Upamanyu Biswas
‘Alien: Romulus’ is a science fiction horror film chronicling the exploits of a group of miners from the Jackson’s Star system who embark upon a quest to recover valuable goods from a derelict space station in orbit. The movie’s protagonist, Rain, hopes that by finding the necessary material, the crew can chart a course to the seemingly paradise planet of Yvaga, where she hopes to catch the sunset. Although born and raised in the Jackson’s Star colony, she and her friends have grown weary of the harsh requirements placed on workers by the Weyland-Yutani company. Unfortunately, their dreams of reaching Yvaga take a dark turn when their trip to the derelict station leads to unimaginable horrors.
Yvaga is a Fictional Planet With Vague Ties to a Real Planet
Yvaga is the planet Rain hopes to move to in ‘Alien Romulus.’ It is a fictional planet crafted by Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues with seeming ties to a real gas giant known as HD 63765, which can be found in the Carina constellation in the Southern sky. While it may be based on the actual planet, the depiction of Yvaga in the movie deviates from what is known about the planet currently, most prominently in its composition. As HD 63765 is a gas giant, it is implausible that the planet would have a surface to land on or sunsets to watch from cliffs like Rain envisions in one of her dreams. Therefore, the planet portrayed in the narrative is likely a terraformed version of HD 63765, with all the natural amenities one might expect from an Earth-like atmosphere.
As Rain’s home colony in Jackson’s Star System is devoid of any sunlight and is shrouded under cover of darkness at all times, all inhabitants of the settlement value the preciousness of the sun. Her obsession is so great that the protagonist even dreams of watching sunsets on Yvaga. These brief forays in her mind help her stay motivated and sane while shouldering the toil of mining work. Unfortunately, the Weyland-Yutani company makes it close to impossible for her to escape the prison of her planet and leave for Yvaga, which would take nine years to reach anyway. Subsequently, she teams up with her ex-boyfriend Tyler and his close ones in undertaking a risky mission aboard the derelict remains of the Renaissance Space Station.
The crew faces some terrible challenges while aboard the Renaissance, but in the back of Rain’s head, she never lets go of leaving for Yvaga. An unfortunate aspect of the planet is its protocols against any synthetic units. Although Rain promises to leave for Yvaga with Andy, she does not tell her adoptive android brother that he might be scrapped if he enters Yvaga’s territory. It creates a conundrum for her, mainly because she wants to see the sunset at all costs. Regardless, the planet’s fictional depiction deviates significantly from the real-life planet it purports to be based on, which may be a consequence of creating an immersive future where space colonization is a reality. As such, it remains detached from reality despite sporting some connections.
Jackson’s Star is an Off-World Mining Colony With No Real-Life Connections
Jackson’s Star is the fictional colony that serves as the home of Rain in ‘Alien: Romulus.’ It is a colony conceived by Fede Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues in a similar fashion to earlier settlements depicted in the ‘Alien’ franchise. Parallels can be drawn with Hadley’s Hope in ‘Aliens,’ which is also a dystopian colony run by the Weyland-Yutani company. Rain spends most of her days meeting the requirements of her work hours and somehow striving towards leaving the planet for good with Andy. Unfortunately, it proves to be challenging as the corporation squeezes its workers into desperation and forces Rain to take drastic measures to find safe passage to Yvaga. The colony also plays a pivotal role beyond its initial introduction in the narrative.
The filming for ‘Alien: Romulus’ took place in the city of Budapest in Hungary. However, the scenes featuring Jackson’s Star colony were shot in the Mátra Power Plant, which is located in the Mátra mountains valley at Eromu ut 11, 3272 Visonta in Northern Hungary. In the science fiction reality of the movie, it represents a bleak and undesirable vision of the future. Thus, understandably, the inhabitants of the colony find it a miserable existence, especially without sunlight. Their mental health declines as they work under genuinely harsh conditions, which is attested by the fact that Rain and Tyler’s parents were forced to serve out their contracted work hours and ended up dying in the colony. It is a dark and dreary settlement in the distant reaches of space that does not actually exist.
Read More: Alien Romulus: Where Was the Movie Filmed?
