10min Alien Covenant Footage From Alien Day Screenings

[The_Foxcatcher]

^ Yeah, I think that's been bugging me as well. It's interesting to see an Alien movie taking place on an earth-like planet, but at the same time it feels less like Alien.

I do not mind it because of the idea being they are colonists settling a planet. That coupled with this being the Engineer home world (presumeably ). I am guessing this is at a point in the timeline when terraforming has not been perfected to the point it was on Aliens with the "shake and bake" colonies. Keep in mind that

Spoiler

it looks like the final act takes place on the covenant in space

[close]

, so it will not all be on that planet.

Yes, but the Covenant crews doesn't know that they are visiting the supposed Engineers' home world. They would have definitely scanned the planet's atmosphere and found it suitable. But Prometheus was pretty bashed by people for having the crews removing their helmets and that too inside a terraformed artificial facility. Again in Prometheus, there was no airborne pathogens which infected the crews, then too, the film was bashed for no reason.

Now, it seems that Covenant Crews not wearing helmets seems to be a ploy just to have 'airborne spores' work!

[Predaker]

They could have decided to show the spores circumventing their helmets in some fashion. The facehugger got through Kane's helmet in ALIEN. It was an aesthetic choice. I remember reading Ridley Scott said something about wanting their outfits to age well with the film, or not look outdated later down the line.

[Sgt. Shanx]

*link removed. Please don't share links to this pirated footage in the public boards. Hicks.*

This is Piracy!

Master Corporal Hicks, this is not good for your web site's reputation.

Anyway, saw it (as I thought it was some official promotional release footage).

The landing and entry scene was not as good and/or gorgeous as in Alien and Prometheus. But the whole sequence was good; a much professional approach from the crews was documented.

The Backburster scene was cool and gruesome. Finally, something different. The pacing was perfect. The performances were good. Overall good built-up of suspense and tension.

The Backburster neomorph was truly vicious. I couldn't see the throat burster scene as the clip was too dark.

Not happy to see the crews walking without helmets. Not happy to see the short-cut 'Spore planting neomorph'  concept. Anyway, it sure looks like a hardcore horror slasher film.

Will wait for the grand concepts of Prometheus to evolve in future sequels if this doesn't deliver.

Ok Now.....Now I realised what was that thing that's making me less excited for the movie:-

Crews without helmets and setting of Earth like green planet. This is what's bugging my subconscious.


I feel the Lack of off-worldly adventure.

The primary Alien movies i.e. Alien (1979) & Prometheus had crews exploring a strange rocky planet with their helmets on! Their slow expedition is what which set the Alien Adventure & the sense of 'darkest corner in the universe'. It also makes the crews look like Astronauts and draws an outlook of hard sci-fi film. Scott also considered Prometheus crews helmets to be big oval ones so the actors' faces remain prominent.

Looking at Alien: Covenant, I can't feel the characters as astronauts. I feel them like mountaineers with hiker bags adventuring for fun (thanks to the bad costumes). I can't feel the extra-planetary adventure. I can't feel it as an 'Alien' film. I can feel it just like AVP1 set in New Zealand forests. Ofcourse, we shall be seeing Engineers' world, Juggernaut, David's experiments etc. But it still doesn't feel like Alien.

Imo the characters look better without the "astronaut" look with the big bubble helmets and spandex suits...in both Alien and Aliens we saw the characters in most scenes without this look...and we have seen the dark rocky unstable environments already...i like this fresh take on the setting of the story...lol and just from the trailers and viral marketing i can tell this is far from an AVP like feature...its freakin Ridley Scott man...feels very "Alien" to me mixing some old stuff that worked with some new ideas...cant wait

[Darth Vile]

Exactly that /\... I'm not sure why some people want homogenised films that have to be exactly like their predecessor...

[CainsSon]

Exactly that /\... I'm not sure why some people want homogenised films that have to be exactly like their predecessor...

I dont need to see exactly what came before this, to say that a Giger-landscape-setting /planet, is one of those rare cases where it's both really OBVIOUS, but also, in a way that absolutely still works. Usually the OBVIOUS doesnt work and falls flat... If this series doesn't man-up to something like a Giger-World at some point in the proliferation of it's already lengthy list of extensive sequels, it will remain one of the most sorely missed opportunities in Genre-filmmaking history, IMO.

