Romulan The Romulans were a humanoid race from the planet Romulus . The Romulans were biological cousins of Vulcan s , descended from those who rejected Surak ' s reforms during the Time of Awakening . The Romulan Star Empire was the Romulan polity and one of the major powers in the galaxy by the 24th century . History . Origins . Spock once theorized that the Vulcans might be descendants of Sargon ' s species . ( ) In 2369 , evidence was discovered that several species including the Romulans , and therefore also the Vulcan s , go back to DNA seeded on many planets by ancient humanoid s 4 . 5 billion years ago . ( ) When Surak ' s reforms of embracing logic al principles and rejecting emotion s spread rapidly across Vulcan in the 4th century , a minority rejected Surak ' s ideals . They were described as " " those who march beneath the Raptor ' s wings " " , a symbol later to be used in the Romulan Star Empire , and eventually departed Vulcan after losing a nuclear war called the Time of Awakening . At some point , they settled on twin planets that became known as Romulus and Remus , thereby laying the foundation of the Romulan Star Empire . ( ; ; ) Relationship with Humans and the Federation . Romulans were aware of Humanity for some time before Earth knew of them . Infiltrating the highest levels of the Vulcan High Command , the Romulans were impressed and seemingly confused by Humans . inadvertently encountered a Romulan minefield at one point , officially the first time Humanity became aware of the Romulans . Even after fighting the Earth - Romulan War , it wasn ' t until the 23rd century that Humans actually made visual contact with Romulans . ( ; ) After the Treaty of Algeron went into effect , the Romulans retreated into political and social isolation from the Federation . In late 2364 , an unprovoked attack on a Romulan outpost near the Federation neutral zone occurred . The Romulans initially suspected the Federation had executed the attack but it was later learned that the Borg may have been responsible . This event marked the end of Romulan political isolationism with the Federation . ( ) Relationships with other species . In keeping with their xenophobic and arguably racist attitudes , the Romulans tend to conquer species rather than form alliances with them , and individual Romulans tend to treat other species with varying degrees of disdain . That did not prevent them from employing diplomacy when it suited their purposes . Soon after their emergence from a century of isolation in the mid 2260s , they had established at least two embassies with the Federation . One such embassy was a three - way endeavor on the planet Nimbus III , along with the Klingon Empire , and the other was on Earth itself . ( ; ) Klingons and Romulans once shared an alliance for a number of years , beginning in the 2260s . Over the years , a number of incidents , including the Khitomer Massacre , led the Klingons to develop a deep - seated hatred for the Romulans , and the Romulans were arguably the species that Klingon society in general despises most of all . ( ; ) A Cardassian embassy existed on Romulus for a time , and Elim Garak was " employed " there as a " gardener , " suggesting that the two species maintained an active diplomatic relationship . ( ) In 2371 , Romulan and Cardassian agents in the Tal Shiar and the Obsidian Order cooperated in an attempted attack on the Dominion . ( ) The Romulans had cut ties with the Cardassians by the time they entered into the Dominion War , but precisely when their relationship ended prior to this was unclear . One common saying among the Romulans was " " Never turn your back on a Breen . " " While this statement could be taken as partially humorous and not in itself indicative of hostilities between the two species , the Breen Thot ' s apparent condition that the Breen be given Romulus in exchange for their help in the Dominion War suggested there was some degree of unfriendly history between the two . ( ) The species that Romulans seem to dislike most , however , were Vulcans , and this feud goes back many centuries . The two powers once fought in a war that lasted 100 years which was ignited due to a misunderstanding created by one of Q ' s self - destructive stunts . ( ) The two species remained distrustful of one another for an incredibly long time , but some Romulans grew tired of this , and a grassroots movement for reunification of the two species was active for a time on Romulus . It was generally assumed that after the split , Romulans and Vulcans were unaware of their common ancestry until the 23rd century . ( ; ) Catastrophe . In 2387 , a star close to Romulus went supernova . Ambassador Spock attempted to prevent the supernova from striking the star using red matter , but he was unsuccessful and Romulus was destroyed . A mining vessel , the " Narada " , survived and was captained by Nero , who exploited the black hole ' s creation of a time warp into the past to attack Spock ' s home planet of Vulcan in revenge and planned to destroy all planets of the Federation so that Romulus could be " free " and possibly conquer everywhere else . The first part of Nero ' s plan was mostly successful as Vulcan and most of the Vulcan species was destroyed . However , the " Narada " and its crew were destroyed in the Battle of Earth by the crew of the " Enterprise " led by the of the new timeline . ( ) Mirror universe . In the mirror universe , the Romulans appeared to be uninvolved in the conflict between the Terran Rebellion and the Klingon - Cardassian Alliance . Benjamin Sisko , posing as , indicated to that he was going to visit the Romulans to see if he could get their support . This was , in reality , a ruse to explain his return to Deep Space 9 . ( ) Physiology . Due to their shared ancestry , Vulcans and Romulans possessed very similar physiology , including varied skin color . Romulans had pointed ear s , eyebrows that were arched and up - swept , and copper - based blood that appeared green when oxygen ated in the arteries , or copper or rust - colored when deoxygenated in the veins . ( ) Most Romulans had two brow ridges above the bridge of their nose , forming a V - shape on the forehead . However , a minority of Romulans lack these ridges , making them outwardly indistinguishable