Alien: Romulus contains quite a few call-backs and nods to Ridley Scott's original masterpiece and James Cameron's sequel, but it also reintroduces a much-maligned concept from Alien: Resurrection.
Towards the end of the movie, a pregnant and dying Kay injects herself with the Prometheus 5 formula to keep herself alive. This results in her giving birth to a human/alien hybrid.
Named "The Offspring" in the credits, this rather terrifying creature does look a lot better than the albino monstrosity from Resurrection, but taking inspiration from one of the least popular movies in the franchise by introducing another hybrid was a bold choice that not everyone has got on board with.
While speaking to THR, director Fede Alvarez revealed that the studio did initially have some reservations.
"They did [push back] at the beginning [with regard to the Offspring], but not because they didn’t like it. They just thought, 'Is it too much? Do we really have to go there?' And I was like, 'Yeah, now that you said that we shouldn’t, I know that I will.' So that’s exactly what we did here. If you’re given an Alien movie by a corporation that is owned by Disney and they immediately say, 'Yeah, let’s make it,' then you are failing somehow. So we really pushed it to the limit, and I’m glad we did."
Alvarez also discussed some ideas for a potential sequel, and - if the story does continue - it sounds like the planet Yvaga may not turn out to be the sun-drenched sanctuary Rain is expecting.
"For me, it’s always been about story. So, once we finished, we started thinking, 'What do you think happens when or if they get to your Yvaga? Is it going to be great? Or is it a terrible place?' We tend to believe it’s probably a terrible place that they think is great and fantasize about, so we naturally started thinking about where it goes and what’s going to happen. And then, a few minutes in, we go, 'Oh, that sounds like a sequel.'"
What did you make of The Offspring? Do you think the hybrid was an effective addition to the movie? Let us know in the comments section.
"Not a perfect organism, but despite an overreliance on retreading over old ground, Alien: Romulus does mark a thrilling return to form, and is surely destined to be ranked as the third-best Alien movie," we said in our review of Alien: Romulus.
"The sci-fi/horror-thriller takes the phenomenally successful Alien franchise back to its roots: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe."
The film stars Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), David Jonsson (Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (The Last of Us), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), and Aileen Wu. Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don’t Breathe) directs from a screenplay he wrote with frequent collaborator Rodo Sayagues (Don’t Breathe 2) based on characters created by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett.
Alien: Romulus is produced by Ridley Scott (Napoleon), who directed the original Alien and produced and directed the series’ entries Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, Michael Pruss (Boston Strangler), and Walter Hill (Alien), with Fede Alvarez, Elizabeth Cantillon (Charlie’s Angels), Brent O’Connor (Bullet Train), and Tom Moran (Unstoppable) serving as executive producers.