Even after Alien: Romulus, David’s role in the series as a whole remains somewhat unclear. In Alien: Covenant, he seemed determined to use the mysterious Black Goo to create a lethal bioweapon. This resulted in David developing various Neomorphs, murderous monsters that resembled the franchise’s iconic monster but did not quite share its exact iconic creature design. Strangely, Alien: Covenant never explicitly explained whether David invented the Xenomorph, or if the franchise’s titular alien already existed and was originally created by the Engineers whose ancient experiments inspired David.

Any Other Legacy Alien Character Returning In Romulus’ Sequel Could Be Disastrous

Ripley’s Return Could Complicate The Franchise Unnecessarily

Since David’s role in the development of the first Xenomorph remains unclear, there is an obvious role for him in an Alien movie. Any follow-up to Alien: Romulus could give Fassbender’s android a role akin to that of Rook in Alien: Romulus, where he acts as a villainous representative of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, and a more articulate threat than the Xenomorphs themselves. However, Alien: Romulus’s follow-up shouldn’t feature Alien franchise characters other than David, since Scott’s Prometheus changes to the Alien series lore are the only element the series should explain further.

Since Alien: Romulus takes place between Alien and Aliens, the movie’s sequel could reasonably feature characters from Aliens or Alien 3 in of its timeline. To make matters worse, Sigourney Weaver’s Ripely is in cryosleep during the events of Alien: Romulus, meaning the franchise could reasonably justify a comeback from her digitally deaged self. This would be a hokey, unnecessary twist, as would the return of ing characters from Aliens or Alien 3. The self-contained story of Aliens doesn’t require expansion, while Alien 3 was unpopular enough to make any character comebacks a bad idea.

How Alien: Romulus Sets Up David’s Return After The Events Of Prometheus And Covenant

David’s Comeback Makes More Sense After Rook’s Alien: Romulus Role

For over a decade, Scott’s divisive Prometheus has left the question of David’s involvement in the Xenomorph’s evolution a mystery. Alien: Covenant arguably only made this more confusing, proving that David did use the Xenomorph as a weapon but never clarifying if their existence predated this use. The fact that Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley told KCRW’s The Business podcast that he wasn’t interested in the prequel’s depiction of David as the Xenomorph’s creator reaffirms the reality that only the Alien movie timeline can explain David’s role in the series.

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Now Is The Right Time To Watch Ridley Scott’s Divisive Sci-Fi Movie From 13 Years Ago If You Haven’t Already

Ridley Scott's divisive Alien prequel Prometheus has finally been redeemed by Alien: Romulus, which incorporated its plot into the franchise's story.

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An Alien: Romulus follow-up could explain why Fassbender’s android was experimenting on humans and developing Xenomorph hybrids, and whether his work was sanctioned by Weyland-Yutani. The presence of Prometheus’ Black Goo in Alien: Romulus’s lab seems to imply that David was working for the Corporation, but his remote existence on a faraway planet in Alien: Covenant seemingly proved he had gone mad with power and abandoned humanity altogether.

David May Be Too Big Of A Character To Return In The Alien: Romulus Sequel

Fassbender’s High Profile Makes A Minor Cameo Tricky

Unfortunately, it could be hard to get Fassbender’s David back for an Alien: Romulus sequel as he is apt to overshadow the rest of the sequel’s story. Much of what made Alien: Romulus so critically successful was the fact that, although Alvarez’s movie did graft the mythology of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant onto the original movie series, Alien: Romulus still functioned as a scary, intense, self-contained sci-fi horror. The blockbuster was a thrill ride first and an exposition/lore delivery system second.

In contrast, any Alien: Romulus sequel that brings back a star as high profile as Fassbender would need to give him top billing. He would have to be the sequel’s main villain or a co-protagonist, which isn’t necessarily something the creators would want while developing a new story. This approach could work, but it would likely require the sequel to focus primarily on Fassbender’s character. For the Alien franchise to wrap up its story successfully after Alien: Romulus clarified its lore, the next sequel would need to finally center Fassbender’s character instead of relegating him to another scene-stealing ing role.

Source: The Business (via KCRW)

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Alien: Romulus

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Sci-Fi

Horror

Thriller

7/10

209

8.1/10

Release Date

August 16, 2024

Runtime

119 Minutes

Director

Fede Alvarez

Cast

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  Cailee Spaeny

  Rain
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  David Jonsson

  Andy

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Writers

Fede Alvarez, Rodo Sayagues, Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett

Franchise(s)

Alien

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