Alien: Covenant “touches on mortality, immortality and the real question of who created us and why.” In a new interview with Digital Spy, Sir Ridley Scott has been talking about the direction of the Alien prequels and some of the themes that Alien: Covenant will be looking at:
“Prometheus delved into the origins of the alien creatures – with Scott explaining that it was this story point that lured him back to the series.
“No-one actually asked where they came from in the three subsequent movies, which is kind of ridiculous,” he said. “That’s why good writers are good writers, because they’ll ask a basic question like that and make that into a scenario.
“So we did Prometheus – that heaved it off the ground – and Covenant is a follow-through to Prometheus. So we now know who created this, and why, and the next one’s a joining up of the storyline. It touches on mortality, immortality and the real question of who created us and why.”
Alien: Covenant “touches on mortality, immortality and the real question of who created us and why.”
The interview also goes into how Scott’s beliefs on creation influenced the direction of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant: “We’re not just a random biological accident. For you and I to be sitting here right now [by accident] would take trillions of correct decisions to be made randomly by nature, which of course is ridiculous.
“I think there’s some kind of decision being made. I believe in a higher force – if we want to call it God, then it’s God.”
You can read the interview in full over at Digital Spy. Earlier today, Digital Spy also shared an interview with Michael Fassbender in which he spoke a little about playing two androids. He also gives an interesting reply when asked if David and Shaw are the only survivors from Prometheus: “As far as we know.”
Thanks to Pvt. Himmel for the news. Stick with Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest on Alien: Covenant! You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien fans on our forums!
in the Greek comparative for the war in heaven ( titanochamy ?)
the Titan prometheus was a member of the neutrals who provided weapons and tech ( green gem ) to Zeus ( lucifer )so he could win his war .
prometheus and his group agreed to this with their reward being allowed to create life 😉
Has it occurred to you that the process of the creation of Life and the notion of Mortality may be connected? One is the beginning - the other is the end.
-Windebieste.
Correct.
Satan attains many special stones for his crown , the center peice was a green emerald he aquired from the neutral angels .
this emerald gave him the power to transform humans into demons 😉😉😉
I think he's a great visual director. And like an artist, he has a great feel for atmosphere and aesthetics. I don't necessarily agree that all his visual cues and choices are done with deliberate meaning and intention in mind (beyond visual appearance). I honestly think the bowl was replaced with the gem because the gem sparkled and drew attention when Holloway shined his light on it. If RS has said differently, I'll stand corrected.
dislike his movies an his storytelling but everything in his films is deliberate and
with purpose. There is a great symbolic meaning behind that emerald crystal. Whether
that fact is going to have some significance in later movies or not is irrelevant.
That would be nice, but unfortunately I think it was a case where someone thought a gem would look better than a bowl.
Perhaps someone was rooting around an old prop room and came across the gem used in the movie, "Romancing the Stone"
https://www.yourprops.com/movieprops/original/47b2283ec665a/Romancing-the-Stone-Romancing-The-Stone-Emerald-1.jpg
how would you imagine them picking up never before encountered organisms without having the previous data to recognise and confirm that data ?
with the amount of Arial and antenna featured on the ship prometheus I doubt they only scanned for breathable air ......
my point is this , we didn't see shaws inception or birth , by your logic she shouldn't even be in the movie because we didn't see her birth .......
we don't get to see captain janeks parents raising him correctly so Scott took major liberties in just expecting us to except him as the pilot of a very expensive ship.
We dont know yet abour Covenant. The planet could be totally analized before. BUT in prometheus its a no-sense. Their scans were used to find out if the air was bretheable ..not to find bio-pathogens.
the prometheus scans showed the environment to be toxic ?
the crew wore protective gear ........
the crews scans show the environment within the structures to be clean .......
NOBODY died of airborne pathogens......... the scans were 100% correct
your points are COMPLETELY pointless
even in covenant they are infected by an alien lifeform .... NOT airborne viruses or disease , which I'm also sure the covenants scans will show to be none existing .