[Clowndog]

Yeah, I've never understood the obsession with people not wearing protective gear. It made some sense with Prometheus purely because it was a high tech scientific expedition, but for this film it's pretty weak.

I mean the entire history of human exploration is full of people going to places where they know there are illnesses that kill people but they have no idea how it was transmitted. Take David Livingstone for example, he lived large portions of his adult life in sub-Saharan Africa in full knowledge that malaria was a thing and that people died from it regularly. He even brought his family with him for a while until they couldn't handle the illness anymore.

We know, from looking at the historical behaviour of humans, that people are totally reckless in this field.

It's just a silly criticism.

I also have a problem with people complaining about Millburn's behaviour towards the snake thing (do you really expect me to believe that Charles Darwin never did anything reckless at all during his voyages to collect samples and do detailed drawings of the natural world?) but that's a different topic all together.

[Predaker]

Even if Darwin went around treating deadly snakes as if they were puppy dogs (which is a highly dubious claim,) he still wouldn't have been jeopardizing a trillion dollar mission and potentially putting a whole team of people's lives in danger.

[Clowndog]

Even if Darwin went around treating deadly snakes as if they were puppy dogs (which is a highly dubious claim,) he still wouldn't have been jeopardizing a trillion dollar mission and potentially putting a whole team of people's lives in danger.

Uhhh, yes he would. And I'm not sure how Millburn putting himself in danger jeopardises the entire expedition.

In a time when they didn't really understand infectious diseases or the natural world in general he had a live giant tortoise as a pet on his boat. Also incidentally the boat was an expensive scientific vessel travelling to far flung places (a lot like the Prometheus).

The equivalent of this in the film would be, if the snake thing wasn't aggressive, Millburn taking it with him and keeping it as a pet on the Prometheus.

Imagine how stupid people would have thought that was.

[juxtapose]

i could not agree more clowndog. ..he might also be the type tjat axtually has a pet snake or turantula..  .i had those as a kid. .but i am freaked out by worms.. .lol, but yeah i can totally see how many people could  respond in mulburns fashion of almost petting the alien. . .he almost did. .he only almost reached towatds it and then backed away. .the way people carry on you would swear he licked it and had anal sex with it. .

[Darth Vile]

Exactly that /\... I'm not sure why some people want homogenised films that have to be exactly like their predecessor...

I dont need to see exactly what came before this, to say that a Giger-landscape-setting /planet, is one of those rare cases where it's both really OBVIOUS, but also, in a way that absolutely still works. Usually the OBVIOUS doesnt work and falls flat... If this series doesn't man-up to something like a Giger-World at some point in the proliferation of it's already lengthy list of extensive sequels, it will remain one of the most sorely missed opportunities in Genre-filmmaking history, IMO.

I'm all for a Giger'esque landscape, or 'alien home-world', and I'm assuming that's where it will go in the next film. My point is that a 'good' Alien film doesn't have to be confined by the limitations of the aesthetic established in Alien and Aliens. Now granted, everything that followed thus far has been inferior... but (fingers crossed) it's looking like Covenant will actually be both good and provide a different aesthetic. That's a win win in my opinion.

[Predaker]

.. .lol, but yeah i can totally see how many people could  respond in mulburns fashion of almost petting the alien. . .he almost did. .

Sure, I mean there are plenty of videos on YouTube of people doing stupid and dangerous things.

[ChrisPachi]

but (fingers crossed) it's looking like Covenant will actually be both good and provide a different aesthetic. That's a win win in my opinion.

For real. The giant alien ship over the ancient alien city is legit... if you had waved that in my face 20 years ago you would of been picking bits of my skull out of your teeth

[NickisSmart]

Bits of YOUR skull out of... MY teeth? How does THAT work? 

[Ballzanya]

The footage was pretty amazing, too bad it was sideways for some godawful reason. (I actually tilted my laptop to watch it) I probably should have resisted the urge to download/watch it, as the throat bursting and backbursting scenes might not have the same effect the second time around, so if you can wait to the theatrical release, I recommend it. Reading descriptions of the footage or watching videos of people's reaction to the footage is still fine, it definitely won't ruin the experience of seeing the actual scenes.

[Predaker]

I also have a problem with people complaining about Millburn's behaviour towards the snake thing