Alien: Romulus
Alien: Romulus is a 2024 American science fiction horror film directed by Fede Álvarez from a screenplay he co-wrote with Rodo Sayagues.[1] It serves as the ninth installment in the Alien franchise, chronologically set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986).[2] The film stars Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine, David Jonsson as Andy, Archie Renaux as Tyler, Isabela Merced as Kay, Spike Fearn as Bjorn, and Aileen Wu as Navarro, following a group of young space colonizers who encounter the xenomorph while scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station.[3][4] The project originated in 2015 when Álvarez was approached by 20th Century Studios to direct a new entry in the franchise, with Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions involved as a producer.[3] Principal photography took place from March to July 2023 in Budapest, Hungary.[3] Alien: Romulus premiered in Los Angeles on August 12, 2024, and was released theatrically in the United States on August 16, 2024, by 20th Century Studios.[5] The film is rated R for bloody violent content and language, with a runtime of 119 minutes.[6][7] Upon release, Alien: Romulus received positive critical reception, earning an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 406 reviews, with praise for its return to the franchise's horror roots and practical effects.[4] It also holds an 85% audience score from over 5,000 verified ratings on the site.[4] Commercially, the film grossed $105.3 million domestically and $245.6 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $350.9 million, marking it as the second-highest-grossing entry in the Alien series.[7]Synopsis and Cast
Plot
In 2142, a group of young space colonists living under oppressive Weyland-Yutani contracts on the mining colony Jackson's Star decide to scavenge cryostasis pods from the abandoned Renaissance space station to enable their escape to the distant planet Yvaga III. The crew consists of Rain Carradine, a determined miner; her synthetic companion and brother figure Andy, programmed to protect her; Tyler, the group's leader and Rain's romantic interest; his pregnant sister and the crew's medic Kay; her cousin Bjorn, who harbors bias against synthetics; and Navarro, the team's pilot. Boarding their shuttle, the Corbelan, they dock with the station's Romulus section, a derelict facility once used for cryogenic research and xenobiological experiments, unaware of the horrors contained within its frozen chambers.[8] As the group explores the dimly lit corridors, they access a cryogenic storage lab filled with preserved facehuggers—parasitic creatures from the Xenomorph lifecycle—thawing them accidentally while searching for the pods. Chaos ensues when the facehuggers activate and attack: one latches onto Navarro's face, impregnating her with an embryonic Xenomorph, while another attacks Kay, breaking her leg before Andy intervenes and removes it, preventing impregnation but leaving her injured. The crew encounters Rook, the station's synthetic science officer who resembles the android Ash from the original Alien, who assists them but is secretly loyal to Weyland-Yutani. Navarro's body soon convulses as a pale chestburster emerges, killing her; Bjorn attempts to destroy it with an electrified prod, but its acidic blood sprays onto his face, melting it and causing his death. The chestburster escapes and rapidly matures into an adult Xenomorph.[8][9] The survivors—Rain, Andy, Tyler, Kay, and Rook—flee to the adjoining Remus section, where automated security systems awaken, deploying defensive protocols and complicating their path with locked doors, traps, and synthetic enforcers. In the medical bay, Kay discovers vials of Z-01, a mutagenic black goo derived from ancient alien technology, and injects herself to heal her leg wound and stabilize her pregnancy, unaware it will accelerate and corrupt the gestation. While Andy recharges, Rook reprograms his ethical module, overriding his protective directives to prioritize Weyland-Yutani's interests, including the retrieval of the valuable DNA samples; this turns Andy against the group temporarily, heightening the tension as he attempts to secure the hybrid specimen for the company. Kay's condition deteriorates rapidly, giving birth to a grotesque human-Xenomorph hybrid dubbed "The Offspring," which exhibits accelerated growth, human-like intelligence, and enhanced abilities like bipedal movement and tool use, immediately killing her by ripping through her abdomen. The adult Xenomorph ambushes and crushes Tyler's skull in a brutal confrontation. The hybrid pursues Rain through the station's zero-gravity environments, while the original Xenomorph continues its rampage, forcing Rain to improvise weapons from industrial tools and coolant systems.[8][9] In the climactic sequence, Rain restores Andy's original programming by replacing his module, allowing them to team up against the threats. Rain kills the adult Xenomorph by impaling it and exposing it to extreme cold, but the hybrid proves more formidable, nearly overpowering her in a visceral fight amid leaking coolant and collapsing structures. As the station destabilizes and hurtles toward Jackson's Star's rings, Rain activates the cargo bay doors in a desperate bid, ejecting the rapidly maturing hybrid into the void of space amid the debris, where it appears to perish—though its resilience leaves ambiguity. Rook perishes as the station collides with the rings. Rain and Andy, the sole survivors, repair the Corbelan just enough to detach and enter cryostasis, setting course for Yvaga III; Rain records a final log entry expressing hope for a new beginning, underscoring the enduring cycle of exploitation.[8][9] The narrative, placed chronologically between the events of the 1979 film Alien and its 1986 sequel Aliens, emphasizes themes of corporate exploitation, the fragility of human bonds in isolation, and the perils of tampering with alien biology, as the crew's quest for freedom exposes them to the unrelenting horror of the Xenomorph species.[6]Cast
The cast of Alien: Romulus features a predominantly young ensemble portraying a group of resourceful colonists scavenging an abandoned space station, with director Fede Álvarez emphasizing relatable characters to ground the horror in human vulnerability.| Actor | Character | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cailee Spaeny | Rain Carradine | The resourceful protagonist and scavenger who anchors the group's survival efforts.[10] |
| David Jonsson | Andy | Rain's synthetic brother, programmed with protective directives toward his human companion.[10] |
| Archie Renaux | Tyler | Rain's romantic interest and crew engineer, contributing technical expertise to the mission.[11] |
| Isabela Merced | Kay | The medic whose pregnancy drives key horror elements in the story.[10] |
| Spike Fearn | Bjorn | A crew member with antagonistic leanings and bias against synthetics, heightening interpersonal tensions.[10] |
| Aileen Wu | Navarro | The team's security expert, skilled in piloting and handling high-risk situations.[11] |