God its a human concept...our finite intellect it what makes "god" the first answer for questions we dont know how tondeal with "yet"
Thanks, Enoch. Same here.
Cheers, mate.
Yes, I know we agree about that. I ve read all your previous posts...
You know some serious stuff.
Wish you all the best.
I think we need some mystery... at this point, Space Jockey mystery from alien
is pretty diminished by the introduction of Engineers... now we need some serious
mysteries and of course some answers.
In the end, I'm not sure I want all of these questions answered, these aren't the reason we want to watch these movies...it was the mystery and fear of not knowing that appealed.
Hi Enoch,
I agree. I thought that was exactly what I just wrote. Please read once again...
Hello Spiderpope,
Yikes...whiplash.
I believe that is exactly what I just explained. Please re-read my prior post/reply to you.
Cheers,
John
just like in the color from outer space by lovecraft .
it fell to their planet and the radiation causes mutations in everything it reaches , they placed it in that room with the urns acting like batteries ..... soaking up the radiation 😊😊😊
But Goo could certainly be something Engineers found
somewhere in their Eden (perhaps it was guarded by that
first xenolike entity) and some of them used it to create life
sacrificing themselves for that cause and others used it for
their selfish intentions... and then something happened to them.
Goo is more similar to Eitir than pure organic mutagen, accelerant or
some microorganism... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eitr
Ridley spoke about goo in directors commentary, he compared it to ebola saying that Engineers made it...
I never liked that explanation. He even spoke about ceiling mural... he said it depicts some kind of self sacrificing
of that humanoid figure in order to complete the last phase of that "dangerous creation" as Ridley described it.
Although what if God was bacteria, cough midichlorians... I don't like where this is going but it sure sounds like this is where it's going.
Ridley Scott once referred to the Black Goo as "evil bacteriology."
Fire and Stone says the Goo has constantly changing DNA, as if it cannot decide what it is.
So - DNA + "Bacteria" = it could be alive. Viruses are just proteins with shards of DNA, but bacteria are simple single cellular life.
So, the "Gods" could ironically be a form of bacteria or other single celled life that eventually gives rise to more complex life. And the "Gods" are a unique type, perhaps more aware.
Maybe as you mentioned, it didn't just turn on them, it punished them for trying to use it for their own gains rather than the purpose of creating life.
Those are some interesting theories you shared that got me thinking about it a bit. I've always found the Black Goo to be really fascinating and would love to see what else it does.
Remember how Elden became a walking Genesis? Every step he took, plants and trees grew? Amazing! The ship bridge he sat in eventually became an Eden.
Why do we call them random in the first place... If we have an explanation, definition and understanding of them..then they are not random. They do not need to be tagged as stochastic or deterministic because all divisions are limiting in their nature... all divisions and classifications are deterministic... We humans tend to be too deterministic and chained by the limitations of our understandings (systems) and interpretations... while our "Creator" or Logos or Cosmos (however you wan to call it) is certainly liberated from those chains of determinism, certainty, randomness and something we call reason... etc. God is reason per se and therefore is infinite, while human reason is by nature limited within itself... To understand something like cosmos and "laws of very existence" we would need more than science and our current rationality. We need to free the mind of all limitations... but again, how can someone do that... as you said, with our FINITE intellect?
Hello Enoch,
I certainty am not questioning Nature, nor the inscrutable Wisdom of our Creator, which completely transcends our finite intellect. However, from a purely scientific perspective , a purely random (stochastic) process has a precise definition and understanding. With that said, it is my belief that what will forever be a non-deterministic event or process, for our finite intellect, is completely known (determined) by an infinite Creator.
we can only observe, learn but our own judgments are irrelevant... Till yesterday
we spoke about lightening as if it was a sign of God... and now we took the right to
qualify things as random and yet we do not fully understand the meaning of random or
causal...
