Alien: Romulus offered the perfect chance to bring back Michael Fᴀssbender’s David after Alien: Covenant, yet fumbled the opportunity. The ending of Alien: Romulus teased a lot for the future of the franchise, from a sequel to the movie to more spin-offs in the ever-expanding series. Where the film itself was concerned, though, Alien: Romulus held an interesting spot within the timeline of Alien movies.

Being set between Alien and Aliens, Alien: Romulus naturally had many ties to the original two stories, often regarded as the best-ranked Alien movies. However, the film was also the first theatrically-released Alien movie since Alien: Covenant. This led many to wonder if it would have connections to the prequels constructed by Ridley Scott, despite the divisiveness of Covenant and its predecessor, Prometheus. As it turned out, Alien: Romulus was a bridge between Scott’s prequels and the original films, giving it the perfect opportunity to bring back a character from the former – Michael Fᴀssbender’s David.

The Droid In Alien: Romulus Should Have Been A David Model, Not Rook

David Would Have Made The Covenant Links Even Better

The opportunity in question links to the droid character of Rook in Alien: Romulus. One of the most controversial aspects of the 2024 film was Rook’s inclusion, which used the likeness of the late Ian Holm to bring the droid to life. This was done in an attempt to tie Alien: Romulus to the original film with Rook emulating Ash, yet the divisiveness of using Holm’s likeness and the uncanny valley effects dominated discourse around the scene.

In order to avoid this controversy, Alien: Romulus should have utilized Michael Fᴀssbender in this scene. Not only would the divisive nature of “reviving” an actor who has pᴀssed away via CGI have been avoided, but Fᴀssbender reprising his role as another model of droid would have made sense from a narrative perspective. Moreover, Fᴀssbender’s inclusion would have felt more organic, rather than relying too heavily on nostalgia.

Alien: Romulus’s Black Goo Storyline Means “David” Would’ve Fit Right In

Thanks To Ties To The Prequels

As already alluded to, Fᴀssbender’s inclusion in Alien: Romulus as “David” or another model of droid would have tied perfectly to the overall narrative of the franchise. Alien: Romulus tied back to the events of Prometheus and Covenant via the inclusion of the black goo and its links to the origins of the Xenomorph. Therefore, Fᴀssbender appearing – who was vital to those two movies – would have fit thematically.

Fᴀssbender’s droids, specifically David, were fascinated with the origins of Xenomorphs. This linked to the Engineers from Prometheus, with Alien: Romulus‘ Black Goo storyline tying all of this to the original films. With all of this in mind, Fᴀssbender appearing would have provided the perfect bridge between the Alien prequels, Alien: Romulus, and the original series, emulating the fact that the 2024 film itself similarly served as a bridge between the disparate parts of the Alien franchise.