts, its story and style mimic those two classics.
Rather than attempting to explain the origins of the Xenomorphs and humanity or make any grand statements about human nature,Alien: Romulus’s admirably simple story replicates the claustrophobic horror of the original movie. A group of young, inexperienced scavengers explores a desolate abandoned space station only to come across a very unwelcome resident who tears a bloody swathe through them.Alien: Romulusmay be hiding twiststhat viewers won’t discover until after its release, but the sequel’s setup seems to be highlighting its simplicity as a feature. Despite this, the reboot promises some world-building for the franchise.
This Underrated $100M Sci-Fi Movie That’s Now On Streaming Is Perfect To Watch While Waiting For Alien: Romulus
Before Alien: Romulus arrives viewers should seek out a similarly grim, brutal sci-fi horror from 2017 that has been underrated since its release.
Alien: Romulus Explores The Main Characters' Homeworld
The Heroes of Alien: Romulus Live In A Rainy Dystopia
The trailer forAlien: Romulusimplies the movie will flesh out the franchise’s universe, showing what life is like on the human homeworld before the heroes head into space. Broadly speaking, viewers rarely see anything of the everyday lives of normal people in theAlienmovies. The series is typically set in space or, in the cases ofPrometheusandAlien Vs Predator, well before the originalAlien’s events.Prometheusoffered a brief glimpse into an unspecified futuristic setting, but these scenes were mostly limited to the headquarters of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation.Alien: Romulusseems to offer more.
Alien: Romuluscould become the first movie in the series to offer viewers a definitive, cohesive portrait of everyday life for ordinary people in the world of the franchise
The opening shots ofAlien: Romulus’s trailer cut between the central group of young protagonists on a space flight and glimpses of a miserable, rain-soaked futuristic city. AlthoughAlien: Romulus’s trailer gives away a lot, its opening scenes never confirm whether these shots are set somewhere on Earth or another homeworld that humans now inhabit. Since it is set betweenAlienandAliens,Alien: Romuluscould become the first movie in the series to offer viewers a definitive, cohesive portrait of everyday life for ordinary people in the world of the franchise during its opening act.
Alien: Romulus' Setting Makes The Franchise More Dystopian
The Heroes Are Desperate To Leave Home
The setting ofAlien: Romuluslooks dystopian, which could explain why so many of the franchise’s heroes were willing to partake in risky, lonely space missions in the first place. Any hints of the homeworld are limited to brief short of a rainswept urban center and glimpses of cramped living quarters. The attitude that the characters have toward this setup is epitomized in Tyler claiming that scavenging on the derelict space station may be their “Only ticket out of here.” EvenAlien: Romulus’s many Xenomorphsmight be more appealing than sticking around in this squalor.
The primary appeal ofAlien: Romulusis its focus on horror over bigger, more ambitious world-building
This changes the franchise’s overarching story as it proves that the heroes of earlyAlienmovies may not have had an idyllic homeworld they could return to if they survived. It seems unlikely that the reboot will expand on this idea since the primary appeal ofAlien: Romulusis its focus on horror over bigger, more ambitious world-building. However, this clarification could help anotherAlienproject that is currently in production.Fargoshowrunner Noah Hawley has been working on anAlienTV series for FX for some time now andAlien: Romuluscould indirectly establish its setting.
Alien’s Upcoming TV Show Can Continue Romulus' Expanded Setting
Noah Hawley’s Upcoming TV Series Must Explain Alien’s Lore
Hawley’s TV show can’t be as claustrophobic and single-minded asAlien: Romulusthanks to the nature of TV storytelling, which prioritizes bigger, more expansive world-building. Instead,Alien’s TV show must show more of the franchise’s fictional world, and, in this regard,Alien: Romulus’s opening act could be a great stepping stone. WhereAlien: Romulus’s storypromises stripped-back thrillers, Hawley’s show is exciting for precisely the opposite reason. Its longer runtime will offer the showrunner a chance to explore the world of the series in-depth.
If the first act ofAlien: Romulusdoes offer viewers a good look at the homeworld of its characters, the reboot could set up Hawley’s show for success.Alien’s TV show can expand on this vision, fleshing out the ways in which Weyland-Yutani’s corporate corruption has made space travel not only economically necessary but comparatively appealing given the state of everyday life. In the process,Alien’s TV show can build onAlien: Romulus’s extension of the franchise’s surprisingly limited fictional universe.
