The events of Alien: Romulus take place between the events of Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s Aliens, with Rain and friends encountering the Xenomorphs approximately 20 years after Alien and roughly 30 years before Aliens. Ellen Ripley does not actually appear in Alien: Romulus, but you might be wondering what the iconic character was up to at that time.
As you may recall, Aliens revealed that Ripley was in stasis aboard an escape shuttle (known as the Narcissus) for 57 years after the events of Alien, which would mean that Ripley is very much still floating around out there during the events of Alien: Romulus. Her journey to the Sulaco is still far from over during the events of Alien: Romulus, if these timelines all line up.
Alien: Romulus does mention that there was one survivor of the Nostromo nightmare, that survivor of course being Ellen Ripley, and we do get a brief glimpse of the wreckage of the USCSS Nostromo at the start of Fede Alvarez’s new movie. That’s the beginning and ending of the Ripley connections in Romulus, at least as far as we noticed on our first watch.
In a chat with the ReelBlend Podcast, however, Alvarez seems to indicate that the whereabouts of Ripley are hinted at in some kind of Easter egg many fans have yet to find.
“I wouldn’t say it’s impossible,” Alvarez told the podcast when asked if it was on the table for Ellen Ripley to be worked into the Romulus storyline. He continued, “Because no one knows exactly what happened in all those years that she’s been drifting away. I cannot say more. I think for legal reasons, I cannot say more. I would say it’s not impossible. I think it’s totally possible that it could’ve been a part of this story somehow.”
“There’s a few things that I’ve hid in that movie that is the answer to this question,” Alvarez elaborates a little bit further. “It’s just very well hidden. But they’re kind of hiding in plain sight.”
He goes on to refer to those Easter eggs as “a few clues I’ve planted in the movie,” while noting that “it kind of defeats the whole purpose” if he spills the beans at this stage in the game.
The website AvP Galaxy speculates that the Narcissus escape shuttle may in fact appear in Alien: Romulus, which could very well be one of the Easter eggs that Alvarez is referring to.
Did you spot any other signs of Ripley in the movie? Sound off below!
In Alien: Romulus, “While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.”