from Vulcans . The Romulan heart is gray in color . ( ) Despite their common ancestry there were also many subtle internal physiological differences between Vulcans and Romulans . Their life signs registered distinctly enough on the scanners of the in 2268 that officer Pavel Chekov was able to distinguish his crewmate Spock from the crew complement of a Romulan starship , though he did note the difficulty of the task . ( ) The physical differences between Romulans and Vulcans were evidenced in Dr . Beverly Crusher ' s failed attempt to treat a Romulan , Patahk , who had suffered advanced synaptic breakdown , with the methods used to treat Vulcans . In fact , it was later determined that the genetic similarities between Romulans and Klingons allowed for the two species to have a compatible ribosome match to effect treatment . ( ) The Terothka virus was a disease unique to Romulan physiology . Romulans were also susceptible to Tuvan Syndrome . ( ; ) Romulans were known to be interfertile with Human s and Klingon s . ( ) Romulans lacked the rigorous mental disciplines developed by the followers of Surak . They were a passionate people , easily moved to extreme emotions . ( ) In addition , like their biological cousins , Romulans did possess greater physical strength than that of a Human . ( ) Society . In Romulan society , military / political rank influences social standing . Because Romulans were members of a militaristic civilization , who considered defending the Romulan Empire and their own personal honor of foremost importance , military service and its accompanying rank were decisive factors in determining social eminence . ( ) However , while the military played an important role in Romulan society , it was the Romulan Senate that controlled the government . ( ) At one point in history , Romulus was a sovereign nation ruled by an Empress , as indicated by Q . ( ) By the 23rd century , the highest position of power was held by the Praetor , who presided over the Romulan Senate . ( ; ) The Praetor headed the Continuing Committee , which was comprised of the Empire ' s most elite individuals , who made decisions of the utmost importance . ( ) By the 24th century , the government of Romulus was dependent upon the Tal Shiar , the Romulan secret police , to maintain order and stability among both civilians and the military . The Tal Shiar was known for its brutal tactics , which included routine kidnapping , torture , and assassination . Many Romulans feared even expressing dissenting opinions in order to not bring the attention of the Tal Shiar . There were also indications that tension existed between the military and the Tal Shiar . ( ) Romulan society was based upon a highly structured caste system . Unlike most of the highly evolved species in the Alpha / Beta Quadrant , Romulans still practiced slavery , in this case of the Reman s , which they used for slave labor and as shock troops . ( ) Romulans tended to be highly xenophobic , engaging in extended periods of isolationism , and could be perceived as outright racist to other species , believing themselves to be superior . At least some Romulans believed that , one day , the Romulan Empire would rule the entire galaxy and that Humans would be extinct . ( ) According to Miles O ' Brien , there was no piece of technology in existence that the Romulans didn ' t claim they invented before everyone else . ( ) Both males and females could command warships , obtain high political positions , and could be members of the Tal Shiar . ( ; ; ) Culture and tradition . The Romulans lacked the rigorous mental disciplines developed by the followers of Surak . Like the Vulcans , the Romulans gave up unrestrained violence as a way of life . However , in the case of the Romulans , this was replaced with a controlled deviousness : as a species , the Romulans were generally thought of as duplicitous , a reputation reinforced by the actions of their government over time . ( ) During the 23rd century , Romulans practiced the death penalty on criminals by means both painful and unpleasant . Prior to the presenting of the charges , the Romulans allowed the accused a Right of Statement . ( ) Reluctance to rely on overt hostility generally led the Romulans to play a waiting game with their opponents , attempting to manipulate an adversary into breaking – or appearing to break – an agreement so as to give them a solid justification for striking . ( ) They were also well - known for fearing disgrace over death . ( ) With this frame of mind , Romulan parents disposed of any newborn carrying birth defects , as the alternative would mean a waste of resources . ( ) The totalitarian nature of Romulan society , in which dissent was often a crime and Romulan security officers masqueraded as citizens , led many Romulans to be extremely paranoid . ( ) A common Romulan courtesy was the saying " Jolan Tru " , although what exactly this meant is unclear , as it was used in the context of both a greeting and farewell , much like the word " Aloha " on Earth ' s Hawaiian Islands . ( ; ) In the 24th century , a dissident movement began to gain momentum , based on the desire to learn about Vulcan and their ideals . The movement ' s ultimate goal was the reunification of Romulus and Vulcan . Ambassador Spock was deeply involved in this movement . ( ) While many arguably belligerent and militaristic species , such as Nausicaan s , Breen , and even Klingons often sold their fighting skills to the highest bidder , Romulans were rarely , if ever , seen involved in such activities . This was possibly due to the apparent superiority complex of most Romulans , many of whom likely found such work beneath them , and who preferred to serve the Romulan Empire in some capacity . However , Miles O ' Brien once played a game of tongo with a Romulan mercenary ( ) . In cases of anonymity , they were known for commonly using hired assassin s , such as the Flaxian s , to conduct their off - world " justice " ( ) . Appendices . Background information . First television appearances . The Romulans were conceived by freelance writer Paul Schneider and introduced in the TOS Season 1 episode . Despite Schneider alone being given on - screen credit for the writing of that particular episode , citation for the creator of the Romulans became somewhat muddied as the years went by . In an article from ( p . 