Summary
WhileAlien: Romuluslooks like a fun return to the world of theAlienfranchise, its final trailer reveals that the reboot has also borrowed a lot of its plot from another popular horror by its own director. Althoughall theAlienmoviesdiffer in terms of plot, the central gist of the series remains the same from one installment to another. Broadly speaking, a small group of unlikely heroes are stranded in an isolated location where they encounter a Xenomorph (or multiple Xenomorphs), and this soon results in their gruesome deaths until a few survivors prevail.
The above synopsis could be applied toAlien,Aliens,Alien 3, andAlien: Resurrection, as well asAlien Vs Predator,Prometheus, andAlien: Convenant. AlthoughAlien Vs Predator: Requiemchanged the formula slightly, it was also one of the franchise’s worst movies. Thus, it is no surprise that2024’s upcoming Alien rebootAlien: Romulusis bringing back this successful setup. Set betweenAlienandAliens,Alien: Romulussees a group of young inexperienced space travelers besieged by Xenomorphs after the group board the eponymous space station in hopes of scavenging valuables from the abandoned wreck.
This Underrated $100M Sci-Fi Movie That’s Now On Streaming Is Perfect To Watch While Waiting For Alien: Romulus
Before Alien: Romulus arrives viewers should seek out a similarly grim, brutal sci-fi horror from 2017 that has been underrated since its release.
Alien: Romulus Borrows Its Premise From 2016’s Don’t Breathe
Director Fede Alvarez’s Horror Movie Was A Sleeper Hit
If this straightforward plot sounds familiar, that might be becauseAlien: Romulusisn’t just sticking to the franchise’s usual bare-bones formula. More specfiically,Alien: Romulus’s finale trailer confirms the reboot has the exact same plot as its director Fede Alvarez’s earlier 2016 horror movieDon’t Breathe.Alien: Romulus’s glimpses of the human homeworldof its characters prove that struggling with poverty and a lack of prospects drives the heroes to ransack the Romulus space station, and dialogue in the trailer implies that this constitutes illegal trespassing and burglary. This all sounds very likeDon’t Breathe’s premise.
Both movies are set in disadvantaged areas where morally dubious young antiheroes decide to rob a place so they’ll have the money to move away and start a better life, only to encounter more than they bargained for upon their arrival. It is understandable that Alvarez would borrow someDon’t Breathe’s setup. With 88% onRotten Tomatoesand $157 million box office on a $9 million budget,Don’t Breatheis comfortably the director’s most popular movie.Don’t Breatheoutperformed Alvarez’s earlierEvil Deadreboot both critically and commercially, which is doubly impressive considering the 2013 release fared well in both regards.
Alien: Romulus Copying Don’t Breathe Won’t Be A Problem
The Sci-fi Story Makes Alvarez’s New Horror Movie Sufficiently Different
With a simple storyline,Alien: Romuluswill likely avoidAlien’s prequel mistakesby focusing on horror over franchise lore. The plot’s similarity toDon’t Breathe’s story might seem like an issue, but this is unlikely to prove a problem thanks to the clear differences between the two movies.Alien: Romulusis set on a space station and features the iconic Xenomorph as its villain, whereasDon’t Breatheis a grounded home invasion thriller set in Detroit with a very human antagonist. Thus, despite its inspirations,Alien: Romulusstill seems like a breath of fresh air for theAlienseries.
