The release of ‘Alien: Romulus’ has revitalized the longstanding ‘Alien’ franchise, coinciding with its 45th anniversary. This achievement is particularly noteworthy given the franchise’s limited presence in pop culture. Following a seven-year hiatus since the last installment, the situation was complicated by Disney’s acquisition of Fox in 2019, raising questions about how a family-oriented company would handle R-rated horror.
‘Romulus’ has successfully rekindled interest, overshadowing doubts about the franchise’s future until its debut. The previous film, ‘Alien: Covenant’, was released just before the acquisition and struggled both commercially and critically, despite Ridley Scott’s involvement. While ‘Covenant’ was intended to correct the course set by ‘Prometheus’, which had been better received, it felt like a lesser entry due to its attempt to reconcile the new narrative with earlier films.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
‘Prometheus’, released in 2012, took the ‘Alien’ saga in a different direction, focusing on the Engineers rather than the iconic Xenomorphs. It followed a crew investigating a planet linked to humanity’s creators, only to encounter a deadly pathogen and a revived Engineer. The story concluded with Elizabeth Shaw and the android David heading to what they believed was the Engineers’ home world.
Set in 2104, ‘Alien: Covenant’ depicts a group of colonists landing on a planet that was once their destination. The film reveals that David has been experimenting with the Xenomorph species, leading to gruesome consequences for the crew. Co-screenwriter John Logan described the film as balancing horror with the philosophical themes introduced in ‘Prometheus’.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
While ‘Covenant’ connects the dots between the two films, it remains a bridge in the overarching narrative, leaving several plot threads unresolved. However, its ideas about the Engineers and their technology are expected to carry over into future installments, making ‘Covenant’ an intriguing, if underdeveloped, part of the ‘Alien’ saga.
–Farheen Ali