Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Alien: Romulus!
Although many have said that the originalAlienprotagonist doesn’t appear inAlien: Romulus, Ellen Ripley is actually in the film the whole time, and we see her ship 67 minutes in.Alien: Romulusis the beginning of an all-new chapter in theAliensaga, with it purportedly moving away from the stories of Ripley and David the synthetic and instead focusing on new protagonists Rain and Andy. While this duo is at the center ofAlien: Romulus' story, the worlds of the original series andPrometheusare still present, as can be seen withRipley’s secretAlien: Romuluscameo.
While Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley is the original protagonist of theAlienfranchise,she hasn’t appeared in the franchise since 1997’sAlien: Resurrection, with Ridley Scott instead focusing on prequel stories starting with 2012’sPrometheus. Many have been wondering if Ripley will ever return, something that thetimeline ofAlien: Romuluswas seemingly going to get around by being set betweenAlienandAliens. Ripley is supposed to be in cryo sleep during this period of theAlientimeline, but despite this,Alien: Romulusstill found a way to give Ripley an incredibly subtle cameo.
Ripley’s Ship Can Be Seen Twice In Alien: Romulus - Here’s When
1 Hour 7 Minutes In
At the end of the originalAlien, Ripley exists the destroyedNostromoin her escape pod, with her entering cryosleep for 57 years.Alien: Romulusopens with a group ofWeyland-Yutani scientists exploring the wreckage of theNostromo, collecting the original Xenomorph’s cocoon, but that isn’t all that they got. It turns out that the scientists also collected Ripley’s cryosleep pod, with the ship being seen twice throughout the events ofAlien: Romulus.
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The first time that Ripley’s ship is seen is one hour and 7 minutes intoAlien: Romulus. Ripley’s ship can be seen in the background of the sequence in which Kay is in the loading dock being stalked by the Xenomorph. The ship can be seen multiple times in this scene, with it being docked vertically in a corridor.Ripley’s ship can be seen again at the one hour and 26 minute markwhen theRomulusspace station crashes. During the wreck, Ripley’s ship can be seen detached in the lower right side of the screen, explaining how it survived the crash.
How Ripley Being Present For Alien: Romulus Changes The Movie
It Makes The Crash Even More Tense
Ripley being present for the events ofAlien: Romulusis a big deal, as it not only changes the movie, but theAlientimeline as a whole. The knowledge that Ripley is on board theRomulusspace station makes the events of the film much more tense. The potential for Ripley to die when theRomulusspace station crashes would be terrifying if we didn’t know that she survived until the events ofAliens. On top of that,she has knowledge of how dangerous the Xenomorph is, adding dramatic irony to the deaths of the Weyland-Yutani scientists.
On top of that, it further linksRipley and Big Chap(the fan name for the original Xenomorph) after their encounter in the originalAlien. Not only did Ripley and Big Chap survive 1979’sAlien, but they actually ended up on the exact same space station once again. If the Weyland-Yutani scientists had woken Ripley up, she would have had to showdown with the monster once again when it began slaughtering the scientists. It is incredible to know how close the story ofAliencame to repeating itself, with Ripley only being a few feet away from Big Chap’s grand return.
Why Weyland-Yutani Never Woke Up Ripley Before The Events Of Alien: Romulus
Having Ripley appear on the space station does create a weird plot hole, asit is strange that Weyland-Yutani never woke Ripley up before the events ofAlien: Romulus. After all, she was an employee of the company, so it would have made sense for them to wake her up upon recovering her body. However, there is one major theory as to why they didn’t.
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IfWeyland-Yutani wanted to keep their discovery of the Xenomorph a secret, that would explain why they kept Ripley in cryosleep. They may have had plans to interrogate her, study her, or even kill her after experimenting on Big Chap. However, the Xenomorph experiments led to the entire space station being decimated, preventing any plans that they may have had to wake Ripley up. This would explain why she is still asleep inAlien: Romulus, with her falling out of the space station and not being recovered again until the events ofAliens.
Alien: Romulus
Cast
Alien: Romulus is the seventh film in the Alien franchise. The movie is directed by Fede Álvarez and will focus on a new young group of characters who come face to face with the terrifying Xenomorphs. Alien: Romulus is a stand-alone film and takes place in a time not yet explored in the Alien franchise.
