Empire's ALIEN COVENANT Exclusive Cover, and Image Scans Revealed!!

[Molecules]

It's an interesting idea that the Engineers, whoever they really are, have all manner of 'cadet-races' throughout the universe who become genetically modified to bring themselves closer to the Engineer-Ideal. Just as in Kubrick's 2001, where humanity has to jump through several hoops (or phases of history and progress) to reach the Star Child phase of evolution. We might not get to see the real Engineers (exemplified in my mind by Giger's Space Jockey and biomechanical aesthetic) until another movie or two down the line. Maybe that's why the Aliens in this movie aren't biomechanical yet; they haven't been influenced or 'touched' by the real Engineers yet.

Just throwing stuff at the wall here.

Well for all intents and purposes these Juggernaut visitation images might as well be taking place on Earth in the history (dubiously) posited by the Von Daniken books. Ancient aliens imparting knowledge to aid our evolution, having hieroglyphs and monuments built to them, etc. The 2001 parallel is a pretty neat one that must have occurred to Ridley, who brings it up a lot, and whose generation of filmmakers seems to have spend the last fifty years trying to recapture it.

zoidy is right, it seems wishful thinking from many (myself included) that we will see 'real' Space Jockeys. Another freaky alien species from which the Engineers derived the black goo, and maybe even nicked technology, sure, but I don't think we'll get to see giant elephant-men with gangly arms. As cool as that would be.

The juxtaposition between highly advanced technology and a more primitive cultural aesthetic is a pretty common trope in science fiction.  I'm thinking of the Vulcans/Romulans in Star Trek.

This is a fair point, but I'm struggling to think of more recent examples. The tenor of the Alien prequels is going for a sort of dark, speculative SF, techno-realism. TOS and TNG were (aesthetically at least) high camp by comparison. The Romulans were supposed to be a belligerent, warlike imperial power like the Romans, thus their name.

[Necronomicon II]

Potential higher beings needn't be true Jockeys or space elephants, Scott's mentioned "God" before, so I wouldn't rule out some other big bad just yet. If they're going to re-create that specific engineer on 426 as accurately as possible then they'll have to account for the specific variations, especially if his circumstances represent ground zero for everything that will follow, so for that reason I think they'll approach it very carefully.

[Elder-wolf]

I don't like the idea of the engineers apparent extinction.. i find it a cheap way out of just ridding them easily from the story. Is it really that possible to do that to such an advanced race? I highly doubt it.. that ship would have been noticed long before it hit their planet and it would have been intercepted.. if the engineers are truly gone then i feel i would have been robbed of everything i wanted to see of them and know about them. And wheee is the mothership from the first movie? I doubt that will be in covenent.

[Molecules]

Potential higher beings needn't be true Jockeys or space elephants, Scott's mentioned "God" before, so I wouldn't rule out some other big bad just yet.

This is what I've been expecting/hoping for further down the line (and this is where the Cthulu-heads go crazy speculating).

It seems we won't get anywhere near that in Covenant. At the very most perhaps a sting at the end which sets up a bigger picture, like the Deacon scene but without a reveal (just my opinion - I feel like if there was something mind-blowing it would have trickled down through the leaks and there'd be more rampant speculation).

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

They certainly have the resources to make them look "as good."

8 hour make-up sessions for each of the 50 Engineer extras every day?

I'm thinking maybe it's because the Engineers in the first film were 2,000 years older and this group, 2,000+ years in the future, look a bit different? Evolutionary acclimations and such? Wouldn't that make sense?

There's 2,000 years between the Engineers we saw in Prometheus and these guys. That might have something to do with how they look now? Perhaps they've (d)evolved to be shorter, more human in feature.

There's very little discernible evolutionary difference between humans of 2000 years ago and humans of today, the same would likely be the case with Engineers. Evolution takes a lot more time. Granted, we're generally a bit taller and healthier today but that's more due to better nutrition and health care than anything else.

[rabidranger]

It's an interesting idea that the Engineers, whoever they really are, have all manner of 'cadet-races' throughout the universe who become genetically modified to bring themselves closer to the Engineer-Ideal. Just as in Kubrick's 2001, where humanity has to jump through several hoops (or phases of history and progress) to reach the Star Child phase of evolution. We might not get to see the real Engineers (exemplified in my mind by Giger's Space Jockey and biomechanical aesthetic) until another movie or two down the line. Maybe that's why the Aliens in this movie aren't biomechanical yet; they haven't been influenced or 'touched' by the real Engineers yet.

