Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Alien: Romulus!
The original Xenomorph somehow returns in Alien: Romulusand here’s how he survived Ripley’s attack in the first Foreigner film. Big Chap is what fans of Foreigner the franchise dubbed the first Xenomorph to appear in the series, and although he appeared to die in the 1979 original, he actually returns to rear his head again in Alien: Romulus. Alien: RomulusThe Xenomorph’s surprise return is one of the most interesting parts of the film, revealing that the creature managed to survive its encounter with Ripley and live on to kill more humans.
Despite how dangerous the Xenomorphs are, Ripley has killed many of them, with her experiencing her various encounters with aliens in each of the original four. Foreigner films. At the end of 1979 ForeignerRipley manages to free herself from Big Chap, opening the airlock door and ejecting the Xenomorph out of the ship. Although fans believed this killed Big Chap for decades, 2024 Alien: Romulus revealed that Big Chap actually survived, with many fans wondering how the Xenomorph survived the cold and dark of space.
The original Xenomorph created a cocoon to survive in space after fighting Ripley
This is how you survived the depths of space
The sinister opening of Alien: Romulus see a group of human scientists return to the remains of the Nostromothe original configuration Foreigner film. While going through the wreckage of the ship, the scientists manage to find a strange black capsule, which they bring on board the ship. After opening it, it is revealed that this pod contains the Xenomorph from the original film. Scientists aboard the Romulo then proceed to perform experiments on the creature, with this moment confirming that Big Chap survived the fight with Ripley in Foreigner.
Although it’s never explicitly explained, there are enough visual clues to suggest how Big Chap survived his encounter with Ripley. It turns out that Big Chap was able to create a cocoon by being launched through the airlock, with this defensive mechanism allowing him to survive. Although the Xenomorph appeared to be in some sort of stasis, Alien: Romulus reveals that the alien came back to life some time before the events of the film, revealing even more about how the Xenomorph’s cocooning ability works.
How Alien: Romulus’ New Xenomorph Survival Technique Changes the Franchise
It’s the Xenomorph’s newest ability
Giving the Xenomorph the ability to create cocoons to survive is a big deal, as it completely changes how the Xenomorph functions in the franchise. One of the most common ways to kill Xenomorphs in Foreigner films is to launch them into space, a strategy it has relied on since the 1979 original. Alien: Romulus reveals that this doesn’t actually kill the Xenomorphs, just putting them into stasis. Then, any Xenomorph that was launched from a ship is probably still alivewith them simply floating in space.
The ability to cocoon is just one of the many strange abilities that Xenomorphs possess in the Foreigner franchise, with that power likely to return in the future Foreigner projects. Now that it is known that Xenomorphs were created by a creator and not through natural selection, it also raises the question of why this ability would have been given to Xenomorphs.
How the Original Xenomorph Died After Alien
Was killed before the events of Alien: Romulus
Although Alien: Romulus brings back Big Chap from the original film, he won’t be around for long, with him dying off-screen before the events of the sequel. As Rook explains in Alien: Romulusthe Xenomorph finally woke up after being brought to the Romuloattacking and killing many of the human crew. However, Rook then explains that humans were able to kill the Xenomorph, with him showing the creature’s burned remains. This means it was taken over by the scientists, and didn’t last much longer after the encounter with Ripley.
Killing Big Chap off-screen is a bit disappointing, as he’s one of the most legendary movie monsters of all time. Having security forces quickly dispatch the Xenomorph between films makes the alien seem a little less scary. It would have been fun for Rain, Andy and the rest of the group. Alien: Romulus cast to find Big Chap, fighting in a similar manner to Ripley in the original film.