Michael Fassbender’s David might not be inAlien: Romulus, but the film’s android characters made his fate more confusing. Fassbender starred in Ridley Scott’s twoAlienprequels,PrometheusandAlien: Covenant, as the synthetic/android known as David 8. He was at the center of the planned trilogy, but the cancelation of the third installment meant his story was never concluded. This left a major question heading intoAlien: Romulusregardingwhat happened to Davidin the franchise. There was even some hope Fede Álvarez’s movie would share some new information on his fate and place in the franchise.
Instead of bringing Fassbender back as David or another model of the android, like howAlien: Covenantalso included Walter,Alien: Romulusincluded two other androids. David Jonnson’s Andy was introduced as a new synthetic who acted as Rain’s brother and protector. Then, there was Rook, built to look likeAlien’s Ash and actor Ian Holm, who the crew found aboard the Renaissance space station. Including Rook and Andy might have been done soAlien: Romuluscould avoid addressing David’s status, but the movie only raised more questions about the android afterAlien: Covenant.
Rook’s History In Alien: Romulus Raises More Questions About The David Models
More David Androids Could Have Been Created
The revelation of Rook as an Ash lookalike android inAlien: Romulusis actually quite significant when it comes to David. Ridley Scott’s prequels made the David model the main look for androids created by Weyland-Yutani at that time. This is evident when Walter appears inAlien: Covenantand discusses how he is an improved version of David’s line. However, there is the canonical issue thatthere are no androids who look like David inAlienor the movies beyond. There is a real-world explanation, but the mystery of what happened to the David line of androids in-universe remains.
Ian Holm’s Role In Alien: Romulus Explained
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.
This is where Rook becomes problematic and creates more questions for David.Rook looks identical to AshfromAlien, even though Ash was designed so that no one would know he was an android. It’s clear that even after what went wrong on the Nostromo, people were still comfortable with Ash lookalikes. So, why wouldn’t there still be androids that look like David? IfWeyland-Yutani was still making androids with shared appearancesand troubled histories, then more David models would be acceptable, too.Alien: Romulusdoesn’t shed any light on this, unfortunately.
Andy & Rook Provided Alien: Romulus With Multiple Chances To Explain The Fate Of The David Synthetics
Romulus' Androids Could Have Known About David
Andy and Rook have prominent roles to play inAlien: Romulus, which means the movie had plenty of opportunities to explain what happened to the David synthetics. They are both generations of androids that were created after David. Their connections to and programming by Weyland-Yutani could give them access to information that others might not typically know. The idea thatAndy or Rook could have learned and shared something about the David androidsand what happened to them is feasible then.
Alien: Romulus Gives Me Hope Ridley Scott’s David Prequel Trilogy Can Still Be Finished
I loved Alien: Romulus, and it has reignited my hope for the franchise even though it wasn’t the Alien movie I was initially hoping for.
Perhaps the issue forAlien: Romuluswas finding a natural way to incorporate this into the story. None of the characters involved had any direct relationship with David or knowledge of his actions inPrometheusandCovenant, which makes him easy to ignore. However,Rook’s experiments with the Z-01 black goo hold similarities to what David was looking to accomplishthrough his own experiments with creating life.Alien: Romuluscould have used the black goo experiments from the original xenomorph to tie in David’s story and confirm the fate of the android line.
It’s also worth noting that there is evidence in canon that androids can access information and archives connected to David. AnAliencomic showedDavid became an android messiah, in a sense, with another synthetic accessing archives containing his teachings. Andy and Rook could have done the same either on purpose or by accident inAlien: Romulusand provided audiences with some clarity on David’s fate or that of the entire David android model line.
Alien’s Future After Romulus Could Finally Resolve David’s Android Mystery
Upcoming Alien Movies Can Include David
Alien: Romulusmight not have shed any light on David’s fate, whether there are other androids who look like him, and other mysteries, but the franchise could still provide answers in the future. The film’s success has made developing a sequel a priority for the studios so audiences can see what happens to Andy and Rain afterAlien: Romulus' ending.There’s room for the sequel to connect to David’s fateand bring resolution regarding how Weyland-Yutani went from only making David androids to having Ash as a secret android to Rook and Andy both existing.
Ridley Scott’s New Alien Movie Is Just What The Franchise Needs After Romulus
Alien: Romulus brought the franchise back in an exciting way, and the new Alien movie Ridley Scott is developing is just what it needs next.
The other option is that theAlienfranchise is waiting for Ridley Scott to wrap up David’s story and resolve this mystery. This information was likely going to come inCovenant’s sequel before it was shelved, but now thatScott is developing a newAlienmovie, he could incorporate those ideas. Explaining where David wound up, if Weyland-Yutani stopped making androids that look like him, and why they did if so are all possible subjects that the next film could touch on. It would’ve been great ifAlien: Romulusdid some of this, but there’s still room going forward.
