Summary
Directed by Fede Alvarez,Alien: Romulus, released on July 21, 2025, is the seventh movie in theAlienfranchise, and is intended to relaunch the series by going back to basics. It’s the simplest of horror movie premises, with a group of people traveling to an abandoned space station only to be attacked by a Xenomorph presence.
DespiteRomulusbeing so simplistic, the movie does introduce new lore and concepts that haven’t been seen in previousAlienmovies. In fact, some new elements are simply making their cinematic debut after being seen canonically in the franchise’s comic books and video games. These are all the new detailsAlien: Romulusadds to theAlienfranchise.
Major story spoilers ahead for Alien: Romulus
8Independent Planets
Havens Not Under Corporate Control
What sets the main characters ofAlien: Romuluson their journey to the Renaissance Station is their desire to escape from their Weyland-Yutani-controlled planet to Yvaga III. While never shown in the movie, it is said to be a haven because it is an independent system not owned by any corporation, like Weyland-Yutani or Seegson.
Alienmovies have never quite explored major civilizations in the canon other than the colonies seen on Weyland-Yutani worlds, and have typically focused on teamsgoing to other alien planets. The idea of independent planets sets up the idea that maybe the future of the franchise will explore how Weyland-Yutani conquers worlds, and how freedom fighters could rebel against the corporation.
7Xenomorphs Can Survive In Space
Continuing From The Original Movie
WithAlien: Romulusbeing set betweenAlienandAliensin the official chronological timeline, director Fede Alvarez had the task of telling a story between stories and having it make sense. Thankfully, he tied directly to the originalAlienby revealing that the original Xenomorph was still alive.
The opening ofAlien: Romulusshows the Renaissance Station discovering the remnants of the Nostromo. Among the debris is an organic shell floating in the void, which is revealed to contain the original Xenomorph from the first movie. Previous canon expanded material has shown Xenomorphs surviving the vacuum of space, such asAlien: Isolation, but this shows that they can remain dormant to protect their hive for long periods.
6Lower Class Androids
Not Every Android Is A Corporate Spy
Typically, androids such as Ash, David, Walter, and Bishop, are confirmed as being advanced pieces of technology that are vital to Weyland-Yutani operations.Alien: Romulusintroduces a new artificial person in the form of Andy, whose prime directive is to protect the main character, Rain. He’s confirmed to be a decommissioned synthetic worker for the mining colony that they are both from.
Andy is essentially designed to be used and discarded, sacrificed like a canary in a coal mine. This is why he’s timid and soft-spoken, yet as the movie progresses, he proves to be just as sophisticatedas the other android modelsseen in previousAlienmovies.
5X-Ray View Of The Chestburster
The First Ever Look At A Stage 2 Xenomorph Still In Its Host
It is tradition now thatAlienmovies try something different with the Chestburster sequencesusing disturbing body horror,andRomuluskeeps that tradition going. The character Navarro swiped a handheld X-Ray device whilst exploring Renaissance Station, leading to a memorable moment seen in much of the marketing forAlien: Romulus.
When Bjorn and Navarro are trying to escape Renaisscance, Navarro feels the creature moving inside her chest, so she uses the X-Ray on herself, allowing audiences to witness the Chestburster inside her torso as it tries to break free from its host. It’s disturbing and fresh, showing Fede Alvarez’s keen eye for horror.
4New Company Orders
There Is More Than One Weyland-Yutani Agenda
From the beginning, the Xenomorph was always the target for the Weyland-Yutani company to catch and use in their bioweapons division. However,Alien: Romulusreveals a surprising new goal by directly connecting toPrometheusandAlien: Covenant, all tying back to The Pathogen that David used to create the Xenomorph in the first place.
The Romulus lab on the station was tasked with using the Pathogen from the Xenomorph and Facehuggers to create a serum intended to evolve humans into beings fit for space travel. This reveal not onlymakes the story a strong sequelto multiple movies in the franchise, but suggests that there are different agendas for the Xenomorphs made by the company, maybe even some that would conflict with each other.
3Facehuggers Hunting In Packs
More Development Of Facehuggers
In previousAlienmovies, there were usually just a few Facehuggers shown at the most, but they were only used to create Xenomorphs, and that goal remains unchanged inAlien: Romulus. However, the film cleverly makes Facehuggers into a major threat on the same level as the Xenomorphs by featuring several dozen of them pursuing the characters.
Not only doesAlien: Romulusshow that the Facehuggers can operate in packs, but it also reveals how the creatures hunt. Without eyes, they rely on sensing the body heat of their potential prey, combined with an accute sensitivity to sound. Even over four decades later, fans are learning new things about their lore, and never have the Facehuggers been more of a threat than they are inRomulus.
2Zero Gravity Sequences
Acid Blood Has Never Been So Beautiful
From the moment the characters enter Renaissance Station inAlien: Romulus, they areforced to deal with zero gravity. Despite the entire franchise taking place in deep space,Alienmovies have shockingly never tried attempting anything to do with zero-G before.
Not only does zero gravity make for some of the best visuals inAlien: Romulus, but it results in some extremely creative action sequences. An entire scene features Rain and Andy fending off a swarm of Xenomorphs in zero-G to prevent their acid blood from melting down through space and depressurizing Renaissance Station.
1Xenomorph Cocoons
Evolving From Chesterburster And Xenomorph
The life cycle of the Xenomorph moves fast once it is born, evolving from a Chestburster to a full-grown warrior drone in seemingly a matter of minutes.Alien: Romulusnot only remains consistent with that timeline, but expands upon the creatures' growth by showing how it grows so fast via a cocoon that it hides itself in.
After the creature bursts from Navarro’s chest, Kay and Bjorn discover the Xenomorph cocooned in a hallway, evolving into its matured stage. This further expands on the insect-like nature of the Xenomorph hive and teases that perhaps future films couldbring other types of Xenoevolution to the big screen, such as Praetorian guards or even how a Queen grows.
