WhilePrometheusmight have divided theAlienfranchise’s fan base,Alien: Romulusmanaged to function as a sequel to Ridley Scott’s controversial prequel and a satisfying standalone movie.Every movie in theAlienfranchiseis connected, although the widely deridedAlien Vs Predatormovies were effectively retconned byAliendirector Ridley Scott’s 2012 return to the franchise,Prometheus. While theupcoming TV seriesAlien: Earthmight somehow link the two divergent versions of the franchise’s canon,Prometheusoffered a backstory for Weyland-Yutani that directly contradictedAlien Vs Predator.
This was no great loss, sincetheAlien Vs Predatormoviesare widely viewed as the franchise’s biggest misstep. However, this doesn’t mean that the reception forPrometheusand its 2017 sequelAlien: Covenantwas roundly positive. On the contrary, both Scott’s prequel and its sequel were divisive for very different reasons.Prometheus’s detractors accused the prequel of dwelling too much on the lore of the series and not providing enough straightforward thrills, whereasAlien: Covenantwas a perfectly passableAlienmovie, but the sequel failed to explain any of the many mysteries left unsolved byPrometheus.
Alien: Romulus Was Technically A Sequel To Prometheus And Alien: Covenant
Alien: Romulus Refused To Ignore The Story Elements Scott’s Prequels Introduced
Luckily,2024’sAlien: Romulusfunctioned as a sequel toPrometheusandAlien: Covenantas well as an interquel set betweenAlienandAliens. The story ofAlien: Romulusmight have been set closer toAlien’s time period, but it is worth noting thatAlienis not set that long afterPrometheusandAlien: Covenant. Moreover,Alien: Romulusworked as a sequel to both prequel movies in terms of its themes and franchise lore, particularly with the comeback ofPrometheus’s infamous unexplained Black Gooand the arrival of the latest Xenomorph hybrid, the Offspring.
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Technically, everyAlienmovie could be called a sequel to the prequels, since all of them happen afterPrometheusandAlien: Covenantin the franchise timeline. However,Alien: Romulusis the first to have been made after the prequels came out, and this is reflected in its writing. Although director Fede Alvarez promised to return to the simple monster movie thrills of the original series after the talkier, more lore-heavyPrometheus,Alien: Romulus’s story still builds on the prequel lore and incorporates its storylines into the established world of the series.
Alien: Romulus Was A Better Payoff To Prometheus Than Alien: Covenant Ever Was
Alien: Romulus Finally Offered Answers To Prometheus’s Many Mysteries
WhileAlien: Covenantworked as a classicAlienmovie, the outing ended with David about to start his research.David’sAlienfranchise story felt distinctly unfinishedand many lingering mysteries fromPrometheusremained unresolved. By contrast,Alien: Romulusoffered viewers a payoff toPrometheusandAlien: Covenant’s shared storyas viewers finally got to understand how the Engineer/ Black Goo/ Xenomorph life cycle really works. The Black Goo’s powers remained somewhat mysterious, but the android Rook finally clarified that the substance (now known as Z-01) was being utilized by Weyland-Yutani to create super-resilient humans.
Disney Is About To Rewrite Alien’s Canon In A Way That Not Even Ridley Scott’s Prometheus Did
Alien’s upcoming TV series Alien: Earth promises to finally do the one thing that even Ridley Scott’s prequel Prometheus could never quite pull off.
Alien: Romulusmanaged to incorporate this explanation into the movie’s fast-paced plot as viewers swiftly discovered the problem with Weyland-Yutani’s master plan. Z-01 might have made rat test subjects seemingly invulnerable, but it also led them to birth monstrous hybrids whose mutations were caused by the Black Goo.Kay’s horrificAlien: Romulus’s deathsaw her fall victim to this fate when she injected herself with Z-01 and, instead of ensuring her survival, ended up giving birth to the Offspring. This unique new monster offered viewers a new spin on the familiar Xenomorph.
Alien: Romulus’ Black Goo Callback Means Alien Still Has A Massive Untold Story
Alien: Covenant’s Unfinished Story Remains A Compelling Mystery
Alien: Romulus’s story incorporated many details fromPrometheusandAlien: Covenant, bridging the gap between the prequels and the original series. The franchise now flows smoothly from one movie’s story to the next thanks to Alvarez’s efforts, but this doesn’t mean there are no lingering questions left behind by the prequels. A follow-up could still explain what exactly happened to David afterAlien: Covenant’s ending, whether the corporation ever found his research, and, if so, how they did this.
Alien: Romulusopens up the world of theAlienseries by merging the prequels with the original movies, meaning future sequels can continue expanding on this plot.David’sAlienfranchise storymay not be quite finished yet, particularly whenAlien: Earthis set to go even further back in the franchise’s timeline.
Alien: Romulus’s disarmingly simple plot allowed the Alien sequel to follow Prometheus while simultaneously connecting to the plot of the original movies.
WhilePrometheusandAlien: Covenantwere admirably complex and ambitious, neither prequel felt like it fully linked theAlienmovies to its storyline. Luckily, 2024’s reboot changed this.Alien: Romulus’s disarmingly simple plot allowed theAliensequel to followPrometheuswhile simultaneously connecting to the plot of the original movies, resulting in a more cohesive and clearer storyline for the series as a whole.
