While both of Scott’s Alien prequels had their strengths and weaknesses, one disappointing aspect of Alien: Covenant is that Noomi Rapace’s Elizabeth, the hero of Prometheus, doesn’t return. After surviving the events of Prometheus, Elizabeth certainly proves herself a worthy successor to Ripley, but she’s killed off-screen before Alien: Covenant begins. There’s certainly an argument to be made that Elizabeth’s return would have improved Scott’s divisive prequel film and added to the narrative cohesion between the two movies.
From what’s been shown off from Alien: Romulus so far, Rain could be a new Ripley-like protagonist who returns in potential future films. After two Alien entries in which all the human characters die by the end credits, the franchise has an opportunity to begin a larger arc for Rain in which she grows and evolves over multiple movies. It remains to be seen just how similar Rain actually is to Ripley, but she’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting protagonist for Alien: Romulus.
It’s not entirely clear yet exactly what the connection will be between Alien: Romulus and this age-old legend, but brothers Romulus and Remus evidently don’t see eye-to-eye on a crucial issue. This could be a hint that the sibling dynamic aboard the ship in the film will be one fraught with discontent.
From a broader perspective, the story of Romulus and Remus is about the founding of one of the greatest empires of all time, perhaps teasing that the film will end with the birth of something grand (or terrible). Spaeny’s character, Rain, might be the Romulus of this story, potentially setting her up as the architect of something that hasn’t yet been revealed.
How exactly the Alien franchise’s classic Xenomorph factors into this connection between the two stories also remains to be seen. Many questions remain about Alien: Romulus, and the true meaning of the title may not be revealed until the movie actually comes out.
