Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Alien: Romulus!
Summary
Alien: Romulusfeatures experiments on black goo as a major story beat, and here’s what the goo means and how it connects to Big Chap from the originalAlien. Big Chap is the common nickname for the Xenomorph from Ridley Scott’s 1979 classicAlien, and while it has become one of the most iconic movie monsters of all time, every otherAlienmovie has focused on different types of Xenomorph. However,Alien: Romulusdecides to bring back the franchise’s original Xenomorph, with it playing a major role in the film’s black goo storyline.
Alien: Romulusis finally here, and the film manages to do the impossible bylinking Ridley Scott’sPrometheusandAlien: Covenantprequels with the originalAlienseries. In theAlientimeline,Alien: Romulusis set betweenAlienandAliens, with the film taking place shortly after Big Chap terrorized thecrew of theNostromo. As it turns out, the fight against Ripley wasn’t the last time that this Xenomorph would encounter humans, as the alien comes back in the newest sequel in a big way, connecting to the big twist at theend ofAlien: Romulus.
8 Reasons Alien: Romulus' Reviews Are So Positive
Alien: Romulus’ reviews are in, with critics describing Álvarez’s film as the best Alien movie since James Cameron’s Aliens and a return to the form.
Alien’s Big Chap Helped Weyland Discover The Prometheus Goo
The Goo Returns From Prometheus & Alien: Covenant
TheAlienfranchise’s black goo plays a major role inPrometheusandAlien: Covenant, and it just unexpectedly came back inAlien: Romulus. InPrometheus, the black goo (known as chemical A0-3959X.91 - 15) was found by the prequel’s main cast on the planet LV-223. Seemingly having been created by the Engineers, the black goo has the ability to create, take, and transform life, with David using it to wipe out an entire civilization of Engineers inAlien: Covenantwhile it is also used to create new lifeforms out of deceased and living individuals.
Although the black goo storyline was seemingly over afterAlien: Covenant, it made a surprise return inAlien: Romulus. As Rook reveals to the cast ofAlien: Romulus, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation was able to recover the Xenomorph from the wreckage of theNostromo, allowing it to analyze the terrifying creature. Upon studying the Xenomorph,they were able to extract the black goo from the creature, using it to synthesize more samples of it.
Sometimes referred to as “Prometheus Fire,” Weyland-Yutani decided to run experiments on the black goo in the hopes of using it to evolve human civilization. These experiments took place on theRomulusspace station, but after a Xenomorph was unleashed, the station was abandoned. Thus, the black goo remained in the lab, with it set to suffer the fate of crashing into the planetary ringsuntil the crew of theCorbelanarrived and discovered the samples.
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Alien: Romulus includes a role for original Alien star Ian Holm, who played Ash in the 1979 film. Here’s his character and connections explained.
Why Weyland Wants To Create A New Black Goo
Weyland-Yutani Wants To Forcefully Evolve Humanity
Despite the incredible danger of the pathogen, Weyland-Yutani wanted to harness the power of the black goo, meaning that the company needed to create more of it. As Rook and Andy explain in the film, humans are imperfect beings, meaning that they are not perfect for the company. However, Weyland-Yutani theorized that they could use the black goo to forcefully evolve the humans into perfect beings. This would make them better workers while also completingPeter Weyland’s original vision of becoming a creatorin his own right.
What Went Wrong With Weyland’s Goo Experiments
Alien: Romulus' Rat Experiment Proves Why The Goo Is Dangerous
Although Weyland-Yutani’s use of the black goo didn’t start out as well-intentioned, things went far worse than they could have predicted.Alien: Romulusfeatures footage of a rat that was injected with the black goo after death. Although it initially manages to come back to life, the black goo eventually causes it to mutate into a horrifying monster, with it eventually being killed again. This is reinforced later in the film when Kay injects herself with the black goo only for her baby to be born as a giant, pale, deadly creature.
The bridge betweenAlien: CovenantandAlien: Romulus' point in the timelinestill has some holes, leading to some questions regarding the company’s knowledge of the black goo. The crew of thePrometheusandCovenanthad already discovered that the black goo turned people into monsters, with the synthetic David even using this to his advantage. It isn’t clear how Weyland-Yutani discovered the black goo’s properties without knowing its dangers, as they would presumably have learned about David’s runaway Weyland-Yutani ship from the end ofAlien: Covenant. However, it is possible that they learned about the goo on their own.
Is There Any Black Goo Left After Alien: Romulus?
It Is Headed To An Entirely Different Planet
Despite theRemusandRomulusspace stationsbeing destroyed, the black goo managed to make it out of the ship intact. This is because Rain and Kay take several samples of it back on board theCorbelanbefore escaping the space station. While Kay does use one sample on herself,Alien: Romulusshows that there were several samples with the two characters, meaning that most of these should still be on their ship.
However,the black goo isn’t going back to a Weyland-Yutani planet anytime soon. Instead, it is headed to Yvaga along with the rest of theCorbelan, a planet on which Weyland-Yutani is banned. The company does know that the black goo is on their ship, as they talk to Rook before his death. However, it may be hard to get it back while theCorbelanis on its nine-year journey to Yvaga.
Alien: Romulus Review - Horrifying Sci-Fi Actioner Has The Best (& Worst) Of The Alien Franchise
Somewhere between Alien & Aliens — fitting given its place in the timeline — Romulus serves up blockbuster-level action & visceral horror all in one.
What Alien: Romulus' Goo Reveals Means For The Franchise’s Future
It Could End Up Having A Disastrous Effect On Yvaga
The reveal of the black goo inAlien: Romulusis exciting, as it could mean a lot for the franchise’s future. Despite the expectations of many fans, the return of the black goo means thatthe impact of thePrometheussequels on theAlienfranchise isn’t gone, with the film carrying on the prequel series' biggest storyline. This could mean that tons ofPrometheusstorylines could come back into play, with there even being potential for Michael Fassbender’s David villain fromAlien: Covenantto return.
Alien: Covenanthas shown that the black goo is able to quickly wipe out entire civilizations, and unfortunately for Yvaga, that may happen again. Since the black goo is being transported to Yvaga, the once beautiful planet may suffer the same fate as Planet 4 fromAlien: Covenant. The black goo could decimate every lifeform on Yvaga, turning it into a terrifying hellscape of mutated creatures and Xenomorph. Weyland-Yutani will undoubtedly attempt to get their hands on the black goo before this happens, setting up an exciting sequel toAlien: Romulus.
Alien: Romulus
Cast
Alien: Romulus is the seventh film in the Alien franchise. The movie is directed by Fede Álvarez and will focus on a new young group of characters who come face to face with the terrifying Xenomorphs. Alien: Romulus is a stand-alone film and takes place in a time not yet explored in the Alien franchise.
