Small Details You Missed In The Alien: Romulus Trailer
The full trailer for "Alien: Romulus" has arrived, throwing viewers into the nightmare world of xenomorphs and the Weyland-Yutani Corporation once again. Director Fede Álvarez ("Don't Breathe") and executive producer Ridley Scott seem to be intentionally evoking the first film in the sci-fi franchise. All of those homages play quite well in the trailer footage, boding well for the final cut of the movie, which arrives on August 16, 2024.
Starring Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu, "Alien: Romulus" turns back the clock a bit to the years between Scott's "Alien" and James Cameron's "Aliens." While Sigourney Weaver's Ripley character was adrift in space for 57 years, it seems that the terrifying xenomorphs struck again. This setting explains why so much of the tech and iconography in the trailer looks similar to that of the original film. As such, there are a lot of fun details and Easter eggs in the "Alien: Romulus" trailer that you may not have noticed on your first watch. Let's dive in.
The trailer arrived on the anniversary of the original Alien's birth
This detail may not technically be something that you missed in the actual footage itself, but the second trailer for "Alien: Romulus" was released on June 4, 2024, exactly 98 years before a small xenomorph chestburster will kill and emerge from the body of Kane (John Hurt), the executive officer of the Nostromo. In other words, it's the fictional future anniversary of the first time we see the titular "Alien" come to life.
A computer screen in Ridley Scott's original 1979 film reveals that the story begins on June 3, 2122, with Kane's death taking place the following day. There has been no confirmation at press time from 20th Century Studios that the new trailer was intentionally dropped to subtly commemorate the anniversary, but it wouldn't be surprising, given how "Romulus" aspires to take the franchise back to the glory days of the first two films — both in terms of tone and its place in the franchise timeline (between "Alien" and "Aliens").
It's also somewhat of a freaky reminder that our timeline has already crossed over into the "Alien" timeline, chronologically speaking. The "oldest" filmed event is Peter Weyland's (Guy Pearce) TED talk, which was the subject of a 2012 short film written by "Lost" and "Watchmen" scribe Damon Lindelof. Per its title, Weyland "gave" this speech at a conference in the year 2023.
The new title card is a fun callback
One of the most iconic details from the original "Alien" is its quietly eerie title card, which phases in line by line over the backdrop of space at the start of the movie. The same technique is used at the end of the "Alien: Romulus" trailer. It's a subtle but effective way to evoke the series' origins and a fun homage for longtime fans.
There have been so many "Alien" movies at this point that the series has covered a pretty wide range of subgenres. This little title card Easter egg suggests that "Romulus" is specifically going for the look and feel of the first film — something that's supported by the rest of the trailer as well. From sci-fi corridor crawls and tight vents to the design of the alien itself, the new movie is intentionally evoking Ridley Scott's masterpiece at every turn, which makes sense given that he's still serving as an executive producer.
In space, no one can hear you scream
If there's one thing this trailer for "Alien: Romulus" absolutely nails, it's the tense, patient tone of the first "Alien" movie — though that's mostly because it slyly borrows a fair bit from its predecessor's own iconic trailer.
Released ahead of the movie's 1979 premiere, the original "Alien" trailer has gone down in cinema history as one of the most effective horror/sci-fi trailers ever. Arguably its most memorable element is an small, understated tagline at the end which reads, "In space no one can hear you scream." In a user-voted poll on the film website Shortlist, it ranked as the number-one best movie tagline of all time (followed by those for "The Shawshank Redemption" and "Jaws 2").
In the final moments of the new "Romulus" trailer, the tone shifts from that of a trailer for a modern atmospheric blockbuster to a direct homage to the original "Alien" teaser. In addition to reusing the tagline, the "Romulus'" trailer also cuts out the sound and slowly unveils the title line-by-line, before finally and violently cutting the sound back in. These effects can all be seen or heard in that original "Alien" trailer, and longtime fans of the series will likely find them just as disquieting now as they were over four decades ago.
Some shots intentionally evoke the old movies
In addition to things like the tagline and title card evoking previous movies, the "Alien: Romulus" trailer has some shots that directly bring to mind moments from the franchise's past. In particular, the final shot of the trailer, in which the xenomorph is shown advancing on one of the human characters with its second mouth extended, looks just like the iconic poster for "Alien 3." The lighting, the slow encroachment, the framing — it all feels very intentional.
Other similarities can be seen in some of the corridor shots, which summon up images of the Nostromo from the original "Alien." There's a sense of vacancy in these shots — a creepy openness that, combined with the aggressive lighting (either sparse or bright red), raises the viewer's internal alarm. It's the potential of what you can't see that makes the trailer so spine-chilling, just as it was in the original film. If the finished version holds true to these ideas, "Alien: Romulus" could be one of the franchise's better installments.
A potential cataclysm for the Romulus crew
Until "Alien: Romulus" actually comes out, we have no way of knowing how a new batch of xenomorphs make it onto the titular spacecraft. It could be that the Romulus is transporting specimens already, or they pick up a distress signal. It's a mystery for now, but the new trailer might give us a clue about how the facehuggers get on the ship in the first place.
