How long has Ridley held this notion of who the Space Jockey really is?

[The Old One]

It's a Neomorph or a Neomorphic thing without any interactions with sexual organs so, absolutely not. As for the Alien, any other answer but Plagarius Praepotens is incorrect.

[TC]

I guess I should have made it clear, my speculations on the nature of the Space Jockeys was me following the lead from the topic of this thread.

Ridley held this notion of who the Space Jockey really is, and gave it to us in Prometheus ( i.e. they don't exist at all, they are just large humans in spacesuits).

But in the time before Prometheus, there was room for all manner of speculation. If the prequels have closed the door for you on other ideas (the judges' decision is final and no other correspondence will be entered into), that's fine by me. However, it won't stop me from ruminating on what might have been.

TC

[Immortan Jonesy]

I guess I should have made it clear, my speculations on the nature of the Space Jockeys was me following the lead from the topic of this thread.
TC

Yup. Most of my posts are with that in mind too: speculation on what might have been on regard of the Space Jockey. Even the IP is doing that with the upcoming Alien / Predator comics about original scripts before the films. But in all honesty, the Prequels work better as their own thing, despite being canon. 

However, it won't stop me from ruminating on what might have been.

TC

The same here 

[Kane's other son]

I have no trouble both enjoying the prequels and still perceiving the jockey as an otherworldly mystery when watching the original Alien.

[Immortan Jonesy]

Fair enough. However, in my case I actually get immersed into Scott's storytelling until I reach Alien. Upon there, these two movies are no longer prequels but an entirely another dimention. Just my wishifull thinking of course, as they are canon without matter what I think. 

[TC]

I have a theory that there's this new thing happening in sci-fi/fantasy that is a fusion of reboot and alternate universe stories: Where in the past reboot was a dirty word and the one-true canon was all important, we are now getting used to the concept of different versions of the same story co-existing.

In fact, this phenomena has gotten to the point where actual plots about reboots as alternate universes have appeared (e.g. Into the Spider-verse, Crisis on Infinite Earths).

But even prior to this TV shows like Fringe, The Man in the High Castle, Counterpart, as well as movies like the JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot, the rapidity of Spider-man turnovers (Maguire/Garfield/Holland), and reboots that ignore unwanted sequels (Halloween, Terminator), as well as one particularly powerful movie franchise that rewrites itself (Avengers Endgame); these have all had the effect of softening us up to accept "retellings" as legitimate entries.

IOW, canon just ain't what it used to be.

Just a theory 

TC

[The Old One]

Perhaps you're correct but I hope not.

[TC]

The thing of it is, canon was how we as fans made a story-verse credible in our minds, because this is how real life works. Another way of saying it is: canon aids suspension of disbelief.

In real life there was only one outcome to World War 2; likewise, Anne Frank really did die in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp; so naturally it follows (if we want to believe in Alien like it is real life), Ellen Ripley really did die jumping into molten lead on Fiorina 161 - there can be no other version. The one true history (what we call canon) is what gives fiction verisimilitude.

But now there's all this popular talk (going back a decade or so) about the so-called multiverse, by actual real world physicists! Suddenly it's not so silly to postulate different historical facts co-existing at the same time. Result: canon is now not so necessary to imitate reality.

It's a case of a fiction-world zeitgeist affecting audience reception.

Just more of my theory 

TC

[The Old One]

I think it is necessary, otherwise the feeling of threat and consequences, evaporates if the story's up for retconing later.

[TC]

So true.

TC

[Immortan Jonesy]

Bring the madness! I say 

I have a theory that there's this new thing happening in sci-fi/fantasy that is a fusion of reboot and alternate universe stories: Where in the past reboot was a dirty word and the one-true canon was all important, we are now getting used to the concept of different versions of the same story co-existing.

In fact, this phenomena has gotten to the point where actual plots about reboots as alternate universes have appeared (e.g. Into the Spider-verse, Crisis on Infinite Earths).

But even prior to this TV shows like Fringe, The Man in the High Castle, Counterpart, as well as movies like the JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot, the rapidity of Spider-man turnovers (Maguire/Garfield/Holland), and reboots that ignore unwanted sequels (Halloween, Terminator), as well as one particularly powerful movie franchise that rewrites itself (Avengers Endgame); these have all had the effect of softening us up to accept "retellings" as legitimate entries.

IOW, canon just ain't what it used to be.

