Alien Romulus undone by a paper-thin plot structure

Alien: Romulus directed by Fede Álvarez is the nth instalment in the Alien franchise. Though the story explores various human desires, it soon sacrifices them in favour of the most familiar arc of tranquillity. Mythosis, with the help of 4 mythological tales has extracted the plot structure of the movie to estimate and unlock its potential.

1. Mythological tales reveal the invisible plot structure of any story

1A. 89% of the events are borrowed from 4 mythological tales

Tyler's quest is driven by the desire to find an elusive person/object and mirrors the tale of Jason from Greek mythology. Jason rallies argonauts to help him acquire the Golden Fleece. Similarly, Tyler convinces Rain & Andy help him steal cryostasis pods.

Xenomorph has an underdeveloped quest of power. It is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the quest of Ravan from Hindu mythology.

Andy’s quest is driven by the desire to serve a clan/order and mirrors the tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Andy shield their clan & its members from any danger.

Rain’s quest is driven by the desire to be in safe surroundings and mirrors the tale of Odysseus from Greek mythology. Both Odysseus & Rain want to go home but are stuck in inhospitable territory.

Rook has no quest.

Detailed mirroring of each character to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”

1B. 32 mythological tales are the source of all stories, even the untold ones

Human beings are driven by 16 fundamental desires. Every desire, whether encountering fulfilment or unfulfillment, gives rise to two distinct quests. Thus, a spectrum of 32 unique quests mirrors every human desire.

We have discovered mythological tales from across civilizations that uniquely portray each one of these 32 human quests. While each mythological tale stands as a distinct quest, the true magic unfolds when these tales are combined. This synergy is evident in the epics of Odyssey and Ramayan, where various universal quests seamlessly intertwine.

Combining any five tales from the 32, generates a staggering 24 million unique story plots. Take it a step further, by combining six tales the possibilities explode to an astounding 600 million!

The unique plot structure of Alien Romulus is # 478,222. It emerges from interweaving the tales of Jason, Ravan, Hanuman & Odysseus.

2. Plot structure potential of Alien Romulus: $87-125MM

2A. Plot structure evaluation of Alien Romulus

An analysis of Blockbuster, Hit & Flop plots has led to the discovery of Mythosis Code. The Code reveals the story principles shared by all Blockbusters. We use the Code to estimate a story’s potential.

All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Alien Romulus uses 3 universal quests of Expedition, Honour and Tranquillity. The quest of Power is underutilised.
In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Tyler mirrors the quest of Expedition. Andy mirrors the universal quest of Honour. Rain mirrors the universal quest of Tranquillity.
Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Tyler borrows 8% of events from the quest for Expedition. Andy borrows 10% from the quest of Honour. Rain borrows 38% from the quest of Tranquillity.
Blockbusters interweave different quests to create a tight plot structure. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. The quest interweaving score of Alien Romulus is 0.33 and is below par. An example of interweaving the quests of Rain & Andy:

2B. Plot structure is the most important but least understood element of storytelling

Any plot structure that borrows events from at least 3 mythological tales has high resonance. In our own lives, each one of us identifies with at least one quest to fulfil a basic human desire. The more quests woven into a story, the wider its appeal.

The nature of mythological tales used, makes the plot structure fresh & unique.Besides, appealing to a larger audience size the interweaving of various human desires creates a unique and original story.

Interweaving mythological tales makes the plot structure cohesive. Stories become seamless when characters are woven with each other through their quests and not merely by relationships.

Characters are consistent when they mirror a single mythological tale. Characters pursuing more than one quest appear confusing due to their divergent desires.

Borrowing 35% or more events from each mythological tale strengthens both the plot structure & character. The plot structure becomes flat when characters borrow less than the threshold. Each mythological tale has multiple twists & turns hence no forced injection is required. Characters become layered & complex when their journey is deep.

2C. Measuring the revenue potential of Alien Romulus

The script of Alien Romulus relies heavily on Odysseus’ tale rather than multiple tales. Except for Rain & Andy none of the other character quests are interwoven.

We have created an algorithm by assigning weights to the principles of The Mythosis Code. The algorithm calculates the potency of a story’s plot structure and estimates its corresponding audience appeal.

Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audience. Alien Romulus has a script potential score is 0.07 and the movie will appeal to 2.12 – 2.60% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $87 – 125MM in the domestic market.

3. The ideal plot structure of Alien Romulus

We have identified 32 universal quests that represent every human desire. These quests are the superset of thousands of stories across cultures that reflect our collective subconscious. Each quest has a structured sequence of events divided into 5 major arcs.

We map a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale (universal quest) which reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. The ideal Plot Structure is constructed by plugging these gaps with the missing events from the tale. These events strengthen both the journey of characters as well as the weaving of quests without altering the story.

3A. Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts

Quest 1: Tyler mirrors the universal quest for Expedition

Tyler’s desire for Expedition stems from the need to find an elusive object. The tale of Jason from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Expedition.

Quest 2: Andy mirrors the universal quest for Honour

Andy’s desire for Honour stems from the need to serve ones’ clan/order. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.

Quest 3: Rain mirrors the universal quest for Tranquillity

Rain’s desire for Tranquillity stems from the need to be in secure surroundings. The tale of Odysseus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Tranquillity.

3B. Gaps in the current plot structure

The ideal plot structure of Alien Romulus (#478,222) is a blockbuster plot structure. This plot structure interweaves 4 universal quests of Expedition, Power, Honour & Tranquillity. The current plot structure of Alien Romulus borrows only a part of this ideal plot structure with Rain’s quest being the closest.

The biggest gap is the magnitude of the plot structure. This is due to the non-existent quest of Xenomorph and partial quests of Andy & Tyler.

The shallow quests of characters (barring Rain) make interweaving of quests difficult and results in a disjointed plot structure.

3C. Unlocking the hidden potential

The ideal plot structure enhances the current revenues by ~5X.

The ideal plot structure has a well-developed quest for Xenomorph. The Xenomorph mirrors events from the tale of Ravan in Hindu mythology. Building Xenomorph’s quest also helps in deepening the quests of Andy and Tyler. It also gives Rook an underdeveloped but meaningful quest.

The quest of Ravan is mirrored by Agent Smith in The Matrix and Bowser in Super Mario Bros

Tags: 2024, 20th Century Studios, Blockbuster movies, Brandywine Productions, Expedition, Fede Álvarez, Honour, Jason, Mythology, Odysseus, Plot Structure, Prediction, Rodo Sayagues, Scott Free Productions, storytelling, Tranquillity, TSG Entertainment