Currently on display at a Smithsonian museum in Washington DC is a giant Alien egg from the Alien series. Rather than a fleshy, petaled Xenomorph egg we’re used to seeing in the franchise, this prop is a hard-shelled representation, almost evoking the feeling of a moon.
The egg was originally donated to the museum from 20th Century Studios (20th Century Fox at the time) back in 2003. Sigourney Weaver presented the prop for donation to Smithsonian. Curiously, it was reported at the time that the egg was from the second film Aliens, though unlike Alien and Alien³, Aliens never featured the hard-shelled symbolic egg in any of its marketing.
Recently Smithsonian Magazine put out an article detailing this mix up. Ryan Lintelman, Entertainment Curator of the museum determined that the egg was from Alien 3, not Aliens, and not Alien as one of his predecessors at the museum believed.
The updated museum listing for the prop features the following description:
Prop egg used in the marketing of the 1992 film Alien 3, including use in the movie’s promotional trailers. The egg is a version of the one depicted on the poster for the original 1979 Ridley Scott film Alien. That iconic poster, designed by Philip Gips, is remembered for its stark minimalist design and tagline “In space no one can hear you scream”.
The egg is made from a blend of wax and latex attached to a plaster and wire mesh form. The coating is pitted and cratered, designed to look organic and otherworldly. The egg glows green from an uneven crack in the center, a glow effect achieved with a piece of green mylar covering the inside of the egg and a light shining through. The egg is attached to a tall, metal, “L-shaped” frame. The back half of the egg opens up to reveal a small fluorescent tube and the green mylar.
Looking at the location and shape of the crack, it’s clear that this indeed was the egg used in that infamous Alien³ teaser promising a conflict on earth we wouldn’t see.
The cracked egg appearing in the Alien 3 teaser trailer
We reached out to Effects Artist Alec Gillis, who managed the creature effects of the film alongside his StudioADI co-founder Tom Woodruff Jr., to see if he had any additional insight regarding this Alien³ prop. He confirmed that the egg was not created by StudioADI and was made specifically for marketing separately.
If you’d like to check out the egg in person, you can visit the new ‘Entertainment Nation’ exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington DC.
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