Hidden Details You May Have Overlooked in Alien: Romulus

Contains spoilers for “Alien: Romulus”

“Alien: Romulus” takes the horror/science fiction franchise back to its roots and has seemingly won over plenty of skeptics. Reviews on Rotten Tomatoes for “Alien: Romulus” are uniformly positive, with critics praising its sheer terror and a return to form for the series after a couple of divisive installments. However, one of the negative elements that comes up repeatedly in several reviews is that the film relies too heavily on fan service and callbacks to iconic moments from 1979’s “Alien” and its sequel, 1986’s “Aliens.” With such an emphasis on paying homage to the past, it’s not surprising that “Alien: Romulus” is jam-packed with small details and references that may be hard to catch on first watch.

To its credit, the movie begins in a largely different manner from virtually everything else in the franchise. Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and her adopted brother Andy (David Jonsson), a synthetic human, work on a dark, polluted mining colony where they seem destined to live out the rest of their days. An opportunity presents itself to seek out a better life elsewhere; Rain’s friends just need her and Andy to take a quick trip with them to an abandoned space station.

But there’s something waiting for them on that station, with the ensuing deaths and battles playing out like a “greatest hits” of the “Alien” franchise up to this point. There’s plenty to take in, so here’s what you may have missed that connects “Alien: Romulus” to real-world mythology, “Alien” video games, and much more.

After helming the original “Alien,” Ridley Scott returned to the franchise for 2012’s “Prometheus” and 2017’s “Alien: Covenant.” Given how divisive those entries were, it’s understandable if a different take was required, so while Scott is a producer on “Alien: Romulus,” Fede Álvarez has taken over the director’s chair. Álvarez is no stranger to the horror genre, as he previously helmed 2013’s “Evil Dead” reboot and “Don’t Breathe.” In fact, when examining the filmmaker’s resume, a pattern appears to emerge that shows many of his works following the same basic plot.

When stripping “Romulus,” “Evil Dead,” and “Don’t Breathe” to their barest of bones, they all follow a small cast of characters who become trapped in an isolated location. These characters must fight off a malevolent force (Xenomorphs, deadites, or a blind man with deadly skills), with many dying in the process, but at least one person gets away. Additionally, all three movies contain either explicit or metaphorical references to sexual assault.

Intentional or not, Álvarez has explored similar ideas across his filmography. He also has writing credits for these three movies, so it would seem these are themes he’s concerned with exploring. Since his interests line up with those of the “Alien” franchise, his previous works are almost undoubtedly what landed him the “Romulus” gig in the first place.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

Much of “Alien: Romulus” takes place on the Renaissance space station, which contains two modules named Romulus and Remus. One untold truth of “Alien: Romulus” is that the corporation at the center of the franchise — Weyland-Yutani — is heavily influenced by Roman history and mythology, which is precisely where those names come from. Romulus and Remus were brothers and the founders of Rome, according to legend. Romulus ended up killing Remus, and the concept of sibling rivalry and distrust is at the heart of “Alien: Romulus.”

Andy may be a synthetic, but Rain refers to him as her brother. His primary directive at first is to do what’s best for Rain no matter what. But his programming receives an upgrade while on the space station, greatly enhancing his intelligence and giving him a new directive: to do what’s best for Weyland-Yutani. This leads him into direct conflict with Rain, but fortunately, they’re able to avoid the same outcome as the Roman myth, with Rain rebooting Andy back to his more compassionate programming.

However, the references to Roman mythology don’t end there. The most well-known image of Romulus and Remus sees them sucking at the teat of their adoptive wolf mother. At the end of “Alien: Romulus,” Kay (Isabela Merced) gives birth to a human/Xenomorph hybrid, which later receives similar nourishment from Kay, killing her in the process.

“Alien: Romulus” pays tribute to the entire “Alien” movie saga, from a digitally-resurrected Ian Holm portraying science officer Rook to the discovery that the scientists on the Renaissance were experimenting with the black ooze that was a major plot point in “Prometheus.” However, Fede Álvarez doesn’t just honor the film side of things: there’s an Easter egg for the 2014 video game, “Alien: Isolation,” if you know where to look.

Álvarez told the “Inside Total Film” podcast that he’s a big fan of the game: “I played a few years after it came out,” he said. “I was like, ‘F***, if I could do anything, I would love to do ‘Alien’ and scare the audience again with that creature and those environments.'” His wish came true eventually, and he honored the game by incorporating the emergency phones that are used as save points. As tends to be the case with video games, a save point generally means you’re about to enter an area with a high probability that your character might die.

The same concept applies to “Romulus,” as Álvarez continued, “The movie is set up in a way [that] every time something bad is about to happen, you will see a phone.” The fact that it’s an “Alien” movie means something bad is always around the corner, but it’s a neat reference for gamers to keep their eyes peeled and to brace themselves for something gnarly occurring.

On board the Renaissance, Rain and her friends discover and reactivate the top half of science officer Rook’s body, which provides much of the exposition while he tries to complete his mission of getting the black ooze back to Weyland-Yutani. “Alien” fans will recognize the visage as that of Ian Holm, who portrayed the android Ash in the first “Alien” movie. Holm died in 2020, so it’s natural for fans to wonder how he’s back playing a different synthetic in “Alien: Romulus.”

The specifics of how the imagery of a young Holm appears in “Romulus” haven’t been divulged yet, although given the discourse that’s begun online, the creative team may need to address this sooner or later. On X (formerly known as Twitter), user @Overmayor wrote, “I really need the AI Ian Holm stuff not to be true, I need this movie to be good.” However, while it’s a digital recreation, it may not technically be AI. Daniel Betts is credited with doing the facial and vocal performance of Rook, with Holm’s voice and face credited as a reference.

It’s likely akin to how the late Peter Cushing was resurrected as Grand Moff Tarkin in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” through motion capture and CGI. It might still be considered bad taste, but at least it wouldn’t be fully AI, which would be hypocritical considering how the “Alien” movies typically portray androids as malevolent corporate lackeys.

There’s one thing that tends to happen at the end of “Alien” movies that “Romulus” adheres to as well. For some reason, these films’ giant monsters are incredibly stealthy and can stow away on a ship without anyone realizing at first. In “Alien,” Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) gets onto a shuttle as the Nostromo self-destructs, but a Xenomorph is also on board that she has to jettison through an airlock. “Aliens” follows a similar trajectory, as a small group escapes on a dropship before the main station explodes; however, they’re joined by the queen, who’s hiding in the landing gear.

“Alien: Romulus” has its own fakeout ending, with Rain, Kay, and Andy escaping the space station just as it’s about to hit the ring surrounding the planet. They think they’re in the clear, but a new antagonist manages to stow away in a far more subtle manner than the larger aliens. Kay has injected herself with the black goo, likely believing it would save herself and her baby, but all it does is mutate the embryo to where she gives birth to a pod containing a human/Xenomorph hybrid. An “Alien” movie once again ends with the audience believing that the characters are safe, but there’s one more