While the rating of Alien: Romulus has not yet been announced, the reboot looks almost certain to avoid one major blunder the franchise made 20 years ago. The Alien franchise has been through many incarnations. The series started life as a claustrophobic space-set slasher when director Ridley Scott’s Alien arrived in 1979. Director James Cameron’s Aliens transformed the franchise into an action-forward adventure, while David Fincher’s Alien 3 brought the series right back to grim, nihilistic horror. 1997’s bizarre Alien: Resurrection saw Jean-Pierre Jeunet add some unexpected, and not entirely welcome, black comedy to the franchise’s tonal melange.

However, the biggest upset in the Alien franchise chronology came in 2004’s Alien Vs Predator. Directed by Paul WS Anderson, Alien Vs Predator saw the Xenomorph finally face off against another titan of sci-fi horror. However, this hotly anticipated showdown was hated by both critics and fans alike, and its 2007 sequel Alien Vs Predator: Requiem fared no better. There were numerous reasons that viewers rejected Alien Vs Predator including a glacial pace, confusing mythology, and unlikable characters. Many of these issues also plagued Scott’s later Alien prequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, but one element made Alien Vs Predator worse, an oversight that Alien: Romulus’ story looks to fix.