For those of us who love the noisy auteurism of the Alien movies, the franchise’s wild tonal shifts have always been more feature than bug. Each film plays to the strengths of their directors, shifting the focus from anticapitalism to militarism to masculinity. And while Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus may indulge the director’s passion for killing young adults onscreen in terrible ways, it also serves an important role within the broader Alien franchise. Alien: Romulus carries over key concepts from Ridley Scott’s prequels to confirm synthetics as the true star of the series.
While synthetics are present in each of the Alien movies, Scott’s prequels are the first to put their unique consciousness at center stage. Michael Fassbender’s performance as David — a Mary Shelley-esque exploration of how mankind’s creations can come to resent the failings of its makers — may be the emotional anchor of both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, but Scott’s emphasis on David’s perspective was often held as a disconnect between franchise and fans. Those hoping for more sci-fi monster movies were surprised to find two films waxing poetic on genetic engineering and artificial intelligence. For many, the currency of the franchise is corporations and creatures, and synthetics are best kept as an engaging footnote on the margins of the movies.