Well, that is not quite true. The first part of the process is random, i.e. mutation to genome. It is the 2nd part that is non-random,...i.e. Natural Selection working upon the expressed mutation (phenotype), typically at the organism level, and differentially selecting that adaptation best conferring survival/reproductive advantage in a changing local environment.
Hopefully we'll find out about the Engineers from David. It's better than nothing I guess.
It would be much more interesting to learn about the Engineers through first hand interactions. But I'd take David regurgitating information in a scene of exposition versus nothing at all.
That's one of the things I find interesting about the concept of Aliens being an ancient artificial creation. It implies quite some power in their creators and also in some major threat that they needed to face.
My biggest issue is that Scott is doing the whole bait and switch on us. Pre-Promtheus he was telling us that he wanted to explore the space Jockey. He wanted to tell their story. Instead we got 15 minutes of roid rage.
We learned they seeded life on many planets, we learned they seeded humans, we learned they have really poor quality video surveillance systems, we learned they aren't very good at keeping their creations under control, and we learned they had at some point decided to hit ctrl-alt-del on earth. We really know nothing about their culture, who they are, or what their overall goals include.
I could honestly care less about the Xeno or other random creations themselves, but I do find them interesting as a tool of the engineers because it lends insight into their world.
At least now we know where all those eggs on LV426 come from.
I don't think it's unreasonable to expect there's likely other Engineers dotted around on other outposts or colonies throughout the galaxy.
Chill out with the insults please. We have religious members here that don't warrant your attacks. Only warning.
Was he home-schooled n religious upbringing? That tends to fudge up peoples brains...
This really worries me. I know that what I "expect" is of no interest to anybody, really. Even though I am a dying fan.
Spoiler
Added spoiler tags. Hicks.
Yeah I think this would be the best way to view the film. From what we know so far the film would be better off being called Prometheus Covenant as it as serving as part 2 of that story.
I'm interested to see if the 'black goo' will be fully explained this time around - I'm going to make a guess is that it might turn out to be the naturally-growing 'black spores' on the planet 'Paradise' which is the initial source of producing that.
Either way, at this point I'm more interested in what how the 'black goo' supposedly came about in the first place, rather than how it was eventually used by others.
I think this one is going to have a really steep uphill battle to face. Prometheus pissed off some Alien fans so much that Fox wanted to steer it back towards Alien so there's going to be some expectation from Alien fans who will likely be pissed off that it's still including elements of Prometheus. Then we're going to have fan of Prometheus that might be pissed off that it's steering off-course and heading back to Alien.
Hopefully it'll end up being a well rounded film and from what I've heard, the recent screening was actually pretty tight and put together.
Spoiler
If the spoilers are true, then it would appear (to me) that Covenant will have many problematic elements, both in story/narrative as well as character reactions and motivations. There may well be a disturbance in the force.
No, post. It's why he may have found the ending a bit confusing. Apparently it was telegraphed a lot more obviously in the earlier screening.
It's a very frequent occurance and they happen on all sorts of dubious outlets that people don't take seriously.
I thought you were going to go into the screen still firmly denying them.
Completely true. We still don't know what other changes might occur between then and now. Reactions I heard to that last screening were quite positive though.
I did. Otherwise I never would have said it sounded legit. Just wanted people who wanted to go in spoiler-free warned away from it.
Hi PRJ,
Firstly, a brief sideline / segue related to previous post...
I just wanted to clarify that the Catholic Church has not made a dogmatic declaration or doctrinal definition when it comes to the Creation timeline and duration of events. A Catholic is free to believe in a literalistic interpretation (i.e. six 24-hour days), or to interpret and understand the Creation narrative in a more figurative, allegorical (and anagogical) manner. The Church teaches, unambiguously, that all of Sacred Scripture is the inspired Word of God, and affirms it's inerrancy. However, there is no question that the Bible, nor the inspired authors, ever intended to present a scientific account of Creation. The inerrancy needs to be understood in light of the four senses of Scripture, as well as the distinction between interpreting the Bible literally (which we do), or interpreting the Bible literalisticaly. The "literal" meaning of a passage of Scripture is the meaning that the author of that passage of Scripture intended to convey. The "literalist" interpretation of a passage of Scripture is: "that's what it says, that's what it means." The latter has to be handled with more care, and with a firm grasp on the style and genre that the inspired author was writing.
