'Alien: Romulus' Ending Explained: What happens to Andy? Fede Álvarez's film sets up potential sequel
Contains spoilers for 'Alien Romulus'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Alien: Romulus', the seventh installment to the acclaimed 'Alien' franchise brings back the terrors of Xenomorphs in an engaging sci-fi plot set between the events of Ridley Scott's 'Alien' (1979) and James Cameron's 'Aliens' (1986).
Introducing a dystopian setting of an abandoned space station, the story takes place in the year 2142 and follows the adventures of six young space colonizers upon their encounter with Xenomorphs while scavenging for scraps. The film delivers an explosive end while paving a path for another intriguing installment.
Rain's escape plan suffers a setback in 'Alien: Romulus'
In the second part of the movie, the Xenomorph unleashes chaos, sparking a desperate struggle for survival among the crew. Their mission is to find enough fuel to keep their stolen cryopods running during deep space travel. But things quickly spiral from bad to worse. One by one, the crew members face tragic fates, leaving only Rain (Cailee Spaeny), Andy (David Jonsson), and Kay (Isabela Merced) to fight for survival.
The surviving trio devises a plan to escape, aiming to reach an elevator that leads to their ship. However, this plan is fraught with danger, as the path is obstructed by a massive Xenomorph nest. As they make their way to escape, Rain's android brother, Andy, malfunctions and collapses. He doesn't make it to the elevator and Rain decides not to abandon him.
Is Rain able to save Andy in 'Alien: Romulus'?
Despite the imminent danger, Rain returns to save Andy. She quickly removes his malfunctioning chip and restores his original settings. Unfortunately, they are soon overrun by Xenomorphs. With the help of a powerful auto-aim gun, they manage to take down the aliens. However, their troubles aren't over: the ship’s gravity generator fails, sending pools of acidic blood floating in zero gravity. The sibling duo must navigate this perilous situation to reach the elevator.
Meanwhile, Kay, who has made it to the ship, realizes she’s running out of time. In a desperate move, she injects herself with a life-threatening experimental serum that the ship’s scientists have been working on. As a side effect of the serum, Kay gives birth to a monstrous human-Xenomorph hybrid, which ultimately kills her. The newly emerged creature wreaks havoc on the ship, injuring Andy. Rain is left to confront this violent threat alone.
An epic showdown follows where Rain attempts to lure the creature to the bottom of the ship with a plan to detach the compartment. However, before she could implement this plan, the ship's hull is breached by acid and everything in the compartment, including the creature, is sucked into space. Luckily, Rain escapes by clinging to a rope.
'Alien: Romulus' ends with a hope of another installment
In the final scenes of 'Alien Romulus', Rain puts Andy in a cryopod with a promise to fix him. She then records an audio log before putting herself to sleep. The film ends ambiguously, leaving their ultimate fate unresolved and paving the way for a potential sequel.
Moreover, several loose ends remain unresolved. The ship still contains vials of the serum. Once Andy and Rain reach a new destination, will the serum be finally put to its intended use or would it birth more hybrids that could spread blood-bath? Also, what would be the fate of the hybrid Xenomorph that now floats in space? Would it reach another planet or is its story over before it could begin?
These unresolved questions set the stage for future installments. We’ll have to wait and see how the film performs both at the box office and in the digital arena.
'Alien: Romulus' is now running in cinemas in the United States.