20th Century Fox tease new Alien: Covenant image with a cryptic clue!

So the Covenant has a squad of Colonial Marines now?

As for the numbers, planet concordance?

So... so... soo...

22.05.12.05.21.04

22 day

12 month

21 hour.

Could be Leto! That places it at this Thursday!

And so the viral campaign kicks off!

2104 is the year 'Alien:Covenant' takes place, isn't it?  Not sure of the 1205 and 2205 portion.  December 22 (12/22) and/or time trailer drops (12:05)?  Not sure.

I think the 22nd is probably what it'll be. And yeah I believe it does take place in 2104.

The numbers add up to 24. Maybe 12/24?

'Assassin's Creed' comes out this Wednesday, December 21.  Maybe it will be attached to that movie, but they will launch it on the internet on the 22nd?

Which twitter feed?   Is it @20thcenturyfox?  I don't see the image you're referring to?

The Alien Anthology twitter feed here.

Thank you!

The date of the photo taken: 

22:05 hrs 12.05. 2104

10 years after Prometheus 

If Earth coordinates, it's a spot in southern Algeria. "Algeria" has all the letters to spell "Alien" except "N". :)

I'm pretty sure David007 has it right - it's not a hint for the release date, but rather the time the movie is set in. 10:05 PM, May 12th, 2014.

Picture looks like something straight out of a Predator or Jurassic Park film. Unexpected but interesting 

Sadly, the security team wasn't expecting David and his creations...

Yeah, the scene is from the jungle planet they land on. Either their initial recon of the surrounding area, or the gun fight scene teased to us early on, involving Weyland-Yutani security fighting Aliens.

Those lights are probably their ground transport and they were walking with it and contact was made 3 o'clock of their position. Something got their attention, maybe the sounds the Alien makes...this will be good and intense. 

Woah there, jungle planet?

I want to imagine that this "paradise" is has multiple ecosystems like earth. They shot in New Zealand and Australia. Perhaps has two climates. 

The planet certainly has some jungle elements yeah.

Also, this guy on Twitter added all the numbers together and it equals "24".

So, it seems as though the teaser will drop on the 22nd, teasing the full release on the 24th. The wait is gonna kill me, I swear haha.

I think it's just 22 12 2104 don't think it hints a specific time

1205 could be in reference to the release date of the movie 12th May; 1205 

and the 05 towards the end could be in reference to this being the 5th movie with Alien in the title 

and the last 4 numbers at the end being the year the movie takes place

and the 22 at the beginning being the date of the trailer release; 22nd of presumably this month

It's a hurry up and wait situation . 

Got to love these kinds of clues...

Lets us all have a go at being a code breaker lol

When i look at it, i come to the same conclusion as David007

22:05 hrs  5th December year 2104

Thus nearly 11 years after Prometheus if thats the case, but then depends how you look at it.... as well 2104 is about 10 years after Jan 2094 when Shaw and David left LV-223 well attempted to find the other Engineer Escape ship.

Photo looks taken at night.... but then who is to say that what are the chances that 10PM some place on Earth, would be dark on Paradise too.

Its a case of what time/date system to use in another solar system... i would assume when Mankind can Travel the Stars we would use our Calendar as a basis set at GMT time.

So maybe a First Contact with Hostiles...

Or who knows even if this is not some other Ship that comes in after, we cant be sure....  and we cant Guarantee the Covenant is the only ship?  But it likely is.

I have a friend who works at a theater and would know the info. I'll ask tomorrow if the trailer is attached to assains ceeed. They would have the list for the week by now.

Weapons seems archaic for the time and age. Just from the pic I notice scopes etc.. that are old for 2017 let alone 2104. This picture was a shock actually. Always had these visuals in my head of what the movie would look like. Aesthetic, atmosphere, geography etc... Now its all screwed up lol. I can't come to this site anymore. I want to be surprised since its only been 36 years since Alien. What is 5 more months!

It's an industrious future. Weapons that we use now will and can be modified then. The fact that they are user older weapons isn't surprising. As will the technology not be great but grudge and have that used look. Just like the Nostromo. 

The speculation is massive, just saying 80+ years makes a big difference. If weapons can't advance, how does space travel advance  exponentially to accommodate this movie? If these are security forces/marines whatever...how are they not equipped with the latest? 

This is kindov a scary pic imo.....i dont see anyone surviving this. Its still too early for me, but I know Sir Ridley is going knock it out of the park. we all will get our alien xmas present shortly!!!!

Same as David007 puts it...

As Primitive as those Weapons look, the basics to Guns has not changed since the Firearm was invented in 13th Century CE not much has changed in the basics since 15th Century

You have a Barrel, that a Projectile is placed in and then using some Force this Projectile is fired at a Target.. the same as the Canon does.  Which the Chinese invented in 13th Century

All that has changed is the Force that is used to Fire the Projectile... From placing a Projectile in the Barrel with Gunpowder and Lighting the Powder to Fire... to a Container that contains the Propellant with the Projectile attached at the end and at the but of the (Bullet) is a Primer that a Hammer Hits.

Guns have evolved to allow for more accurate (Barrels) more Power (Propellant and casing), Lighter Weight, more rapid Fire Rate and Ammunition Magazines.  And more advanced Scopes.

So in terms of the Franchise, all thats evolved is  maybe the weight of the Weapons and Ammunition and the power (Propellant) and Damage Caused due to Technologically upgrades.

The M41A Pulse Rifle is nothing really too advanced as far as Modern Weapons... same principles..

Of course we could have Laser Guns, Plasma Guns, Gauss Guns and the like...  These are very Sci-Fi and well in theory possible but its beyond the realms of possibility at the moment due to the Vast Size the Power Supply to power then would be. A few I-phone 7 Batteries are not going to power a Star Wards Blaster.