20 ) , writing staffer John D . F . Black wrote , " " It ' s been stated so often that the Romulans were created by producer Gene Coon that I find it difficult to keep from walking lockstep with the legend , nodding along with it , in spite of my having been there while the Romulans emerged from the imagination of Paul Schneider . " " Another person who was there at the time was D . C . Fontana , who was present when Schneider pitched the episode to Gene Roddenberry . Regarding Schneider ' s work on the Romulans , Fontana later said , " " He defined it ; he very much laid out who the Romulans were . Paul doesn ' t get enough credit for it . " " ( Starfleet Access , TOS Season 1 Blu - ray ) Paul Schneider modeled the Romulans on the ancient Roman s , naming the species ' homeworlds after the mythical founders of Rome , Romulus and Remus . " " It was a matter of developing a good Romanesque set of admirable antagonists that were worthy of Kirk , " " Schneider related . " " I came up with the concept of the Romulans which was an extension of the Roman civilization to the point of space travel , and it turned out quite well . " " ( " " , p . 34 ) D . C . Fontana reckoned that Schneider basing the aliens on the pre - existing Roman civilization was the cause for the writer receiving insufficient credit for creating the Romulans . ( Starfleet Access , TOS Season 1 Blu - ray ) Gene Roddenberry , interested in ancient Rome himself , approved of the initial depiction of the Romulan species . " " He loved Paul ' s having endowed the enemy - Romulans with the militaristic character of the ancient Romans , " " wrote John D . F . Black and Mary Black . ( ) Roddenberry ' s original concept of the Romulans , however , was that they represented 1960s ' Chinese Communists . ( " " hardback ed . , p . xx ) The script for " Balance of Terror " originally implied , by describing the Romulan Bird - of - Prey as an " Enterprise " saucer section attached to a pair of warp nacelles , that the Romulans had somehow stolen starship components from the Federation . ( Starfleet Access , TOS Season 1 Blu - ray ) When first introduced in the revised final draft script of " Balance of Terror " , the Romulans were described " " with ears pointed as Spock ' s ears are pointed . . . much like Spock , the Romulans . " " A description of them from further in the script stated , " " They are Spock - like men , dressed in military tunics with strange emblems . Like Spock , their almond - colored faces are coldly impassive . " " The next paragraph in the teleplay referred to " the striking resemblance they have in common with Mister Spock – Vulcanite ears ! " In common with Gene Roddenberry , the Blacks and D . C . Fontana also appreciated Paul Schneider ' s invention of the Romulans , the Blacks describing them as , " " Villains strong enough and clever enough that the audience would be compelled to believe they were capable of the first move that would lead to the destruction of the Federation . " " ( ) Fontana enthused , " " They were a wonderful , wonderful enemy [ . . . ] to have , because we could talk about them , people had seen them once , and we didn ' t know a lot about them . They were wonderfully mysterious . They ' ve always been my favorites , actually – right up there , next to the Vulcans [ . . . ] Paul did a very good job of , you know , creating this race , ultimately , in the script . " " Fontana also cited the Romulans ' exoticness , their pointed ears and relation to Vulcans as one element of why she liked the Romulans . ( Starfleet Access , TOS Season 1 Blu - ray ) Lots of experience with Vulcan ear and eyebrow prosthetics , as worn by Leonard Nimoy in the role of Spock , stood makeup artist Fred Phillips in good stead for dealing with the Romulans in " Star Trek : The Original Series " . ( " " , p . 185 ) However , the makeup was too impractical for the Romulans to be brought back on a regular basis , with the pointed ears especially bringing about several problems . The cost of manufacturing the ears , which were made from latex , was too enormous for multiple actors in any episode and the manpower required to create the ears and apply them for each individual actor would have gone over the budget . The need for costly actor - specific ears was negated via reusable helmets that were worn by the background Romulans . ( " " , pp . 41 & 42 ) " " It took a long time for the ears to be put on [ . . . ] And you have a large number of extras coming in , that have to have these ears put on . It ' s very expensive , it ' s time , " " commented Denise Okuda . " " And so they came up with this ingenious idea of putting helmets on , so you could hide the fact that these actors did not have pointed ears on . " " ( Starfleet Access , TOS Season 1 Blu - ray ) The Romulan ears were manufactured by Wah Chang , as were the group ' s helmets . For both , he charged Desilu Productions US $ 748 . 80 . Chang invoiced Desilu for this payment on and the price was paid in the following month ( on either 10 or 13 August ) . ( " " , pp . 240 - 241 ) Following their introduction in the first season , the Romulans indirectly appeared in the second season installment , via recycled footage of the Romulan Bird - of - Prey , and were temporarily planned to appear themselves in the story that became Season 2 ' s . As such , they were written into the first draft script for the latter of those two episodes , then entitled " Mission Into Chaos " . The Romulans finally made a physical reappearance in the third season outing , which had the working title " The Romulan Incident " . The same episode was an allegorical story that politically based the Romulans on North Koreans . ( " " , p . 