The 73 books of the Bible are written by many inspired authors, who are writing in many different genres, across a great span of time. Certain books (such as the Gospels, Acts, and many of the Epistles) are straightforward historical accounts. Others, such as Revelation and the Book of Daniel belong to Apocalyptic genre. Still other books are written in the style and genre of prophecies, allegories, parables, poetry, songs, etc.
So, to be clear, most Church scholars, including many of the Early Church Fathers, do not hold a "literalistic" interpretation of Genesis, although they all hold a "literal" interpretation. This would also be the case for the Orthodox Church, as well as most main-line Protestant denominations.
Now, back to your question on my thoughts/opinions on Prometheus, and the state of the Alien franchise, in general. Please keep in mind that everything to follow is simply my humble opinion (obviously).
I won't pull any punches. I absolutely loathed Prometheus. IMHO, it was a beautifully filmed mess. I was offended by the bad science that riddles the film, as well as the bad scientists making outrageously stupid decisions. Also, there is the ridiculous retcon of the once mysterious, eerie, unsettling, disturbing and utterly alien Space Jockey. Now, it becomes nothing more than an exo-suit worn by a big, blue human. Of course, we have the ill conceived "Chariots of the gods" storyline to thank for that. Even that wouldn't have been so bad, if Lindelof and Scott had maintained a truly inscrutable and utterly alien high tech civilization as the so-called "engineers". Heck, I wouldn't even have had a problem with an alien Space Jockey race interacting with and influencing ancient human culture. But Lindelof/Scott had to shoehorn in a lame "they were our creators", we were "made in their image" twist and anti-religious corruption of authentic Judeo-Christian belief. Then, there is the sheer laziness of non-explanation, via the introduction of a magical "black goo". How I hate the "black goo" trope. Finally, we have the not-so-subtle atheist agenda shoved in our face, with the character of Shaw facing a crisis and then losing her Faith. Seems like we can never get a story of someone, when faced with a spiritual crisis, finding the strength (working through Grace) to persevere and triumphantly reaffirm and renew their Faith with a deeper and abiding conviction. I guess that wouldn't be "edgy" enough.
So, to sum up, my favorite films of the franchise are:
#1) Alien (by a country mile) -- pretty much a "perfect" film, like "Jaws" or "Raiders of the Lost Ark".
#2) Aliens -- excellent film in it's own right, and a great action flick. However, I have issues with how Cameron reduced the fantastical, biomechanical, Lovecraftian Alien into something that is little more than a glorified insect (hence "bug-hunt"), complete with a Queen termite. The original nightmare fuel, the "perfect organism", has been transformed into a rather mundane bullet-sponge.
#3) Alien 3
Cheers,
John
-Windebieste.
Was worried this would happen.
Spoiler
This this this that and this! The Alien movies were always enjoyable because they were about the story of Ripley and her survival against the Xenos. The focus was never on where they came from, but rather, dealing with them on a scene to scene thrill ride, let alone throwing mankind's creation into the mix. Perhaps the possible extinction, sure, but never creation. Had he left that out, Prometheus would still be a movie about scientists following a star map from extraterrestrials, finding their remains, discovering that they are mad scientists building monsters in their little shop of horrors to bomb the Earth with! Their motive could literally be jealousy of mankind, their beautiful world, something like that.
Thank you for the kind sentiment Deuterium. Although I must admit we have doctrinal differences, I'm glad to hear you speak your heart. What are your thoughts on the Alien prequels then and where do you think the series is going? Feel free to DM if needed.