Just a theory 

TC

An interesting theory 

Actually, I can deal with it without losing my sense of direction. I mean, I know what's canon. I know it's necessary. But that doesn't deprive me of the benefits of being a geek. That is, I like the idea of alternate realities that can coexist with the original. 

We are already talking about multiverse at this point, which is probably not everyone's cup of tea. I am also interested in the "Stranger in a strange land" kind. This probably doesn't fit with Alien. In fact, we have no parallel universe apart from AVP to begin with. Back on topic, in a "Stranger in a strange land" tale, the characters find a way to travel from the original universe to the alternative reality. There are connections between worlds. That said, I dig the idea of the Derelict as an artifact capable of distorting reality...with all and its impossible geometry. A bridge or section of the "original universe" which is much larger inside than out. In the interior, there is a variant of the original reality.  It's similar but different.

[TC]

...
Actually, I can deal with it without losing my sense of direction. I mean, I know what's canon. I know it's necessary. But that doesn't deprive me of the benefits of being a geek. That is, I like the idea of alternate realities that can coexist with the original. 
...

Aha! According to my theory (actually a hypothesis really, since it's somewhat notional and I have no way of testing it to see if it contains any truth) you are from a generation that has been raised in the era of reboots, popular science discussions on the multiverse, EU material (including fan fiction), and alternative universe stories. The result being a diminunition of the importance of canon  Congrats! You may be the future of fandom!

.., I dig the idea of the Derelict as an artifact capable of distorting reality...with all and its impossible geometry. A bridge or section of the "original universe" which is much larger inside than out. In the interior, there is a variant of the original reality.  It's similar but different.

In another of your threads you demonstrate some "what if .." questions wrt. Alien/Predator. I sometimes do a similar thing by making notes on various story mashups (it's a fun way of generating story ideas). One of them is a mashup of Alien and Event Horizon: So, what if the derelict comes from another dimension? That would make the Space Jockeys and the xenos other dimensional beings, who do not follow the normal physical rules of our universe (at least, not while inside the derelict itself, which is more of a dimension-hopping teleportation device rather than spaceship). So human astronauts who enter the derelict travel to a kind of hallucinatory demon 'verse. Kind of H P Lovecraft-style. And of course, Alien being Alien (and Giger being Giger), what they experience there is kind of deviant and perverse... but we needn't go into that 

There's some crossover there with your idea.

TC

[FenGiddel]

In an alternate universe, Parker won the argument.

[Huggs]

In an alternate universe, Parker won the argument.

And ate the something else.

I'm telling you, there was chemistry there.

[Immortan Jonesy]

...
Actually, I can deal with it without losing my sense of direction. I mean, I know what's canon. I know it's necessary. But that doesn't deprive me of the benefits of being a geek. That is, I like the idea of alternate realities that can coexist with the original. 
...

Aha! According to my theory (actually a hypothesis really, since it's somewhat notional and I have no way of testing it to see if it contains any truth) you are from a generation that has been raised in the era of reboots, popular science discussions on the multiverse, EU material (including fan fiction), and alternative universe stories. The result being a diminunition of the importance of canon  Congrats! You may be the future of fandom!

TC

lol I'd say doomsday of fandom but thanks 

.., I dig the idea of the Derelict as an artifact capable of distorting reality...with all and its impossible geometry. A bridge or section of the "original universe" which is much larger inside than out. In the interior, there is a variant of the original reality.  It's similar but different.

In another of your threads you demonstrate some "what if .." questions wrt. Alien/Predator. I sometimes do a similar thing by making notes on various story mashups (it's a fun way of generating story ideas). One of them is a mashup of Alien and Event Horizon: So, what if the derelict comes from another dimension? That would make the Space Jockeys and the xenos other dimensional beings, who do not follow the normal physical rules of our universe (at least, not while inside the derelict itself, which is more of a dimension-hopping teleportation device rather than spaceship). So human astronauts who enter the derelict travel to a kind of hallucinatory demon 'verse. Kind of H P Lovecraft-style. And of course, Alien being Alien (and Giger being Giger), what they experience there is kind of deviant and perverse... but we needn't go into that 

There's some crossover there with your idea.

TC

The cosmic horror was always a strong reference while crafting the classic. 

That baneful little storm-lashed planetoid planetoid halfway across the galaxy was a fragment of the Old Ones' homeworld, and the Alien a blood relative of the Yog-Sothoth. - Dan O'Bannon

But in all seriousness, I liked the idea of someone who compared Derelict with an Escher optical illusion in another thread. 

In an alternate universe, Parker won the argument.

And ate the something else.

I'm telling you, there was chemistry there.