277 ) Applying a pair of the Romulan ear prosthetics during production on " The Enterprise Incident " typically took forty - five minutes . Having portrayed one of the Romulans in that particular episode , Tal actor Jack Donner pronounced , " " The Romulans are a great race of people . " " ( ) Possibility of " Star Trek III " inclusion . The Romulans were originally meant to be the villains in . In an early story outline that Harve Bennett wrote for the third film , the Romulans discovered that the Genesis Planet had extraordinarily rich dilithium deposits and found Spock ' s coffin on the planet ' s surface . Even though they initiated a mining operation , the Romulans encountered trouble with this upon discovering that someone was killing members of the mining team , a mysterious individual who was later discovered to be a regenerated Spock . The story also brought the Romulans in conflict with the " Enterprise " and its senior officers . Though Kirk realized that the Romulans would become unstoppable if they succeeded with their mining mission , the Romulans were ultimately thwarted by the Starfleet officers , who – having caused the " Enterprise " to self - destruct to prevent a Romulan boarding party from seizing it – proceeded to capture the Romulan ship for themselves . ( ) As Harve Bennett subsequently discussed the story with Leonard Nimoy , the Romulans were at the forefront of their thinking . " " Our first conversations were about the Romulans versus the Klingons , " " Bennett later explained . " " I was just looking for a heavy , and in the series – to me – the Romulans seemed to be more dastardly than the Klingons . So it was an error of ignorance . " " ( ) Bennett went on to say , " " I could have chosen the Romulans , but from my experience seeing all the episodes , I ' d never gotten that sense of determination and absolutism that the Klingon episodes have revealed . " " ( audio commentary , DVD / ) Moreover , Nimoy persuaded Bennett that the Romulans were less theatrical than the Klingons , so the name of the species that would serve as the movie ' s villain was switched . The Klingon Bird - of - Prey was intended to have been stolen from the Romulans , but this information was left out of the film . ( " The Art of Star Trek " , pp . 215 , 217 & 219 ) Televised reappearances . In the first edition of the " Star Trek : The Next Generation Writer ' / Directors ' Guide " , Gene Roddenberry declared that no stories concerning warfare with Romulans would be accepted for the new series . ( " The Art of Star Trek " , p . 92 ) However , when Roddenberry was attempting to decide upon a new antagonist for regular use on ( while considering that the Klingons would no longer appear as recurring villains ) , writer D . C . Fontana thought of the Romulans . Fontana later recalled , " " I sent him a memo , suggesting ' How about the Romulans ? ' After all , they hadn ' t been developed all that much in " The Original Series " , and they were a glamorous , attractive enemy . " " ( " Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before " paperback ed . , p . 110 ) Secure in the knowledge that the TNG viewers had accepted the series as a new version of " Star Trek " rather than a retread , Roddenberry felt confident enough to bring back the Romulans at the end of the show ' s first season . ( " " , p . 66 ) Roddenberry allowed the Romulans to occasionally feature on the new series from then on , but preferred not to use them as the series ' primary villains . ( " " , p . 036 ) The return of the Romulans in the first season TNG episode was originally discussed as the first of a multi - part story that would have united them with the Federation against the newly discovered Borg . ( " " 3rd ed . , p . 60 ) Writing staffer Maurice Hurley , who wrote " The Neutral Zone " and devised the multi - episode arc , intended for the Romulans to engage in a major battle against a Borg scout ship in the second of the three episodes , planned for the show ' s second season . The conflict would have culminated in the Romulans destroying the Borg vessel but being completely annihilated themselves . The extermination of the Romulan people would have left a mystery for Picard as to how they had managed to defeat the Borg ship before it had wiped them all out . ( ) A Writers Guild strike nixed this plan and the introduction of the Borg had to wait . ( " " 3rd ed . , p . 60 ) Nonetheless , the reappearance of the Romulans in " The Neutral Zone " proved the species had lost none of its appeal . ( ) For their appearances on " Star Trek : The Next Generation " , makeup artist Michael Westmore gave the Romulans V - shaped forehead ridges to " compete " with the Klingon redesign introduced in . ( " The Art of Star Trek " , p . 92 ) The Romulan ridges also developed from efforts to make them look more menacing than how they had appeared before and physically differentiate them from Vulcans . " " From the very first moment they appeared on - screen , " " Westmore commented , " " the viewer had to take them seriously , rather than seeing them as stereotyped villains with pointed ears [ . . . ] I devised a forehead that had a dip in the center , and then I hollowed out the temple area . We wanted to stay close to their natural forehead , not making them look Neanderthal , but giving them a built - in sullen expression they couldn ' t get away from . " " ( " " , p . 068 ) It was found that this facial feature complemented a change to the typical Romulan hairstyle that Michael Westmore wanted to introduce . He said of the restyled Romulans , " " I gave them a little wedge to the center of the hair on their forehead instead of the Vulcans ' straight - across bang . " " ( ) Although the Romulan genealogical tie to Vulcans was unspecified by TNG ' s writers when the Romulans were brought back – with " Balance of Terror " having introduced the species merely as a likely Vulcan offshoot – the opinion of the show ' s writers regarding the nature of this relationship had changed by the series ' fifth season , as had personnel in the TNG writers ' room . Writer Ronald D . Moore , who joined the show in its third season , expressed , " " I hated the foreheads on the Romulans . The backstory [ established in " ] was that they were basically the same race , yet somehow the Romulans got these different foreheads at some point . " " ( " " , p . 