Romulus continued a worrying trend that had been going on since Ridley Scott’s prequels

Alien: Romulus was a big hit for the sci-fi saga, but it remained a character set that needed to be revisited. Ridley Scott Alien is a genre landmark, but its two prequel movies proved very divisive. Prometheus was a mix of high-minded science fiction tale and silly B-movie, while Bond Tried to merge a Prometheus Follow up with an Alien Sequel with messy results. Despite their flaws, they were both ambitious outings that attempted to evolve the franchise.

Alien: Romulus was a box-office smash and received largely positive reviews, but it was less an evolution of the property than a celebration. Romulus is loaded with Alien Easter eggs and references and is trying to remind the audience why they enjoyed the original films in the first place. A big highlight for many was the character of Andy, a malfunctioning android played by David Jonsson. Andy’s role in Romulus And his evolution are the most fascinating part of the 2024 sequelAnd hopefully spell big things for Jonsson in the future.

Alien: Romulus proves that the franchise is much more interested in its android characters

Romulus continues a trend that began with Prometheus

Andy is given the best arc, but while the rest of the ensemble does a good job, it can’t be denied that Alien: Romulus‘Human figures of characters are inferior in comparison. Cailee Spaeny is great as Rain, but she feels like the latest in a line of heroes attempting to emulate Ripley, while the rest of the supporting players are largely two-dimensional. generally, The last one Alien Movies are much more interested in their Android charactersSuch as Michael Fassbender in both Prometheus And Bond.

Fassbender’s David emerged as the main villain during Scott’s prequel duology, with his second Bond Android Walter is David’s moral opposite. In the same way Jonsson was considered Romulus‘ Strongest asset, even those who disliked Scott’s prequels cited Fassbender as the absolute highlight. David is one of the most fascinating anti-heroes of the entire seriesWhere his contempt for his creators and desire to create his own “perfect“Lifeform drives him to greater acts of evil.

David and Andy are the most nuanced, complex characters of the last three outings, especially compared to their human counterparts. That goes without saying Noomi Rapace’s Elizabeth Shaw wasn’t a compelling protagonist, but it told Scott ultimately decided to abandon her journey in favor of following David. For future whole instead. with RomulusThe saga’s growing fascination with “Artificial people“is just emphasized.

Ridley Scott wanted to replace the Xenomorph with Michael Fassbender’s David

The filmmaker has big plans in mind for Alien’s future

Romulus is seen as course correction after the underperformance of Scott’s second prequel. Alien: Covenant s The ending teased that Fassbender’s uncle had terrifying plans in mind for the crew of the titular colony ship and that his story was very much in progress. When Scott first returned to the property, he controversially stated (via Indiewire)”The beast is done. Cook.” Scott felt that the Giger Xenomorph had become too overexposed and was unable to scare viewers, so he wanted to replace the creature with David As the new villain.

Scott feels that the rise of AI and androids is far more terrifying than any slimy monster, and it’s a theme he first explored in Blade Runner. It is unlikely that the studio supported the idea, even if Scott believed in it. The xenomorph is inextricably tied to the Alien Films and is something viewers expect to see every time around. Again, it’s telling that Scott was positioning his android character as the undisputed star, even to the extent of trying to push the “Animal“Out of his own franchise.

The next Alien film needs to put the focus back on its human characters

Time to put humanity back in the alien saga

Time will tell where the story will go next, or if Andy or Rain will return. In truth, it feels like their story has already been told, and it may be a stretch for them to run into further Xenomorph conflict. It would be nice for the next installment to put the spotlight back on its human protagonists once again, or at least provide more of a balance between man and machine.

The movies should continue to explore the rise of artificial intelligence, but the heart of the series has always been about the future of humanity itself. The next one Alien Needs a fleshed out human character to front the story, and hopefully one whose arc isn’t just reheating the likes of Ripley or Shaw. Maybe Noah Hawley’s upcoming Alien: Earth TV series is already going to right the ship in this regard.

Source: Indiewire