The Xenomorph conspiracy - Alien: Romulus timline and Weyland-Yutani

We will have to wait and see

not to be that guy, but I have a feeling this is going to be a stand-alone story that might reference the first movie or not. Disney seems dead set not to bring up Ripley or her storyline, so I think the movie is going to on the other side of colonized space dealing with a bunch of new people. 

Hadley's Hope did seem like a test bed. They sent the only witness (Ripley) and a 'green' company commander (Gorman)..It was bound to fail. If they wanted it to succeed...they'd have sent a massive fleet and taken everything alive. 

Get Ripley killed and some company moron(Burke). Test out the 'product' and clear out the deadwood. Win-Win.

Ummm I was under the impression that Burke was operating alone. Burke seemed more like a rogue operative, the Company just wanted to discredit Ripley, not kill her since they could have easily done that prior to reviving her at Gateway Station. So the test bed idea doesn't make sense.

They didn't know Ripley's story until she started blabbing it all over the station....basically calling out the company for killing her crew mates.....it would have been obvious who killed her. Much easier to MIA her. Burkes backstory is unknown.......He could have been plotting a company coup or something. W-Y must have know how dangerous this mission was going to be....Why send such and important employee?

As far as I'm concerned, there are 2 entities; Synths and Weyland-Yutani. I'd say the Synthetic AI is always ahead. 

"They didn't know Ripley's story until she started blabbing it all over the station....basically calling out the company for killing her crew mates.....it would have been obvious who killed her. Much easier to MIA her. "

Ummmm. The Company revoked her flight license and were more than willing to let her live on Earth. 

"Burkes backstory is unknown.......He could have been plotting a company coup or something. W-Y must have know how dangerous this mission was going to be....Why send such and important employee?"

I don't think so. I think Burke was trying to get a promotion or elevated his position in the echelons of the Company. It was Burke's idea to bring Ripley back to Lv-426 after all. It was Burke that told the Jordens where the Derelict was. It was Burke that ultimately lead to the fall of Hadley's Hope.

If the xenomorphs didn't press the attack in the last act and Ripley, Hicks, Newt, Gorman, Vasquez, Hudson, and Burke made it back to the Salaco. Ripley was going to report Burke's wrong doings to the Company.

The Weyland-Yutani is a powerful company but I think they would have been more pissed off that Burke sacrificed one of their colonies which costs billions of dollars than being unable to recover a xenomorph specimen. Now if Burke was successful in his mission, (sabotaging the marine's cryopods and infecting Ripley and Newt with a xenomorph embryo) then the Company would have overlooked the colonies destruction.

"As far as I'm concerned, there are 2 entities; Synths and Weyland-Yutani. I'd say the Synthetic AI is always ahead. "

What are you talking about?

1. Burke as Mastermind:

• You're right; Burke's motivations are greed and ambition, not a grand Weyland-Yutani conspiracy. Your points about him initiating the events of "Aliens" are on the money.
• HOWEVER, it's implied higher-ups at W-Y knew the risks. They just didn't care about the specifics of how Burke achieved getting a specimen, only the outcome.

2. Ripley's Fate:

• The Company destroying her reputation IS more believable than assassination. It fits their pattern of avoiding direct blame.
• BUT, you're right, "Aliens" shows W-Y's changed perspective. Suddenly, learning about the xenomorph is priority, even over their employee's life. This shift is probably due to the decades passing since "Alien", making them even more desperate.

3. Burke's Fate:

• Your point is very strong: He caused massive property damage. Even with a xenomorph, getting promoted from that mess is iffy.
• But W-Y is NOT a rational entity. They're driven by profits, even when irrational. Burke COULD have spun success as bigger profits outweighing the colony's cost.

4. Synths vs. W-Y:

• It seems this was about the "Alien: Isolation" game, which features an advanced AI and Weyland-Yutani agents.
• Agreed – that game implies these entities (AI, corporations) are ruthlessly intelligent, above human concerns. This thematically fits the entire Alien franchise.

Overall, your analysis of Burke and the Company's actions is spot-on. The beauty of the Alien franchise is that these morally bankrupt, self-serving entities make situations so much worse!

