Alien: Romulus' Ending, Explained (2024)

After Ridley Scott kicked off the original Alien in 1979, directors James Cameron and David Fincher took over. Scott himself returned to helm the prequel stories: Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. In 2024, director Fede Álvarez is the latest director to take over the franchise with Alien: Romulus.

The movie is set between the first two films, and follows Cailee Spaeny as Rain. Her crew heads to an abandoned space station, the Renaissance, for a heist. However, they find the place infested with Xenomorphs. It leads to a high-octane, explosive finale that reminds viewers of how scary space can be.

Alien: Romulus Uses the Renaissance For Experimenting

Rain's team are hoping to find cryo-pods to help them get to Yvaga III. However, when the Xenomorphs and Facehuggers begin thinning out their ranks, they realize they're part of something bigger. In time, they locate the android, Rook. He is an homage to Ash, with the movie even using Ian Holm's likeness. He confesses they found the alien from the first movie that Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley jettisoned off into space. They ran experiments on it, unlocking a new form of the black goo from Prometheus.

They saw this as the basis of life, which the bosses at Weyland-Yutani could now use to create cures for human illnesses. This would help humanity in the many colonies across the galaxy. Of course, this company just wants to create an impervious workforce so it could keep mining planets and moons for resources. Unfortunately, the main Xenomorph escaped in the Romulus section of the ship and killed most of the staff.

While the alien was eventually killed, it laid eggs and had many Xenomorph offspring loose to finish off the staff. The ship went dark afterward. That's why Rain's team targeted the derelict station, not knowing they'd find an infestation rather than a payday. Rain is broken over what they stumbled on. Furthermore, she hates the cost they have to pay. Navarro had an alien burst out of her chest after a Facehugger latched onto her and Bjorn was killed due to the acidic blood. Likewise, the pregnant Kay was kidnapped.

Rain is left with her ex, Tyler (Kay's brother), and her android, Andy. The latter was programmed by Rain's father years ago to be a brother to her. Now, its programming is locked into Weyland-Yutani's directive, giving Rook an ally. Andy realizes that humans may have to be sacrificed to keep this threat from spreading. In addition, he has a choice to make over the vials of this healing serum, which is called Prometheus-5. He believes the corporation will use it for good. He's naive, however, as this is just the company's algorithm brainwashing him.

Alien: Romulus Kills Tyler and Unleashes an Angry Rain

Rain's crew eventually tries to get to their vessel. They find Kay, who is being kept alive in a tunnel. They're uncertain if to inject her with the serum, as they don't know what the side effects will be. Sadly, Tyler sacrifices himself to the Xenomorphs to ensure his friends go free. As Andy malfunctions from fighting the beast, Rain goes up in an elevator to get Kay to safety. However, she can't abandon Andy, even if he's not the same robot she grew up with.

Rain becomes a true action hero, as she and Andy take turns saving each other. Rain drops the gravity shield, allowing the aliens to float and become easier targets. After gunning them down, she's left to deftly navigate the pools of acid blood. In time, Andy has to make his big decision. He saves Rain from aliens, knowing that this is a breach of his protocol. He should be focusing on the vials, leaving Rain to die, and killing Kay if she is indeed infected. But Andy's human side overrides his protocol.

Whatever is left of the Weyland-Yutani code is being erased. Rain is grateful in this Aliens prequel, because all they have in this world is each other. They get back to Kay, not realizing she has pumped herself full of the serum to stay alive. This backfires in the worst way possible.

Alien: Romulus Reveals a Terrifying Xenomorph-Engineer Hybrid

The director, Fede Álvarez, quickly details a brutal pregnancy as Kay goes into labor. She births an egg which Rain tries to get rid of, sensing an alien is going to be born. While garnering tools to kill it, the acid melts the floor away and allows the being to escape and grow at an alarming rate. It's a hybrid: a Xenomorph, but with the more humanistic features of the Engineer from Prometheus.

This hybrid is very tall and a lot scarier. Its dark, beady eyes and babylike face creates one of the most haunting visuals this franchise has ever had. Rain finds the "son" devouring Kay before it tries to attack her. This creates a battle that homages the many fights Ripley was in. Rain uses her wits and wiles, setting a trap with the acidic eggshell. It melts through the foundation, creating a decompression pocket that sucks both down into space.

Rain is thankfully hooked to a harness and drops a container down on the hybrid. This crushes the being as the ship flies through planetary rings. Rain is relieved that the nightmare is over and gets back to the control room, where Rook tries to contact her. He wants the goo to go to the corporation, so he lays out instructions. Thanks to the war, the Renaissance has been knocked out of orbit and is about to crash. Unfortunately, the egotistical Rook thinks Rain will use her ship to do his bidding.

Rook is adamant that she must seek humanity's best interests and deliver the substance to his bosses, but Rain doesn't agree. Rook's ship crashes and explodes, killing him and all the monsters on board. Rain is left stricken with grief. She puts Andy in stasis, making it clear they will find a new home in Yvaga III. She leaves a voice log for anyone who finds them, just in case they don't make it. At least someone would know the terror they endured.

Alien: Romulus Is All About a Sibling Bond

The ending of Alien: Romulus hinging on Rain and Andy is quite emotive. For years, they slaved away on a Jackson mining colony to try to earn money and get to Yvaga III, only to be told they had more years to clock. To make matters worse, Rain would have had to hide Andy's identity. Many colonies don't take droids or "synths," and Andy didn't mind being left behind. But Rain wouldn't have it.

Andy wasn't a sentient artificial intelligence to her; he was family. That's why it hurt her that they had to hack him into the Renaissance grid and corrupt him. Having him use the maps to unlock doors was in the interest of self-preservation, but she felt guilty. She risked his life, and he'd never do that to her. As a result, the more she saw him making cold decisions and deeming people expendable to contain this infection, the more she wondered if she really killed him.

In the end, Andy overcame his corruption. He wasn't going to be like Ash, Rook or Michael Fassbender's David machines. They lacked a heart, and just focused on the business goal. Andy's human side might have been suppressed, but enough was there to rescue Rain when she was at the mercy of the Xenomorphs. It leaves fans hoping they survive their slumber and find a new home.

Alien: Romulus is now playing in theaters.

Alien: Romulus

R

Sci-Fi

Horror

Alien: Romulus follows a group of space explorers who discover an uncharted planet with a dark secret. As they investigate, they are hunted by deadly xenomorphs and uncover ancient ruins revealing the planet's terrifying history. The crew must use their skills and technology to survive the relentless attacks and find a way to escape the hostile environment.

Director

Fede Alvarez

Release Date

August 16, 2024

Cast

Isabela Merced , Cailee Spaeny , David Jonsson , Archie Renaux

Writers

Fede Alvarez , Rodo Sayagues , Dan O'Bannon , Ronald Shusett

Main Genre

Horror