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Alien: Romulus has finally arrived on the big screen to the delight of sci-fi and horror fans everywhere. And wow, the Alien: Romulus ending sure does pack a punch!
The ninth installment in the Alien franchise is the first entry since 2017's Alien: Covenant, so there's no wonder it was one of the most anticipated upcoming movies of 2024.
Set in-between 1979's Alien and 1986's Aliens, which are two of the best alien movies ever made, Romulus follows a group of young explorers as they come face-to-face with some familiar foes in what they believe to be an abandoned space station.
Helmed by 2013's Evil Dead director Fede Álvarez, the film comes with the promise that it will be a back-to-basics approach that sees the xenomorph unleash its jaws against the setting of a "pure-blood horror movie". And as you may have seen from the first reactions to Alien: Romulus, the third act of the film is pretty wild concluding the sci-fi horror with a jaw-dropping ending.
You may therefore have some questions but have no fear - we are here to help. We've got you covered below with our Alien: Romulus ending explained guide which looks at everything from who bites the dust to whether we will get a potential sequel.
Huge spoilers therefore lie ahead for Alien: Romulus... you have been warned.
And if you haven't seen it already, check out our Alien: Romulus review for our verdict as well as our guide to the best movies and shows to watch before Alien: Romulus if you want to prepare yourself before heading to the theater.
Alien: Romulus ending explained
Throughout Alien: Romulus it is unclear what exactly was going on at the abandoned space station, which is now overrun with xenomorphs and facehuggers. All is revealed though when synthetic Science Officer Rook (portrayed by the late Ian Holm who famously played Ash in the original Alien film) explains everything to the surviving members of our group of young rebels: Rain (Cailee Spaeny), her synthetic 'brother' Andy (David Jonsson), and Tyler (Archie Renaux).
Rook states that mankind's colonies are dying as they are simply too fragile to live in space - and so, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation set out to create the "perfect organism" which they believe will lead to humanity's survival. They therefore set out to find the xenomorph Ripley blasted out into deep space in 1979's Alien, drawing from it its DNA, discovering a gene that is able to slow down and speed up your metabolism.
Calling it a "divine gift to humanity", Rook says that this "miracle" should be taken to the company for further development to then be used on people, emphasizing that we can no longer "wait on evolution". Clearly connected to 2012's prequel Prometheus we also even get an explicit name check, as Rook also calls the compound the "Prometheus file".
Our trio then take the compound as well as some weapons - the pulse rifles we have also seen in Aliens, of course. Heading deeper into the ship they discover a corridor filled with xenomorphs, facehuggers, and bodies, as well as their friend Kay (Isabela Merced) who is somehow still breathing, despite being taken by an alien earlier and presumed dead.
As they head towards their ship, Tyler is killed by xenomorphs in an act of sacrifice saving Rain, but Andy is also hit during the fight. Rain and Kay leave him behind and safely make it to their destination. However, not wanting to leave Andy behind after all, Rain decides to go back for him, leaving Kay alone on the ship with the compound. She injects herself with a vial of it and well, this isn't going to go well is it...
Rain reaches Andy who lets her take the module out, allowing him to return back to normal. His bad dad joke about zero gravity gives them a smart idea - they turn off the gravity generator and start shooting the aliens, letting loose their acid blood which starts to burn through everything.
It does the trick and they reach the elevator which will take them to the ship, but Rain loses grip of her pulse rifle. As the gravity turns back on she starts to fall down the shaft, but a xenomorph who survived the gunfire grabs her. Don't worry though, Andy is on it, grabbing the pulse rifle and shooting it dead quoting Ripley's famous line from Aliens: "Get away from her you bitch!"
The long-awaited impact with a nearby planet's rings then happens, but thankfully Rain and Andy made it to the ship in time, joining Kay. Rook sends them a message saying that he has told the company HQ about the situation and they will reach out to get the compound. Rain tells him exactly where to stick it though, with Rook then dying as the space station he's stuck on explodes.
Back on the ship, Kay gives birth to a strange looking baby, which drops down to the cargo bed below. Yep, you guessed it, this is a xenomorph-human hybrid that is known as 'The Offspring' which grows very quickly to become quite the gnarly beast. After attacking Andy and killing Kay, it fights Rain who knows she has to be smart in this battle.
Attaching herself to a hook, Rain begins to release the levers that will open the cargo hold, which after some struggle she does so successfully, opening it up to deep space. The Offspring gets blasted out into it but not after trying to grab Rain once more, attempting to crush the helmet of the spacesuit she is wearing. However, it's Rain one, The Offspring zero, as it dies.
Returning once again to the ship, Rain sets course for the planet Yvaga, the destination the group were hoping to reach right from the start for a new beginning. Rain puts Andy in a cryo-chamber promising to fix him and leaves one last pilot's log stating that she doesn't know if they will reach the planet, but if something comes for them, she will take it on.
Who dies in Alien: Romulus?
As perhaps expected, Alien: Romulus features plenty of death, with only two surviving characters remaining at the end - Rain and Andy.
The first of the group to die on the station is Navarro (Aileen Wu), who is attacked by a facehugger and killed by a chestburster emerging out of her body. Navarro's boyfriend Bjorn (Spike Fearn) is the next victim to bite the dust (rather horribly actually) after he attacks an alien, with its acid blood dripping onto him, disintegrating his body.
Sometime later Tyler sacrifices himself mid-battle with a xenomorph to save Rain. Kay is then the last of the group to die, being murdered by her own child shortly after giving birth - The Offspring, which is a human-xenomorph hybrid.
Another notable death is that of the devious synthetic Science Officer Rook, who meets his end (finally) when the station hits the rings of a nearby planet, exploding upon impact.
What happens to 'The Offspring'?
'The Offspring' is the name given to the terrifying creature that pregnant Kay gives birth to. Injecting herself with the compound made from the xenomorph DNA (known as the 'Prometheus file' connecting it to that movie), her child is part human and part alien, which proves to be a pretty nasty combination. It quickly grows to become a hideous beast, swiftly killing Kay and attacking her friends, until Rain blasts it out into deep space.
In the credits Robert Bobroczkyi is listed as the actor who portrays The Offspring, a former college basketball player known for his incredible height, standing at a whopping 7 foot 5 inches tall.
Does Alien: Romulus set up a sequel?
Given that the film ends with the survival of both Rain and Andy, you may be wondering whether there will be a sequel to Alien: Romulus? Whilst one hasn't been given the green light yet, there is a good possibility that it could be, especially since there is still 37 years before we reach the events of Aliens meaning there is plenty left to explore.
And with regards to what story that would tell, there isn't one explicitly set up but we would expect a sequel to see both Rain and Andy once again fighting xenomorphs in space. This is an Alien film after all... The compound would likely play a part too given that they still have vials of it in a storage unit on the ship.
Alien: Romulus is out in theaters worldwide now. For more sci-fi action, here's how to watch the Alien movies in order, everything we know so far about the upcoming Alien TV series, and our favorite Alien facts that will blow your mind.