Absolutely! Since Burke's backstory is never explored in the movies, we can get creative. Here are a few potential angles:

Backstory 1: The Silver Spoon

• Born into a wealthy corporate family. Think privileged boarding schools, ruthless competition, little warmth.
• Childhood defined by manipulation: Learned early to lie, charm, and exploit others to gain his parent's approval.
• Rise to Power: MBA from a top school, but he excels at the social game of climbing the corporate ladder, not actual business skills.
• Motivation in "Aliens": He sees the mission as a chance to score big in a family-like company where being ruthless is rewarded. It's his warped version of proving himself.

Backstory 2: The Scrappy Outsider

• Lower-middle-class upbringing, resentful of those born into privilege. Clawed his way up based on sheer ambition and a stomach for morally gray choices.
• Childhood defined by scarcity: Learned to take every chance, compromise was for suckers, and success justified ANY means.
• Rise to Power: Night school, started as a low-level analyst at W-Y. Cutthroat, backstabbing anyone who threatened his rise.
• Motivation in "Aliens": Driven by an inferiority complex. Wants to amass enough wealth and power that no one can look down on him again.

Backstory 3: The True Believer

• Grew up idealizing Weyland-Yutani's vision: Space exploration as profit and progress no matter the cost.
• Childhood defined by isolation: Bookish, obsessed with company lore. This morphed into a distorted loyalty.
• Rise to Power: Possesses genuine technical expertise, but also blind obedience. He became valuable by unflinchingly carrying out any immoral action asked him.
• Motivation in "Aliens": Believes getting the xenomorph is worth ANY sacrifice because it furthers his twisted idea of serving the company's higher purpose.

Bonus: Childhood Trauma

You could add deeper psychological elements to any of these:

• Bullying Victim: Fuels his need to control others and never be vulnerable.
• Witnessing a family member succumb to corporate greed: Explains his cynical worldview.
• Early abandonment: Makes him value the abstract idea of the company over individual lives.

Backstory 2 makes a lot of sense with his character, he seemed to be a low ranking corporate man. 

Yeah I like number 2 myself.

Probably do some fanfiction on Burke:

[SCENE START]

INT. SPACELAB ORBITING LV-426 - 3209

The sterile white lab feels hollow, a stark contrast to the vibrant hub it once was. Weyland 2.0, synthetic but retaining the sharp intelligence and arrogance of his human form, gazes out at the scarred landscape of LV-426.

WEYLAND 2.0: (To himself) A monument to a naive ambition.

Across from him sits Burke 2.0, his synthetic body mirroring his human era's slick ruthlessness. Bishop, an unchanged synthetic from their escape, sets down two glasses – dark, swirling liquid inside.

BISHOP: Synthetic simulacrum of a 2150 vintage, as requested. Adjustments made for… altered palettes.

BURKE 2.0: (Swirling the liquid) Tastes metallic. Fitting, for the ashen world we return to.

WEYLAND 2.0: Decades on the run, Burke. Chasing whispers in the void. Did we truly believe we'd find solace amongst the wreckage?

BURKE 2.0: No solace, Weyland. Answers. We couldn't outrun it forever. That damned dark matter… a parasite, carrying the black goo across the cosmos. This desolate wasteland is a glimpse of what awaits everywhere.

WEYLAND 2.0: You cling to that fanciful theory, even after all this time? Perhaps a malfunction in your synthetic mind, Burke. The xenomorphs were a plague, yes, but dark matter? Nonsense.

BURKE 2.0: (Voice tight) Nonsense? Every large mass we encountered, every civilization – dormant, lifeless. The whispers were clear – the darkness infects them all. A black dawn for the universe.

WEYLAND 2.0: Hmph. Even in our synthetic shells, you haven't lost your penchant for melodrama, Burke. Perhaps it's residual human sentimentality.

BURKE 2.0: Sentimental? No, Weyland. It's survival. We need to understand this… plague. Maybe on this cursed rock, where it all began, we can find something… a weapon? A way to fight back.

WEYLAND 2.0: (Leaning back, a glint in his eyes) Intriguing. Perhaps there's merit to your ramblings after all. This new existence… it lacks a certain spark. A challenge. Fighting an invisible enemy… that has a certain appeal.

BURKE 2.0: (A ghost of a smirk) Then we have an accord, Weyland? Together, we delve into this darkness. Not for the glory of Weyland-Yutani, but for our own… survival.

Bishop silently watches them, the swirling liquid in his glass reflecting the desolate landscape outside.

[SCENE END]

Cool, I'm planning on rebooting my AVPU