Alien: Romulus borrows his premise from the 2016 Don't Breathe
Although Alien: Romulus seems like a lighthearted trip back to the Alien franchise, its last teaser shows that the reboot also borrowed a lot of its storyline from another well-known horror film under its own director. Though the plot of every Alien film is different, the main idea of the series stays the same from one to next. Generally speaking, a small group of improbable heroes finds themselves stranded in a remote area where they come upon a Xenomorph—or several Xenomorphs—and this quickly leads to their terrible deaths until a few survivors survive.
Applied to Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, and Alien: Resurrection as well as Alien Vs Predator, Prometheus, and Alien: Covenant, the above synopsis would apply. Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem was among the worst films in the franchise even if it altered the recipe somewhat. Therefore, it is not surprising that the forthcoming Alien reboot Alien: Romulus is resurrecting this great concept. Set between Alien and Aliens, Alien: Romulus sees a group of young inexperienced space travelers besieged by Xenomorphs following the group board the eponymous space station in hopes of scavenging valuables from the abandoned wreck.
Alien: Romulus Plot Like Don't Breathe
If this simple story sounds familiar, that could be because Alien: Romulus isn't following the usual bare-bones formula of the franchise. More precisely, the teaser for Alien: Romulus confirms that the reboot follows the exact same storyline as earlier 2016 horror film Don't Breathe directed by Fede Alvarez. Alien: Romulus's glimpses of the human homeworld of its characters show that poverty and a lack of opportunities drive the heroes to search the Romulus space station; dialogue in the trailer suggests that this qualifies as illegal trespassing and burglary. This all sounds rather similar to the idea of Don't Breathe.
Both films are set in underprivileged neighborhoods where morally dubious young antiheroes choose to rob a place so they would have the money to travel away and start a better life, only to run across more than they bargained for upon arrival. Alvarez borrowing some Don't Breathe's setup makes sense. Comfortably the most popular film directed on a $9 million budget with 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and $157 million box office. Given the 2013 release performed well in both respects, Don't Breathe exceeded Alvarez's previous Evil Dead reboot both critically and commercially, which is quite amazing.
Alien: Romulus Copying Don't Breathe Won't Be A Challenge
By emphasizing horror over franchise history, Alien: Romulus—with a straightforward plot—will probably avoid the prequel errors. Although the resemblance of the plot to the narrative of Don't Breathe would seem like a cause for concern, this is unlikely to prove a problem given the obvious variations between the two films. Whereas Don't Breathe is a grounded home invasion thriller set in Detroit with a very human villain, Romulus is set on a space station and features the famous Xenomorph. Therefore, for the Alien series, Alien: Romulus still seems like a breath of fresh air notwithstanding its inspirations.
Thought Notes Final
Although it's not always a negative thing to borrow ideas from a successful movie, Alien: Romulus's plot resemblance to Don't Breathe could cause comparisons and complaints. Alien: Romulus still has the potential to be an exciting and terrible addition to the Alien series, though, given its unusual environment and legendary Xenomorph as villain.