068 ) However , the redesigned Romulan makeup remained for not only all future " Star Trek " productions set in the 24th century but also for when Romulans were featured on . The makeup was so extensive that it required the actor ' s head to be measured during pre - production ( at least , it did in the case of Vaughn Armstrong , when preparing to play Telek R ' Mor in ) . Initially , the alternate timeline in incorporated a Romulan alliance with the Vulcans . Together , they destroyed the Klingons and almost wiped out the Federation . ( ) In , the Romulans were at first deliberately written about somewhat sympathetically by the episode ' s writers , Dennis Putman Bailey and David Bischoff . " " We knew it wasn ' t allowed to use the Romulans as the ' bad guys , ' so we found different way to use them , " " explained Bailey . " " We presented their point of view very clearly and why they felt threatened by the Federation . Interestingly enough , the dialogue about that was cut from the final cut and I think they decided it was okay to use the Romulans as bad guys without justifying it . " " ( ) Naren Shankar , who wrote the teleplay for , thoroughly approved of how the Romulans are shown in that installment , saying , " " The Romulans are not demonised [ . . . ] which I think is very important . " " ( ) Return to films . For , Romulan makeup was designed and fabricated by Richard Snell , though applied by Makeup Supervisor Michael J . Mills . Even though the Romulan facial features on TNG had significantly evolved from those on " The Original Series " , the Romulans were returned to their earlier form for " Star Trek VI " . " " Basically , this time they had larger , bushier eyebrows and bigger ears , " " noted Mills . " " We stayed away from the forehead pieces and the radically different ears the new TV series has featured and just went with the original look . " " ( " Cinefex " , no . 49 , pp . 42 & 45 ) Romulans were one alien race which , prior to the advent of , had become extremely familiar elements of the " Star Trek " universe . Deliberately , much less attention was paid to them in " Voyager " . ( " " , pp . 155 & 162 ) Romulans were initially intended to show up in a battle sequence near the start of . In this conflict , a group of Romulans would have attacked a couple of ensign s aboard the Amargosa observatory but then been ambushed themselves by an away team from the , particularly Worf . Following comments from Jeri Taylor , this was changed to become a scene aboard a holographic simulation of the brig USS " Enterprise " , with only the aftermath of the battle being shown . ( " The Making of the Trek Films " , UK ed . , p . 150 ) The Romulans were originally to have filled the conspiratorial role that the Son ' a play in . According to writer Michael Piller in his unpublished reference book " " , the idea of using the Romulans as major villains in the film was inspired by the fact that the species had been a long - standing enemy of the Federation but had never been featured in a " Star Trek " movie before . Additionally , Piller and Rick Berman imagined that the story might be set against the threat of a new outbreak of hostilities between the two governments . The Romulans went on to be written into the first version of the film ' s story . As told in " Fade In : From Idea to Final Draft " , Patrick Stewart criticized even the thought of using the Romulans in " Insurrection " , believing that they wouldn ' t make a suitable rival for the follow - up to . On , he wrote a letter to Rick Berman in which Stewart stated , " " I think what dismays me most about the story is the dredging up of the Romulans – a race already unexciting in TNG – as the bad guys . It is revisionist and backward looking in a most disappointing way . After the Borg – the Romulans ? Oh , my . " " On 30 June , Michael Piller responded to this letter with one in which he explained , " " We have , from the start , intended to re - invent the Romulans because we agree with you . We ’ ve been talking about a complete overhaul of their look as well as their character . If it means a great deal to you , I ’ d personally be willing to change it to another race . Do you have any suggestions ? " " Stewart responded with another letter , which he sent on 7 July and which confirmed that " the Romulan question " was highly important to him . Stewart continued , " " I think it is a deadly idea to have even an ' overhauled ' Romulan villain . After the Borg Queen it will look as if we just couldn ’ t come up with any new bad guys . But we must . " " The change to the newly invented Son ' a was made " because " nobody " liked the idea of using the Romulans , ever , " said Michael Piller . ( " " , p . 14 ) Regarding the prospect of including the Romulans , Piller clarified , " " No - one here felt a great deal of enthusiasm for that decision . " " However , Eric A . Stillwell , who contributed to the making of " Insurrection " as a production associate and script coordinator , believed that the Romulans should have been used , saying , " " I think this would have had a greater dramatic impact than introducing an entirely new group of bad guys . " " He also noted about the exclusion of the Romulans , " " I think that was a mistake . " " One of the first concepts in the writing of was to centrally feature the Romulans . A primary advocate for this choice of villain was writer John Logan – a big fan of the species and " the lethal machinations " characteristic of the group . " " For a writer , the malicious subtlety of the Romulans , " " remarked Logan , " " offers great opportunities ; the cleverness and formality of their language must suggest that they are simultaneously a deadly political foe and a noble , ancient race . Besides , I had just finished working on " Gladiator " and was in a classical frame of mind . The serpentine rhythms of the language we created for the Roman Empire in that movie were good practice for writing the august and treacherous Romulans . " " ( " " hardback ed . , pp . xvii - xviii ) Logan also enthused , " " I was delighted with the chance to get to play with the Romulans , and I don ' t think they ' ve quite been explored enough [ . . . ] For me the Communist Chinese is a really interesting world that was never fully explored , certainly in the movies , and not even as much as I would have liked in the series , except for individual episodes . I ' ve always found that sort of Byzantine structure of Chinese Communism very interesting and very provocative , and lethal in a way I never found the Klingons . There is so much duplicity and mendacity and cleverness in the way the Romulans move through their world with very strategic