Alien: Romulus' 11 Easter Eggs, References, & Connections To 1979 Original

The following contains spoilers for Alien: Romulus, now playing in theaters

Summary

Rook in “Alien: Romulus” mirrors Ash from “Alien,” serving as a direct link to the original film.
Film references to previous entries like “Alien” & “Aliens” are evident in visual cues and Easter eggs.
The fate of the Nostromo and connections to other Alien films set up future storylines in “Alien: Romulus.”

Alien: Romulus includes several clever easter eggs and references to the history of the Alien franchise. Debuting forty-five years ago before becoming a fixture of the sci-fi and horror genres, Alien has left an undeniable impact on pop culture. The latest film in the series, Alien: Romulus, seems aware of that history and goes out of its way to reference and recreate elements of the classic Ridley Scott’s first Alien film. However, that’s far from the only way Alien: Romulus references the history of the series.

Throughout Alien: Romulus, various details, revelations, and easter eggs connect the new film to everything from Aliens and Prometheus to the expanded universe of video games. Some of these easter eggs are just that, sly little allusions to the history of the series. Others are more concrete connections that help flesh out the history of the franchise in unexpected ways. Here are all the best easter eggs and references hidden throughout the events and (especially) the ending of Alien: Romulus.

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11 Rook Brings Back Ash

Rook Is Very Similar To Alien‘s Ash, By Design

One of the biggest direct connections between Alien: Romulus and previous entries in the series is the introduction of Rook, who is directly similar to Ash from Alien. Played by Ian Holm, Ash was a crew member of the Nostromo who was eventually revealed to be an android sent by the Weyland-Yutani to assist in their “interests,” including abandoning the crew to die while procuring the Xenomorph for the company. Rook plays a similar role in Alien: Romulus. He does his best to ensure that the serum derived form the Xenomorph’s DNA is safely brought off the station.

Daniel Betts plays Rook, but the character is clearly modeled after Ash, who has been given a similar appearance and voice to the first film’s villain. In-universe, this is explained by the pair being from the same robotic line. It also creates a deeper sense of continuity with the original film. Rook being severely damaged but still operational also reflects how many other robots in the series, like Ash in Alien and Bishop in Aliens, suffered similar fates.

10 Going Through The Vents (Again)

Alien: Romulus Recreats Two Notable Trips Through The Vents

Frequently in the Alien series, characters will be forced to traverse through vents on spaceships and in space stations. In Alien, Dallas’ investigation into the creature stalking through his ship led him into the vents of the vessel. Meanwhile, one of the most memorably horrifying shots in Aliens was witnessing an entire pack of Xenomorphs moving through the vents toward the survivors.

Both of these shots are effectively recreated in Alien: Romulus, strengthening the tonal connections between the films by recreating their visuals. Upon arriving on the station, the trio of Andy, Tyler, and Bjorn traverse through the vents. Later in the film, Xenomorphs are seen moving through them to catch up to the humans. It’s a quick visual cue that connects to the previous films in the series and how they portray the Xenomorph attacks.

9 The Black Goo Connects Alien To Promtehtus

The Sins Of The Engineers Still Haunt Humanity

One of the big plot points of Alien: Romulus is the introduction of a new modified compound. The serum, derived from the DNA of the Xenomorph, is believed to be the key to improving humanity on a physical level by evolving them. The collected element from the Xenomorph is reminiscent of the black goo from Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, a mysterious substance that the Engineers were able to use in different forms.

Chronology Of Alien Films	Year The Film Is Set In
Alien: Earth (2025)	2092
Prometheus (2012)	2093
Alien: Covenant (2017)	2104
Alien (1979)	2122
Alien: Romulus (2024)	2142
Aliens (1986)	2179
Alien 3 (1992)	2180
Alien: Resurrection (1997)	2379

Although it isn’t exactly the same goo from the prior films, the substance’s connection to the Xenomorph precursors was evident in the experiments conducted by the villainous synthetic android, David. The film even reinforces this connection by playing a musical cue from Prometheus. This is one of the biggest connections between Alien: Romulus and the rest of the series, as it reveals how the otherwise seemingly disparate events come together on the complete Alien timeline.

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8 Rook’s Explanation References Alien & Alien: Covenant

Alien: Romulus Directly References A Deceased Crew Member From The Nostromo

Once Rook has been rediscovered and reactivated, he ends up revealing a lot of the history that made the substance possible. This includes references to multiple films in the series. Rook reveals that there was only one survivor of the Nostromo, confirming the Weyland-Yutani company knows about the events of Alien. This explanation includes a brief shot of a computer monitor, revealing a shot of Lambert’s personnel file.

Played by Veronica Cartwright, Lambert was one of the crew members of the Nostromo in Alien. Although she survived much of the film, she was eventually cornered by the Xenomorph while trying to reach the escape pod and was killed. On top of that, Rook’s explanation also uses holograms to recreate the “Steatite Ampules,” containers used in Alien: Covenant to contain the black goo. These connections reinforce the threads between the various Alien films, even as Alien: Romulus makes some minor retcons to elements of Alien: Covenant.

7 The Final Fate Of The Nostromo

Alien: Romulus Reveals What Happened To The Remains Of The Nostromo

The Nostromo’s wreckage being rediscovered plays a major role in Alien: Romulus‘ backstory, directly connecting the first and latest entries in the series. The Nostromo was the setting of the first Alien, a small mining ship that discovered a distress beacon in the vastness of space. Investigating it set off the events of the film and much of the rest of the series.

While Aliens revealed that Ripley was eventually rediscovered decades later, Alien: Romulus confirmed the Nostromo was destroyed twenty years before the events of the new film. Although the Nostromo was successfully self-destructed, the Xenomorph was able to cocoon itself within the wreckage and actually survived long enough to be rediscovered by the Weyland-Yutani company at some point between the two films. This connection to Alien sets up the events of Alien: Romulus.

