Ultramorph

[DerelictShip]

I was wondering if anyone had any information regarding the ultramorph. I think I heard it was originally written into either Prometheus or the original Alien (I forget which) but ultimately we never saw it.
Started thinking about Prometheus and realized it could have worked pretty well if they decided to give us an ultramorph in the film. Maybe they could have introduced it earlier in the film or have shown a corpse of the creature, which would explain why the jockeys were running. Would have preferred seeing that developed instead of a small alien reminiscent deacon at the final moments of the film.

[Highland]

Yeah I think it would have been a better idea to terrorise the crew with a new creature, it was really what the picture was missing. This back and forth between the temple and the lander was really jarring and ruined the pace of the movie. 

Go in - bad stuff has happened, get chased around by Ultramorph/Deacon, finale with the woken Engineer. Sounds like Alien, but really that's what he tried to to in Covenant.

I mean Scott thinks that movie is scary, but it's not even that type of picture.

[Scorpio]

Deacon > Ultramorph

The Ultramorph is a cool design but the point of the prequels is to show the evolution of the xenomorph.  You cannot go from A -> C if you start from point C.

[bb-15]

I was wondering if anyone had any information regarding the ultramorph. I think I heard it was originally written into either Prometheus or the original Alien (I forget which) but ultimately we never saw it.
Started thinking about Prometheus and realized it could have worked pretty well if they decided to give us an ultramorph in the film. Maybe they could have introduced it earlier in the film or have shown a corpse of the creature, which would explain why the jockeys were running. Would have preferred seeing that developed instead of a small alien reminiscent deacon at the final moments of the film.

I think we did see the Ultramorph. It was the Deacon.
From the Spaihts "Alien Engineers" draft script;

DAVID...
He turns back to the Sleeper.

DAVID (CONT'D)
The Engineers' ships travel farther
than ours. Across the galactic disk. This is their hypersleep...

INT. JUGGERNAUT - PILOT CHAMBER...

In the pilot chair, the Sleeper convulses.

An ALIEN erupts from his chest. Big as a wolf even at its birth. Dark gray, armored, lethal. More hideous than any chestburster we've seen. An ULTRAMORPH. It wails hideously.

http://www.joblo.com/scripts/Alien-Engineers-ORIGINAL-PROMETHEUS-SCRIPT.pdf

In the production of "Prometheus" what came to be called the Deacon was originally named the Ultramorph.
In the 3D Blu-Ray set the creature is described in this extra; Enhancement Pods/Xenomorphology: The Deacon.
Steven Messing, Visual Effects Art Director for Prometheus discuses the Ultramorph which by the release of the film had been renamed the Deacon.
Messing in the video says;

The Xenomorph in my mind was a descendant of the Ultramorph. It was the pure form of this kind of almost virus that these Engineers had created.

[Biomechanoid]

I'm surprised this is even questioned. I've always known the Ultramorph is the Deacon. But I realize that casual fans would likely not know this.

[DerelictShip]

I'm surprised this is even questioned. I've always known the Ultramorph is the Deacon. But I realize that casual fans would likely not know this.

Because if you look up a picture of an ultramorph it looks like a giant xenomorph. The deacon looks similar but not the same. Also, the deacon became a living mountain so I'm just confused.

[Biomechanoid]

Understood. If the Ultramorph is not the Deacon, then for three years I've had bad info posted on my site.

[DerelictShip]

What's your website?

This is saying the ultramorph is not the deacon. The deacon replaced it in the final draft.

http://alienanthology.wikia.com/wiki/Ultramorph

[Biomechanoid]

Ahh okay, I was under the impression they simply changed the name from Ultramorph to Deacon. Thanks for share!

[bb-15]

What's your website?

This is saying the ultramorph is not the deacon. The deacon replaced it in the final draft.

http://alienanthology.wikia.com/wiki/Ultramorph

I've read the Ultramorph alienanthology page before.
Imo, if there is a contradiction between the "Prometheus" Blu-ray extra and an Alien wiki site, the Blu-ray extra is closer to canon.

The Wiki site says;

The Ultramorph was featured in Jon Spaihts' original Prometheus script, but was ultimately cut from Prometheus before filming, replaced instead with the Deacon,

Yet Steven Messing, Visual Effects Art Director for Prometheus, in the Blu-ray extra calls the what is labeled as the Deacon, an Ultramorph.
* Part of this goes to semantics. According to the filmmakers is the Space Jockey an Engineer? Yes.
* Second, it has to do with a change in design with the same creature. The xenomorph has had design changes and yet it's still known as the same creature.

Anyway, the evidence imo points to the Deacon being another name for the Ultramorph.



PS. * Maybe underlying this debate is the desire for "Prometheus" to have more closely follow the Spaihts draft script?

[Biomechanoid]

I've read the Ultramorph alienanthology page before.
Imo, if there is a contradiction between the "Prometheus" Blu-ray extra and an Alien wiki site, the Blu-ray extra is closer to canon.

Well that would explain why I was under the impression they simply changed the name from Ultramorph to Deacon.

Oh and Derelict, sorry, I didn't mean to ignore your question, I just overlooked it. My site is in my signature.

[Corporal Hicks]

There's a little more to it than just a name change. The Ultramorph had more meat within the plot, whereas the Deacon was just a little hat-tip at the end. Their designs are completely different. The Ultramorph was intended as some big badass Alien/Jockey hybrid that was...ha...the Ultra Xenomorph. The Deacon's name comes from the fact it's head is pointy, like a Deacon's hat. It is not the Ultra version of the Alien.

[Biomechanoid]

Thanks for expanding. With the film's art director calling the Deacon the Ultramorph, I'm not seeing enough here to change the info on my site. But it is interesting how it's physical and moniker attributes were malleable enough for fans to hold differing interpretations on the creature's design evolution.

[chromhart]

Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the Deacon supposed to be the adult form of the Halloway Alien from The Engineers/Genesis Draft? The Ultramorph was what was to be born from the Engineer.

[OpenMaw]

What came out of Holloway, as I recall, is what we know as the "Beluga Alien" which had the ability to squeeze into tight spaces and move around like a sea animal. Much like an octopus.