Just throwing stuff at the wall here.

Well for all intents and purposes these Juggernaut visitation images might as well be taking place on Earth in the history (dubiously) posited by the Von Daniken books. Ancient aliens imparting knowledge to aid our evolution, having hieroglyphs and monuments built to them, etc. The 2001 parallel is a pretty neat one that must have occurred to Ridley, who brings it up a lot, and whose generation of filmmakers seems to have spend the last fifty years trying to recapture it.

zoidy is right, it seems wishful thinking from many (myself included) that we will see 'real' Space Jockeys. Another freaky alien species from which the Engineers derived the black goo, and maybe even nicked technology, sure, but I don't think we'll get to see giant elephant-men with gangly arms. As cool as that would be.

The juxtaposition between highly advanced technology and a more primitive cultural aesthetic is a pretty common trope in science fiction.  I'm thinking of the Vulcans/Romulans in Star Trek.

This is a fair point, but I'm struggling to think of more recent examples. The tenor of the Alien prequels is going for a sort of dark, speculative SF, techno-realism. TOS and TNG were (aesthetically at least) high camp by comparison. The Romulans were supposed to be a belligerent, warlike imperial power like the Romans, thus their name.

All I'm saying (not that you're necessarily disagreeing) is that for as advanced as the Engineers are they seem to retain a more "grounded" approach to things like architecture and clothing. Maybe it's part of their religious customs or something. They do seem to be based on ancient Rome/Greece.

[Sabres21768]

So is this an actual production photo?

[Evanus]

It's probably just a shot from the film.

[Predaker]

Yeah, they had Javier Botet do some motion capture work. That is probably one of his scenes.

[Citadel]

So is this an actual production photo?

Man, that looks amazing.

[Sabres21768]

Love how it's tail is wrapped around the victim's leg.

Wonder who it is?

It looks so much like Huante's Fifield mutant concept art, its amazing.  Glad we actually get to see it in action.

[Elder-wolf]

Engineers in those photos have to be civilians no? I mean the difference from them and the prometheus engineers is huge.. maybe it's a way of separating different types.. the warriors or soldiers are bigger and much better built, where as the civilians/workers are much smaller and different in feature. I reckon there has to be 3-4 types.. the elders, oversee everything, the soldiers/warriors, protect and travel space seeking out other planets and sites to conduct their work. the scientists, much similar to the soldiers in features and size but they also travel with the soldiers. And i reckon they have more than one planet colonised.

[Protozoid]

How are we supposed to care about John Logan's ten page treatment if it is guaranteed to be thrown out in the next 12 months?

In this one article alone, it begins with the filmmakers scrapping their original project for unknown reasons (boredom, by the sounds of it?) and going with a completely different approach.  By the end, we're supposed to be excited for the sequel they are planning?

[acidreign]

How are we supposed to care about John Logan's ten page treatment if it is guaranteed to be thrown out in the next 12 months?

In this one article alone, it begins with the filmmakers scrapping their original project for unknown reasons (boredom, by the sounds of it?) and going with a completely different approach.  By the end, we're supposed to be excited for the sequel they are planning?

That's just how the creative process works, dude.

Things change constantly for any number of reasons.

That said, Scott & co. definitely  seem like they're more confident in the direction they're going. Whatever that may be...

[SpeedyMaxx]

We can go around and around, but the fact is there are no other space jockeys anymore.

The space jockeys are the Engineers.
The Engineers (with a slightly altered look) are on their homeworld in Alien: Covenant.
David kills them off because Ridley Scott got bored in between movies and wants to end that story thread.
The end of the space jockey.

If that feels rushed or like a copout, that's because IMO it is. But it also is what's happening here. I don't like it either but making a ton of excuses and trying to think your way around it is never going to change that.

I would love to think I won't come back in a couple years and see a 10-page thread of people debating when we'll soon see 'the real space jockey' based on differences in curvature in concept art from the late '70s, but I am not holding my breath.