Near the end of the trailer, as the music fades to nothing and the eerie sounds of silence wash over us, we get glimpses of what is to come. One shot in particular features a meteorite of some kind plowing straight into the ship. Could it be that this is what initially triggers the horrors that the Romulus crew experience throughout the picture?
If the Romulus crew don't land on LV-426 (the original "Alien" planet) themselves, there must be another way that the ship is invaded. While it's unlikely that a full-grown xenomorph is hiding within this meteorite, it is possible that it could house a batch of eggs or maybe even some facehuggers. Given all the vibes we get here of the 2014 survival game "Alien: Isolation," it feels possible — and maybe even likely — that this could be the source of the xenomorph threat.
One death is already spoiled
Though the new trailer is being rightfully lauded online for evoking plenty of fear and intrigue without revealing much about its plot, one main character's death now seems like a foregone conclusion. An as-yet-unnamed member of the Romulus' crew, played by Chinese-American multihyphenate artist Aileen Wu, bears the brunt of the terror in this relatively brief trailer, with three separate sequences — each escalating in severity — clearly telegraphing her imminent demise.
The first (which fans likely saw in the initial "Alien: Romulus" trailer) finds Wu's crew member suddenly ambushed by a jumping Stage 1 xenomorph, also known as a "facehugger." Though she apparently survives this encounter, another skin-crawling sequence shows her trying to identify something moving inside her body, which, as longtime "Alien" fans can surely guess, will almost certainly lead to the next stage of the xenomorph's life cycle — the "chestburster."
Unfortunately for Wu's character, this colloquial name is as accurate as it is disturbing. And if these two scenes weren't proof enough that her character will be one of the first to go in the film, one last shot during the chilling silent portion of the trailer features Isabela Merced's Kay covered in blood and cradling a body only partially in frame. From what we can see, it looks suspiciously like Wu's face in her arms.
Is Rain dodging acidic blood?
A distinct feature of the xenomorphs and their other forms throughout the "Alien" world is their unique acidic blood, which can even cut through metal. We see this throughout the trailer as the acid blood leaks through the Romulus's piping, and possibly even the floor itself. But there's one particular moment in this new trailer that instantly catches the eye, and it's when we see one of our protagonists (likely Cailee Spaeny's Rain) floating through the ship's wreckage with a weapon at the ready, all while dodging liquid drifting in mid-air. Could this be the acidic blood of a fallen xenomorph or facehugger? If so, then the danger is greater than we realized.
If "Alien: Romulus" wanted to make this "Alien" picture even more deadly than before, then the best way to do that is to raise the stakes. The idea that our hero would have to navigate through an acidic field of death, hoping that the xenomorph blood doesn't burn through her flesh, is a concept that only the best of filmmakers might dream up. Given how true to form this "Alien" installment looks already, taking one of the deadliest concepts in the whole series and fleshing it out into something even more dangerous is an exciting prospect.
Romulus is on full display
The "Alien" franchise has always pulled from famous literary works and different cultural mythologies to ground the story in a familiar tale. The name of the ship in the very first "Alien," the Nostromo, is a direct reference to the Joseph Conrad novel (and character) of the same name, a story that "Aliens" likewise pulls from in naming the Marines' transport vessel the Sulaco. And of course, who could forget Ridley Scott's "Prometheus," the "Alien" prequel that echoes the story of the titular Greek titan? Even "Alien: Covenant" had previously been titled "Alien: Paradise Lost" in honor of John Milton's epic poem. In the same way, "Alien: Romulus" ventures into Roman mythology, with a distinct Weyland-Yutani logo to prove it.
In Roman myth, Romulus was the first king of Rome. According to legend, Romulus and his twin brother Remus were fathered by the Roman god Mars but were later left for dead, only to be found in the woods by a she-wolf. She nursed the twins until they were eventually found and raised by humans. Some stories claim that Romulus later killed Remus, while others note his shocking death in battle. Either way, "Alien: Romulus" will likely pull from this legend in more ways than just a title and a cleverly-placed depiction of the character's origins, though we'll have to wait to discover exactly how.
Synthetics rule in the Alien universe
A common thread throughout every "Alien" installment is the inclusion of android characters, often called "synthetics." In the original film, Ash (Ian Holm) was secretly an android, willing to sacrifice the lives of the Nostromo crew to preserve the xenomorph for Weiland-Yutani. In "Aliens," Lance Henriksen plays Bishop, another synthetic who turns out to be more admirable than his predecessor. Of course, there's also Michael Fassbender's David from "Prometheus" and "Alien: Covenant," who's more like Ash than Bishop.
But "Alien: Romulus" is taking an entirely new approach with its synthetic, David Jonsson's Andy, who has a more personal connection to the leading lady, Rain Carradine. "In this one, Rain's brother is a synthetic," star Cailee Spaeny told Entertainment Weekly. "She loves him like her brother, but there are difficulties growing up with a synthetic, and some of the challenges that she faces during the film are related."
Given the film's "Romulus" subtitle, we should expect that these two will undergo some truly dramatic personal challenges, which may even result in the death of one or the other. Still, what makes the movie's take on the synthetic concept unique is the familial bond seemingly forged between Rain and Andy, something that will be exciting to explore come August.