chess moves . And also they are an old and ancient race , like the Vulcans , so they have gravitas to them , which I find very interesting . " " ( ) John Logan doubting that the Romulans wouldn ' t mine dilithium for themselves was a strong influence on the creation of the Reman s . " " It seemed obvious to me , " " he said , " " that the Romulans would subjugate some other race to dig dilithium for them . Much too messy for our pristine and elegant Romulans . " " As an homage to Gene Roddenberry ' s original conception of the Romulans as Chinese Communists , Logan and the other writers of " Nemesis " made all the Romulan and Reman names in the film of ancient Chinese descent . ( " " hardback ed . , p . xx ) Although the Remans are clearly the main villainous species in " Nemesis " , Rick Berman was repeatedly reported as stating , in an interview on a UPN station local to Los Angeles , that the Romulans would be the major villain in the film . In , he clarified , " " What I said was that we would be seeing the Romulans in this movie , which we are , but I did not necessarily say that they were going to be our main villains . " " In ( p . 10 ) , he further hinted about the Romulans , " " They are part of the villainy , but not in the way that some might think ! " " Eric Stillwell was puzzled upon hearing a rumor that the Romulans might be involved in " Nemesis " at all . He later commented , " " I thought [ that ] was odd after we were asked to remove the Romulans from the original story in " Insurrection " . " " Before the release of " Nemesis " , Rick Berman additionally remarked , " " I ' m sure you can expect a fresh , updated look for the Romulans [ . . . ] I think there will be some surprises as to what the Romulans will look like . " " As it was , the Romulan designs used in the film were much as they had been in the preceding series . These similarities not only included their makeup but also stemmed to the production design of their ships , with Production Designer Herman Zimmerman saying , " " The Romulans have been kind of an art deco culture and that ' s what you see [ in " Nemesis " ] , echoes of 1930s geometry in architecture , just turned sideways . " " Applying the Romulan prosthetics for " Nemesis " regularly took four hours . " " I had a forehead prosthetic that they stuck to my head , " " reported Donatra actress Dina Meyer . " " The morning make - up routine consisted of me going into hair and getting my head wrapped – they make your hair all pin - curled and they put your head in a wig cap , so all your hair is pulled off your face . Then you go to the make - up trailer , where they attach the prosthetic forehead and prosthetic ear tips and then they pile on the make - up . They need a spatula to put it on , it ' s so thick . " " ( ) Further television appearances . Because " Balance of Terror " had established Starfleet ' s first confirmed visual contact with the Romulans as being in 2266 , it was somewhat difficult for them to appear on " Enterprise " , that prequel series primarily being set in the 2150s . The show ' s producers wanted to include Romulans in the series , despite the risk of contaminating " Star Trek " canon , ever since the series began . ( ) Some initial consideration was given to making unnamed aliens in actually be Romulans . André Bormanis , a writing staffer who wrote that episode , explained , " " I wondered whether they might be Romulans until we decided to do a CGI alien effect [ for the aliens themselves ] . I think the technology of their ship , though , was too sophisticated for Romulans in this era , so that argued against making them Romulans too . " " The interest in seeing the Romulans on the series of " Enterprise " continued , however . " " We have major continuity issues with them , " " observed Executive Producer Brannon Braga , at the end of the show ' s first season . " " We would very much like to do Romulans , but a ) we don ' t know quite how yet , and b ) since the new movie [ " Star Trek Nemesis " ] deals with Romulans , we want to give them some breathing room . We ' ll do them eventually , but not right away . " " ( ) Intense speculation regarding whether the Romulans would appear in the series was stirred up at the end of Season 1 . ( ) In fact , just prior to the release of " Star Trek Nemesis " , the Romulans seemed to have disappeared . At the time , John Logan rhetorically asked , " " Why isn ' t anyone using them ? " " Reflected Jack Donner , " " To a great deal they have been ignored . They haven ' t paid that much attention to them [ in recent series ] . There have certainly been episodes that dealt with Romulans , but nothing like the Klingons , Cardassian s and Ferengi . " " ( ) In ( p . 85 ) , Rick Berman predicted , " " I would [ . . . ] not be surprised that , within the next six to twelve months , we will have our first run - in with Romulans [ . . . ] I [ . . . ] think we will undoubtedly be running into Romulans at some point . " " However , Berman made these statements without the writing staff of " Enterprise " having discussed the species appearing on the series nor the art department doing any design work related to the Romulans . Responding to the news , André Bormanis remarked , " " If that ' s the case , I ' m looking forward to it . " " One possibility , considered at around the end of the first season , was whether John Logan would be able to write the script for the Romulans ' appearance on " Enterprise " , which then began to be a likely option for the show ' s second season . " " Yeah , he would love to do that , and we would love to give him that chance , " " announced Rick Berman . " " It ' s all going to have to do with his time – he has three huge movies that he is working on now . We ' ll see what happens . " " In the same interview , Berman went on to outrightly dismiss the chance that Romulans could show up in the first season . ( ) Despite the second season installment initially excluding the Romulans and its premise being a story set entirely on the hull of , the plot evolved to include the Romulans . " " The idea that the attacking aliens would be Romulans came out a little later , during the story break process , " " Brannon Braga recollected . " " We needed to be true to continuity and this was a way to do it . " " ( ) Braga was happy that this portrayal of the Romulans seemed to come at an appropriate time , commenting , " " I think it ' s cool that on " Star Trek Nemesis " you can see the Romulans of Picard ' s time , and at the same time you ' re seeing the early encounters with them on " Enterprise " ; there ' s great synergy there . " " ( ) At a convention in Minneapolis held on the second weekend of , Connor Trinneer conceded that , although he did not know any specifics about the Romulans making a return appearance on " Enterprise " , such an appearance was very possible , saying he " wouldn ' t be surprised " by it , at all . It was merely days later , on Tuesday , that Brannon Braga finally announced the upcoming Season 2 Romulan episode , hinting , " " I think I can say without getting into too much trouble that very early in the season we will have our first brush with the Romulans . . . . Capt . Archer will have a very lethal brush with the Romulans early on . " " On several occasions , Braga also tried to give assurances that the continuity with the Romulans was " airtight . " Despite featuring heavily in " Minefield " , Reed actor Dominic Keating revealed to fans , “ " I have NO idea who they are ! " ” Prior to the initial airing of " Enterprise " s season 2 finale , many fans at first incorrectly speculated that the Romulans were responsible for the attack on Earth depicted in that episode – thought to be the initial volley in the Romulans ' previously established war with Earth – and would be the focus of the series ' third season , rather than the multi - specied Xindi . Brannon Braga was of the opinion that , had the Romulans indeed been used , they would have become " old " and less satisfying during the relatively lengthy course of the third season arc . He also stated that this did not exempt the species from appearing in that season , in which they nevertheless ultimately did not feature . ( ) The Earth - Romulan War was , however , intended to be explored in the fifth season of and the film " " , neither of which were produced . Brannon Braga and Manny Coto considered making " Future Guy " a Romulan , while Mike Sussman intended on revealing T ' Pol ' s father was a Romulan agent . ( " Information provided by Mike Sussman " ) The Romulans would have had a grander future had the animated series " " been produced instead of the film : set in the 2460s , a war caused by Omega particle detonations ( which was not actually the Romulans ' fault ) permitted them to conquer Qo ' noS , destroy Andoria , and force the Vulcans to leave the Federation to negotiate reunification . Depiction in 2009 film and future . During development of the film " Star Trek " , the writers of the movie ' s script , Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci , chose the Romulans as the villains because the film was a continuation of Spock ' s story from " Unification " . J . J . Abrams said , " " What was interesting to me was that it wasn ' t the Klingons . That ' s what you expect and it was fun to use the Romulans the way we did , " " referring to their premature appearance in Kirk ' s life being a clear marker of divergence from the prime reality . " " Part of the fact is that they hadn ' t seen them for so many years , so that it immediately breaks , for anyone who knows , the rules of " Trek " to start the movie and have Romulans crossing paths with Starfleet . " " Orci and Kurtzman focused more on writing the Romulans in later drafts of the screenplay . ( ) Romulan prosthetics for the film " Star Trek " were at first arranged to be the purview of Proteus FX Makeup Effects Supervisor Barney Burman . " " I did some early designs for the Romulans in my shop , but when my workload became too heavy , I hired Joel Harlow to come in and handle them . We all decided it would be best if Joel took over the task of creating the Romulans on set close to [ Director ] J . J . [ Abrams ] so he could see and direct their progress each day . We set up a makeup trailer for the Romulans , and Joel hired a crew of people to work on that and just did a fantastic job . " " ( ) This makeup crew , called Joel Harlow Designs , sculpted and designed Romulan ear and forehead prosthetics . A total of forty main Romulan characters were created to appear in the movie , a process that started with lifecasts for each actor . ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , p . 37 ) Harlow himself remembered , " " J . J . did not want to see any hair lace in the wig applications , so we made the entire forehead and eyebrows as one piece , with hair punched into the silicone before application . I wanted to give the Romulans an animal look , so we widened their nose bridge and did some interesting stuff with their brows – but nothing so extreme that you couldn ' t believe they were real . " " ( " Cinefex " , No . 118 , pp . 46 & 47 ) After the individual prosthetic pieces were crafted and prepared for filming , Harlow ' s team also applied the prosthetics . The Romulan makeup designs from the same film incorporated tattoos that were made to look tribal . ( " Star Trek - The Art of the Film " , p . 37 ) Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci admitted that , even in the alternate reality , not all Romulans are necessarily bald . ( ) In reality , baldness of Nero and his crew was used to set the Romulans apart , physically , from the Vulcans in the movie , due to both species having slanted eyebrows and pointed ears . ( ) Casting Director April Webster was at first very puzzled as to how to cast the Romulans in the film . " " I had no idea what we were going to do with the Romulans , " " she conceded . However , an influence on overcoming this challenge was the fact that the rest of the movie ' s cast incorporated a wide variety of people , with different skin colors and ages . Webster continued about the Romulans , " " We just made a list of the most interesting actors we could think of who could match up and hold their own in a scene with [ Nero actor ] Eric Bana . " " ( ) There were subtle alterations made to the Romulan prosthetics ( at least for the Nero character ) before filming , making it easier to perform on long shooting days . Eric Bana stated , " " The prosthetics only underwent very minor changes , just for comfort and actability . Sometimes you make a really tiny change with the prosthetic , or the glue , or where it ' s attached , and it can really make a difference to your ability to convey expression . We had a few goes at that in pre - production to get that right . " " By the time a week of filming had gone by , Bana found the new Romulan facial appearance " began to look completely normal to me , and regular humans started to look weird ! " ( ) On the other hand , according to ( p . 