What Alien: Romulus' Title Really Means In The New Movie

Summary

  • “Romulus” is the name of a lab aboard the Renaissance space station in Alien: Romulus.
  • The lab’s name is tied to Roman mythology and the story of Romulus and Remus.
  • The movie’s real message revolves around the sibling-like relationship between Rain and Andy.



Alien: Romulus‘ title might not be clear at first, but there is a deeper meaning behind the new Alien movie’s name. Throughout the Alien series, the titles of each new outing have grown more inventive. Alien and Aliens were pretty self-explanatory, and Alien 3 didnโ€™t require much interpretation. 1997โ€™s Alien: Resurrection referred to the fact that the franchiseโ€™s original heroine Ellen Ripley was revived via cloning after she died in Alien 3, while 2012โ€™s Prometheus was named after the mythic Titan who gifted humanity with fire. This aligned metaphorically with Davidโ€™s role in the movie.

David and his creator, Weyland Yutani CEO Peter Weyland, gifted (or arguably cursed) humanity with the Xenomorph thanks to their ill-fated mission. The meaning of Alien: Covenantโ€™s title was initially less obvious, but the movie itself revealed that this was the name of the ship that carried the cast to their doom. The meaning of 2024’s Alien: Romulus leaned more ambiguous upon the original announcement. But, details about the movie and human mythology reveal the truth behind what Alien: Romulus‘ title means.


Related

Why Alien: Romulus Is Rated R: How Scary & Violent The Movie Is

Alien: Romulus is the latest entry in the classic sci-fi/horror series, and the violence in the film easily justifies the R-rating it recieved.


“Romulus” Is The Name Of A Science Lab In Alien: Romulus

The Labโ€™s Name Is Confirmed

The fact that the labโ€™s steel door is emblazoned with โ€œ
Authorised Personnel Only
โ€ means its contents are all the more mysterious.


The in-universe explanation for Alien: Romulus‘ title is tied to the location where the movie’s story takes place. The movie brings a new cast of characters aboard the Renaissance space station as they look to find a way to find new lives. This brings them across two labs aboard the space station named Romulus and Remus. It is from the first module that Alien: Romulus gets its title. The movie is directly connecting its name to the lab aboard the Weyland-Yutani space station filled with alien experiments.

Since Alien: Romulus takes place between Alien and Aliens, the purpose of the Romulus Lab aboard the Renaissance space station is tied to Weyland-Yutani’s continued interest in investigating the nature of Xenomorphs. The lab, although widely abandoned by the time Alien: Romulus‘ cast of characters gets to it, is incredibly dangerous thanks to the alien nature of what it contains. That is why the steel door to get in is emblazoned with “Authorized Personnel Only.” The Romulus Lab, and presumably the Remus lab too, were not for just anyone to wander into.


How Alien’s Romulus Lab Connects To Roman Mythology

Romulus Was The Survivor Of Romeโ€™s Romulus and Remus Myth

Rain (Cailee Spaeny) shades her face with her hand in Alien: Romulus
Image via 20th Century Studios

Much like Prometheus, Alien: Romulus borrows its name from classical mythology. The story of Romulus and Remus is a mythical tale of Romeโ€™s founder Romulus and his ill-fated brother Remus, who were raised by a wolf. Sons of the god Mars, Romulus, and Remus returned to their birthplace to restore their grandfather Numitor to his throne. When they succeeded, the duo set out to establish a city of their own. An argument ensued and, although the details of the death differ depending on the retelling, Remus was killed while Romulus survived to establish Rome.


By using both Romulus and Remus as names of labs aboard the Renaissance space station, Alien: Romulus is unmistakably drawing inspiration from this piece of Roman mythology. That does not mean that the movie is about two siblings who get in a fight and one dies to create an empire. However, the idea of two siblings searching for a new home and encountering trouble along the way is very much connected to the themes and story at play in Alien: Romulus.

Alien: Romulus’ Title Reveals The Movie’s Real Message Is About Siblings

Rain and Andyโ€™s Relationship May Mirror The Story of Romulus and Remus

Andy (David Jonsson) with a fearful expression in Alien: Romulus
Image via 20th Century Studios

According to interviews with both Alvarez and Rainโ€™s actor Cailee Spaeny, Rain and Andyโ€™s relationship is central to the story of
Alien: Romulus
.


The influence of the Romulus and Remus story from Roman mythology makes the double meaning of Alien: Romulus‘ title clear when it comes to identifying the key focus of the movie. The film is built around Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and Andy (David Jonsson), who have a sibling-style relationship, even though Andy is an android and Rain is human. This was confirmed pre-release through interviews with Fede รlvarez and other cast members, as the importance of the relationship between Rain and Andy for Alien: Romulus‘ story crystallized.

The focus on siblings is nothing new for Fede รlvarez’s movies either. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2022, an earlier franchise reboot that he had a story credit on, also focused on a pair of siblings and their troubled relationship before introducing Leatherface to proceedings. Before that, Alvarezโ€™s Evil Dead reboot from 2013 centered on a brother whose attempt to help his sister cure a drug addiction in a remote cabin went horribly awry. Alvarez clearly has a knack for exploring sibling relationships in horror movies, so Alien: Romulus returning to this well-worn trope makes sense.


How Alien: Romulus’ Title Compares To Other Alien Movies

Close up of Xenomorphs face as it looks directly at the camera and drips goo in Alien- Romulus

Alien: Romulus‘ title holds similarities to several past entries in the franchise, specifically Ridley Scott’s prequels. It marks the third straight Alien movie where the subtitle is exactly the same as a major ship or location in the film. Prometheus was named after the Weyland Corp ship that transported Elizabeth Shaw, David, and others to LV-223. Meanwhile, Alien: Covenant carried the same name as the colony ship meant to take Daniels and thousands of others to Origae-6. Alien: Romulus borrowing its name from the lab aboard the space station keeps that trend alive.


But, Alien: Romulus also joins the list of Alien movies that have more than one meaning to their titles. Just as Prometheus drew from Greek mythology and the god of fire to symbolize the introduction of the Engineers and tease David’s interest in creating life, Romulus pulls from Roman mythology when it comes to Rain and Andy’s sibling relationship. These details might not be obvious to anyone who is not overly familiar with the various mythologies, but it helps add extra layers to Alien: Romulus before or after seeing it.