6 Colonial Marine Pulse Rifles

The Colonial Marines became one of the most consistent elements of the expanded Alien franchise after they were introduced in Aliens. Although there are no Marines in Alien: Romulus, their presence can be felt in the film thanks to the pulse rifles Andy eventually gives to Rain and Tyler to help protect themselves from the Xenomorphs. Tyler reveals these are in fact the same rifles used by the Marines of their era.

Notably, they do bear some differences from the rifles used in (the chronologically subsequent) Aliens. Although the weapons aren’t the exact same model used in Aliens, they prove just as effective at shooting down the Xenomorphs. The scene of Tyler showing Rain how to use a pulse rifled is also framed similarly to Hicks teaches Ripley to use one in Aliens. This reflects how both films placed the female character in the lead role, and played on the romantic tension between both couples.

5 Romulus Has The Same Emergency Phones As Alien: Isolation

No Easy Save Points

One of Alien: Romulus‘ most inventive references isn’t even to one of the films, but rather a video game. Alien: Isolation takes place in between Alien and Aliens, and focuses on Ripley’s daughter Amanda trying to survive an encounter with a Xenomorph (as well as other threats) on a space station. Throughout the game, players could use emergency phones known as “Registration Points” as save points.

These same phones can be seen throughout the space station in Alien: Romulus, and the characters even use one while trapped on the space station to communicate. According to an interview between Games Radar and director Fede Álvarez, the phones can be spotted just before the film takes another dark turn, a direct reference to how the save points would appear in Alien: Isolation right before a dangerous set-piece.

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4 “Get Away From Her, You Bitch”

Andy Gets To Say One Of The Series’ Most Memorable Lines

One of the most iconic lines of dialogue in the Alien franchise comes at the conclusion of Aliens, and it’s recreated in Alien: Romulus. When the Queen Xenomorph sneaks onto the fleeing ship carrying Ripley and the others to safety, the creature dispatches Bishop and advances on Newt. Stepping into a loader exo-suit, Ripley yells “get away from her, you bitch” and attacks the creature.

A similar moment happens in Alien: Romulus when a Xenomorph corners Rain in an elevator shaft and moves in for the kill. Catching the pulse rifle and bringing the Xenomorph down to the ground with a series of shots, Andy repeats the line to the now-dead Xenomorph. It’s a fun way to reference one of the most memorable beats in the iconic sequel and still fit it into the overall story of Alien: Romulus, cementing Andy’s protective love for his “sister,” Rain by having him showcase the same inner resolve as Ripley.

3 The Alien Hybrid Sets Up Alien: Resurrection

Alien: Romulus Isn’t The First Time The Series Fused A Human With A Xenomorph

The third act of Alien: Romulus introduces a horrifying new Xenomorph/Human hybrid. This is the result of Weyland-Yutani’s efforts to create a means by which they can forcibly “evolve” humanity to survive the perils of space travel and colonization. This underscores their efforts in other films to procure a Xenomorph to experiment on, with Rook confirming their plans to modify humans with Xenomorph elements.

This quietly gives Alien: Romulus a thematic connection Alien: Resurrection, which is technically the last entry in the series chronologically. That film largely focuses on a clone of Ripley, who has been created with a mixture of human and Xenomorph DNA. Although the Hybrid isn’t as advanced as Ripley 8, they highlight the consistent motivations at the heart of the villainous corporation, and how even centuries later they’re trying to find ways to fuse humans with Xenomorphs.

2 How To Defeat An Alien

A Tried And True Method

Both Alien and Alien: Romulus end on a similar beat, with their matching heroes even going through similar efforts to bring down the deadly monster chasing after them. In both Alien and Alien: Romulus, Ripley and Rain are forced to confront an alien. Both don similar space suits and strap themselves to the ship, before exposing the creature to the vacuum of space. Despite using the same strategy though, both instances have enough unique elements to make them stand out from one another.

In both cases, the creature initially survives the attempt but is eventually knocked off the ship and left to die in space. However, the Xenomorph is not able to reach Ripley once it’s ejected. The hybrid of Alien: Romulus actually makes it back to Rain and even cracks her visor before it’s eventually knocked off. It’s also worth noting that while the Xenomorph Hybrid was shown to be a durable creature, Rain’s efforts severely injured the creature in a way that the original film didn’t seem to showcase.

1 The Final Message

Alien: Romulus Ends The Same Way As Alien

Another key similarity between Alien and Alien: Romulus comes in the respective film’s final moments. After successfully defeating the alien chasing after them and ejecting into space, both Ripley and Rain close out their respective movies by narrating a mission log to summarize their current status. This is played alongside the characters stepping into a cryogenic pod so they can sleep through their cosmic travels.

This shared beat further highlights how Rain works as a modern answer to Ripley, having survived a similar deluge of threats and come out the other side triumphant. It also leaves the door open for future films to revisit Rain and Andy as they make their way across the cosmos. It’s the last of many connecting threads between Alien: Romulus and other entries in the series, and reinforces the idea that the new film will drive the future of the series going forward.

Source:Games Radar

Alien: Romulus 3.5

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.

Director Fede Alvarez Studio(s) Scott Free Productions , 20th Century Writers Fede Alvarez , Rodo Sayagues , Dan O’Bannon , Ronald Shusett Cast Cailee Spaeny , David Jonsson , Archie Renaux , Isabela Merced , Aileen Wu , Spike Fearn Franchise(s) Alien

Alien: Romulus’ 11 Easter Eggs, References, & Connections To 1979 Original