SPOILERS for Alien: Romulus!
Alien: Romulus makes a major reveal about what happened to Ellen Ripley after the original movie, but it creates even more questions that I now need answers to. I really enjoyedAlien: Romulusand saw it as a total return to form for the franchise. The manyreferences to previousAlienmovies, combined with the mythology-building aspects of Ridley Scott’s prequels, mixed with altogether new elements, for the most part, worked like a charm.
AnEllen Ripley Easter egg fromAlien: Romuluswas confirmed in a recent interview with Weta VFX Supervisor Daniel Macarin forCinemaBlend, who shared the behind-the-scenes process of making the new movie. In the interview, he provided clarification for one small detail viewers had already begun to notice: thatRipley’s shuttle from the end ofAliencan be seen inRomulus, drifting away from the Renaissance space station. Now that it’s been confirmed that thiswasRipley’s ship, I’m slightly confused about what Weyland-Yutani’s team was doing.
Alien: Romulus Reveal Makes Ellen Ripley’s Survival Before Aliens Even More Miraculous
A major Alien: Romulus easter egg involves the fate of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, which only makes her survival between films more impressive.
Weyland Keeping Ripley In Cryostasis During Alien: Romulus Doesn’t Make Sense
Why Wouldn’t The Scientists Have Waken Ripley Up For Questioning/Experiments?
One of the first majorAlien: Romuluslore revealsis that Weyland-Yutani has found the remains of the Nostromo and has been sorting through the wreckage. The original Xenomorph was also taken and brought aboard the Renaissance for testing. With all of that in mind, whatI can’t understand is why Ripley would have been kept in Cryostasis. It seems like gathering information from the sole survivor of such an incident would be beyond important for the Renaissance science team’s research.
Of course, Weyland-Yutani is primarily interested in the Xenomorph. As we know, they’re likely still working under the initiative of Peter Weyland and are hoping to use theblack goo fromPrometheusto develop some life-enhancing substance. But, the entire team ends up massacred by what they’re studying, and it begs the question of why they wouldn’t have woken up Ripley. She was the only person available who had experience with these aliens and could have prevented the situation. Or, a more sinister idea is that they could have run experiments on her.
There’s Only 1 Explanation For Weyland Letting Ripley Live & It’s Still Bad
They Could Have Found Ripley Just Before The Ship Got Massacred
With all of this in mind, theonly explanation I can think of is the station had onlyjustfound Ripley’s ship right before everything went downhill, and they were all killed before they could wake her. However, this seems all too convenient and lucky for Ripley. I appreciateAlien: Romulus’references and callbacks, but it feels important in a franchise likeAliento monitor these things carefully and justify its Easter eggs narratively, especially given how much flack the film series already gets for its timeline.
Sources:CinemaBlend
Alien: Romulus
Alien: Romulus is the seventh film in the Alien franchise. The movie is directed by Fede Álvarez and will focus on a new young group of characters who come face to face with the terrifying Xenomorphs. Alien: Romulus is a stand-alone film and takes place in a time not yet explored in the Alien franchise.
