Romulus Creates a Major Villain from the Most Hated Alien Movies

Contains spoilers for “Alien: Romulus”

Just like a xenomorph, Fede Álvarez’s “Alien: Romulus” has managed to brilliantly store itself away in the cracks of the “Alien” saga by telling an awesome story while honoring the franchise as a whole. All of it. For every obvious nod to the film that started it all, there are small details that only die-hard fans of every chapter will notice. One of Álvarez’s greatest achievements is making the best out of the bad things in two of the least popular and divisive “Alien” movies: “Alien: Resurrection” and “Prometheus.”

While your X (formerly Twitter) feed might have seen a splurge of revisionists backing the fourth and fifth films in the “Alien” franchise, Rotten Tomatoes scores from both critics and audiences confirm that these were not exactly considered classic chapters in xenomorph history. Álvarez’s Offspring (referred to unsettlingly in the credits) appears in the final act and resembles iconic beasties from both of those films.

Brought to life by the big screen debut of Robert Bobroczkyi, the Offspring has the height and facial features of the Engineers, the alien know-it-alls that sent the Prometheus for answers to the meaning of life in Ridley Scott’s prequel. But it also harkens back to a much-maligned horror in what was nearly the final nail in the acid-soaked coffin of the “Alien” universe.

With those pearl-black eyes and bald head, there’s no mistaking that the Engineer from “Prometheus” informed Fede Álvarez’s own monstrous contribution to the “Alien” franchise. But the warped pale skin and physique of the Offspring harken back to the 1997 “Alien: Resurrection,” a movie that tends to sit at the bottom of the pile for many of the franchise’s fans. While “Resurrection” took bold swings just as “Alien: Romulus” does (the group of swimming xenomorphs is still a brilliant visual), the thing most people remember is the alien/human hybrid that Ripley 8 (the clone of our original hero, also played by Sigourney Weaver) faces off with—a creature that the Offspring is clearly meant to be a precursor to.

From the shreds of monstrous humanity in its design to the thin extremities that aren’t quite as ribbed or biomechanical as H.R. Giger’s original alien creations, there’s no doubt that this beastie is related to the Newborn, even if that creature won’t actually be brought to life for another two centuries or so (“Resurrection” is set 257 years after the original film). It’s a great effort at bridging the franchise’s past to its future from a director who is clearly a fan before anything else. In the end, it’s this and many other tricks that “Alien: Romulus” pulls off that accomplish what all sequels should aim for: convincing fans to go back and watch the entire series from the beginning. Even the ones you didn’t like the first time around.