Eight questions we ask ourselves after Alien Covenant

And attempts at answers, while C8 rebroadcasts this SF film by Ridley Scott.

With Alien: CovenantRidley Scott mixed in 2017 the DNA of Prometheus and the first Alien. As the film returns to television, we reshare this article dedicated to some key moments from the film. Because in this film, the director answers as many questions as he leaves unanswered, with the android David at the heart of the questions. Warning, spoilers to follow, of course.

Why hasn’t the planet of the Engineers been spotted?
The crew of Covenant The question is squarely posed in the film: how could they have missed a habitable planet like that of the Engineers, when that is exactly what they were looking for? The signal sent by Elisabeth Shaw must also have been active for around ten years, when her ship landed. No answer will be provided subsequently, only assumptions remain. The Engineers may have used an electronic system to cloak their planet, or Weyland Industries knew of the location but was unwilling to share the information with its troops. We know that the company hides many secrets.

Why did David kill the Engineers?
In a dantesque scene, David exterminates all the Pompeii-style Engineers by dropping the black substance discovered in Prometheus. But why did he do it? Especially since if its goal is to annihilate humanity, the previous film taught us that this was also the objective of the Engineers. In Covenant, David seems not to be able to bear having the slightest master and finding himself at the very top of evolution, like a god. The Engineers – the creators of his creators – were certainly what he hated most. And he surely needed a “quiet” playground to study dark matter and Xenomorphs.

Did David really take Walter’s place?
The end of the scene where David and Walter fight is deliberately ambiguous. Until Daniels realizes something is wrong just before going into hypersleep, it’s hard to tell if Walter is indeed Walter. But if David took his place well, how did he have time to change, melt his hand in acid, above all repair his voice modulator damaged by a punch from Walter? Impossible to explain. Is there a chance that the android at the end of the film is still Walter, convinced by David’s words about humans? Very unlikely, but not impossible. Especially if we think of the scene where David/Walter helps the survivors against the Xenorphus, and seems to be happy that Daniels is getting out of it. While no one is looking at him.

How did Elisabeth Shaw fix David?
In the prologue ofAlien: Covenant which takes place after Prometheus, we see Shaw reattach David’s body to his head. Except that in Alien 3, Bishop assures that he could not be properly repaired after a similar “injury”, he even explains that he would prefer to die. So how was Shaw able to achieve this, having neither the necessary equipment nor the knowledge (she is an archaeologist)? Mystery.

Ridley Scott was forced to choose between Alien: Covenant and Blade Runner 2049

Why did David kill Elizabeth?
After lying and assuring that Elisabeth Shaw died in the crash of the ship, David confesses without really saying it that he killed the survivor of the Prometheus. According to the prologue – which incomprehensibly is not in the film – Shaw went into hyper-sleep during the journey. She at least had time to wake up and send the message that the Covenant will receive ten years later. Then, David dissected her (alive?), probably to extract human DNA from her, in order to continue his research on dark matter. It is unknown how long she survived and whether David actually had feelings for her.

Is David really the creator of the Xenomorphs?
Visibly. But the Xenomorphs of his creation are different from those we know in the first three Alien. Evolution could do the rest, or will David have the opportunity to further develop the creatures aboard the Covenant. Moreover, no trace in his drawings of the Alien Queen and remains the big question of the presence of eggs in the Space Jockey’s ship from the first Alien, which takes place roughly twenty years later. If they were created by David, how did they get there? The most logical answer would be that not all Engineers are dead.

Are there several types of Engineers?
The inhabitants of the planet of Engineers do not have the same type of face as those of Prometheus and look smaller. From there to thinking that they are different, there is only one step. The Engineers from the previous film could be soldiers (the planet of Prometheus was a sort of military base), perhaps genetically augmented for combat. In this case, their race could still exist in limited numbers on outposts located throughout the galaxy. Which would make it possible to put them back at the heart of mythology in the future.

What will happen next Alien: Covenant ?
Ridley Scott announced that there will be at least two sequels to Alien: Covenantbefore arriving at the events of the first Alien. As it stands, it’s difficult to know which story path to turn to. Will these next films be solely about the divine aspirations of David and the two human survivors of the crew? If the android went to such lengths to kill the Engineers, it’s hard to imagine that Daniels, Tennessee and the 2,000 colonists aboard the Covenant will arrive safely. Unless David wants to use them as a human laboratory? And Ridley Scott still has to explain how the alien eggs ended up in the Space Jockey’s ship from the first Alien. One could imagine that the warrior Engineers will return to their home planet, discover the massacre and go in search of David.

See you in a few years… if these sequel projects are still relevant! Because for now, Alien is available in series by Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion), and Scott is too busy with his Napoleon And Gladiator 2 to come back to the saga…

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