24 ) , the Romulans on set seemed distinctly intimidating . The Romulans have been purposely excluded from featuring in . Showrunner Aaron Harberts explained , " " Romulan ' is a dirty word in our writers ' room right now , because of where we are in the timeline . We don ' t talk about the Romulans " [ . . . ] " The sparks fly when the writers bring up the Romulans . " " ( ) Reception and trivia . The Romulans proved extremely popular among " Star Trek " fans . " " When my episode first aired , " " remarked Jack Donner , regarding , " " I got a letter from a fan named Lori Carlson in Denver , Colo . She was the president of the Leonard Nimoy / Vulcan club there , but she wrote to me and said that the club was switching their interests around . And now there are Romulan fan clubs all over the place – in Michigan , and Bakersfield , California , to name just a few . " " ( ) The Romulans had become fan favorites by the end of TNG ' s first season . ( " " , p . 66 ) " Star Trek " novel scribe Susan Schwartz also approved of the Romulans . " " I personally like the combination of raw intellect and harnessed ferocity , with all that history underlying it , " " she explained . " " With the Romulans , I like the plotting , too , and the honor and the irony . I ' ve always liked them , from the time I saw Marc Lenard ' s face in ' Balance of Terror ' and realized what they were swiping from . " " A group of Romulans appeared in a television commercial for a Christmas ornament of the Romulan Warbird , made by Hallmark . Makeup for these Romulans was provided by Michael Westmore ' s makeup team . ( ) Apocrypha . Much of the Romulans ' origins are explored in the " Rihannsu " pentalogy by Diane Duane , and the later " " trilogy by Josepha Sherman and Susan Schwartz . Duane ' s novels established that the exodus from Vulcan was led by S ' task , a former disciple of Surak , a detail which Sherman and Schwartz followed . In Duane ' s novel " The Romulan Way " , Vulcan society becomes polarized by their first encounter with an alien species - Orion pirate s attempting to invade their world . S ' task , a Vulcan poet and former disciple of Surak , argues in favor of strength , while Surak ' s increasingly popular beliefs favor pacifism and logic . To avert civil war between the two factions , S ' task leads his followers on a mass migration . As part of their exodus , they intentionally invent a new culture and a new language . They refer to themselves as the " Rihannsu " , which means " the Declared , " in their new language . Likewise , they named their new homeworlds " ch ' Rihan " ( " of the Declared " ) and " ch ' Havran " ( " of the Travelers " ) ; the names Romulus and Remus were pinned on their worlds by the Federation exploration vessel that first entered their star system - according to Duane , those Rihannsu who learned about the names used for them by the Federation were puzzled , more than anything else , by the myth from which the names originated ( twin brothers being raised and suckled by a wolf ) . In the " Vulcan ' s Soul " trilogy , the Romulans ' ancestors left Vulcan as a contingency plan approved by Surak , should the wars on Vulcan have completely destroyed their civilization . The eagle emblem was inspired by a huge bird native to Romulus that clutched eggs in its talons . Duane also depicted the Romulans as being extinct in the mirror universe novel " Dark Mirror " , as they chose to commit mass suicide rather than become subjects of the Terran Empire following the Battle of Cheron . The comic book " " and the video game " Star Trek Online " depict the lead up and the aftermath of Romulus ' destruction , primarily caused by the Romulan Senate ignoring Spock ' s warnings about the supernova , and the Vulcan Science Council ' s refusal to lend them red matter . In spite of this , Federation - Romulan relations had been improving and Romulan citizens had become less xenophobic , as indicated in the ending of . After the supernova , Federation aid is either welcomed or met with suspicion and even hostility , while the Klingon Empire seizes the opportunity to conquer Romulan territory . Despite continuing in - fighting between the survivors , a new capital called Rihan is established on Rator III . The Romulans are playable characters in the 2013 " Online " expansion pack " Legacy of Romulus " . The playable Romulans and Remans are members of a splinter Republican faction on New Romulus led by D ' Tan . It is eventually revealed that the supernova was not a natural occurrence , but was a deliberate act of genocide by rogue elements of the Tal Shiar at the behest of the Iconian s , the game ' s primary villains until the conclusion of Season 10 . Romulan religious beliefs vary in non - canon sources . There are also various , conflicting explanations for the Romulans ' lack of telepathic ability : " The Way of D ' era " explains that the Romulans lack the physical strength of the Vulcans because they no longer live on a harsh environment . " Killing Time " shows Romulans slightly adverse to the effects of " pon farr " . The alternate reality Romulans themselves debut in the two - part " Vulcan ' s Vengeance " story from IDW Publishing ' s " " comic book series . It is stated the Senate approved of Nero ' s actions . A group of Vulcans led by infiltrate Romulus and attempt to avenge their homeworld by detonating red matter recovered from Vulcan . Spock convinces his father the plot is a mistake , and prevents the detonation . He and his fellow crew members are allowed to return as a " fair exchange " while the Senate keeps the red matter . They also gain the " Narada " s schematics . Later in the series , Section 31 allies with the Romulans to start a war with the Klingons , in a successful ploy to regain the last piece of red matter .