Funny enough a Air Gun is potentially deadly Technology, you could make a Air Gun that would beat the most advanced Gun Powder Weapon.  Its been done..

Take one Tube/Barrel... take one 50mm steal BB

Fit it to a 2-4 Tonne Press (like the ones where Air operates a Press that would Press Steel into Shapes... like in Car Industry)

and you have a Armour Piercing Weapon... not practical due to the amount of C02 needed and Machinery and Tanks required to power it.   The source of the Power to Project the BB would need to be to big to even carry... same reasons Laser Gun Blasters are Sci-Fi at the moment as far as being small enough to use as a personal weapon.

@Tastymorph....

A point i forget to mention, when i said how Laser Guns and Blasters are Technically Sci-Fi due to the size of the Power Requirements and we cant create such Power in Portable devices.

The same is true with Engines to Power such Ships as in Alien Franchise... never mind then over coming the Speed of Light.

so on that note yes, why not give us Star Wars Blasters and Star Trek Phasers etc.....

But again Aliens the Weapons are primitive compared to that, the Shotgun is basically same as we have now and pistols to.

I love how it's going to be a "horror" movie, but it looks like it has an artistic style. Alien had beautiful imagery!

Going back to the Cryptic Code.... looking at the 2104 and is that just coincidence?  If not then i would say as far as Sci-Fi  in future that maybe they adopt the US Format of MM/DD/YYYY with the first part then being 24 hour clock...

And so i still go with the 10:05PM, 5th December 2104 for maybe when the Covenant Arrives at Paradise?

But this could be a red herring lol.... could mean date of Trailer? who knows.

@BigDave & David007. I agree with you guys. For me the tech doesn't match the age, that is all. In the Alien/Prometheus movies/universe it makes sense, because that what we have been served with.  

This pic really gives us some insight of the Covenant crew and the makeup. Im former military and from what I've seen this is part of a larger group. You have security team, your ship team, your colony te that is probably made up of doctors, scientists, engineers and so forth. Judging by the other photos, such as the cargo bay, all their equipment has that used feel. Nothing really high tech like that of the Prometheus. The equipment here for Covenant is made to work and has been used for work before. I'm sure this crew has been else where. I'm also sure a lot of these crew members have been with the Company for years and there will be newbies who for them, this is their first flight out. Also, Weyland has been conducting colony work for a while now. This ship might have some history to it. Not it's first voyage. So, we get that used industrious look that Scott and Cameron used.

Weapon tech aside, I'm really curious about what they are wearing. Looks to me like they have some sort of masks on, covering at least the lower half of their faces, perhaps respirators? Big backpacks... will they have any kind of armor? Just because I am a huge colonial marine nerd and I loved their armor, so seeing something like that would be cool.

I think if I could nitpick, I would've liked to see a a little bit of of different weapon tech than AR type weapons and old EO-tech sights. I say old because the newer ones have smaller battery compartments and thinking forward, you'd think they'd get even smaller. It's Alien universe, half of what makes it great is the artistic design and that includes the tech

It's Alien universe, half of what makes it great is the artistic design

So damn true, that's why I also like A3 and AR to some extent because from an esthetic standpoint they look great imo. The exaggerated color palette of Fincher and Jeunet's steampunky vision is clearly present in their respective films.

What if... (and this might be a long shot) the numbers were references to Biblical passages? Prometheus takes places on Xmas...and we have the strong theme of belief throughout the film. I looked up a few verses and came up with this: 

2205 - (Matthew 22:05):  “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business."

- Could this parallel the crew of the Covenant and their initial naivety when exploring the Engineer's home planet?

1205 (Revelations 12:05) "And she brought forth a manchild, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up unto God and to His throne." 

-Again, another long shot, but could this reference the role Shaw might play early on in the film with her DNA and possibly creating different types of xenonorphs?

1204 (Romans 12:04):"We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions.5 In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body." 

-Maybe this ties in to David (Creator) using his DNA to help create Alien life?

This all may be way off base. :)

That's super interesting and could be very relevant considering Ridley's affection to religion.

Jake nailed it.. Damn Smart Move :)

The orange glow is either lights bouncing off mist, or something is on fire and it's smoke.

I get the feeling Ridley is really going to up the ante!

I think there will be a scene involving Shaw which will blow JC's Alien Queen out of the water.

Likewise there will be action sequences which will mirror some of those from the A L I E N sequels, but Ridley will put a new spin on them, which will completely overshadow all that has gone before!

The anticipation is killing me, release the damn teaser already!

I like this line of thinking Jake, although the last passage should be '2104' not '1204'. I'm not religious in the slightest bit there's no doubt there were strong biblical references and religious symbolism in Prometheus.

I think the first two passages you reference probably have more than a coincidental similarity to potential aspects of The film (Shaw/David's different reasons for going to Paradise, and as is known, David's 'business' he attends to). The second reference could well suggest the Queen connection, rather than Shaw's - although it does equally fit Shaw's story arc in Prometheus, and possibly her role in Covenant.

The third passage doesn't quite match up, and has an incorrect reference of 1204.

Let's not also forget the name 'Covenant'. This is undoubtedly a biblical reference, also in keeping with the suspected story line - 'an agreement or coming together of two or more parties'...........

Here's Proverbs, 21:04 -

Evil people are proud and arrogant, but sin is the only crop they produce

@jake, i think you've nailed it too.

What if it's all these things

1204 was the end of the 4th Crusade and the sacking of Constantinople.

Let's not also forget the name 'Covenant'. This is undoubtedly a biblical reference, also in keeping with the suspected story line - 'an agreement or coming together of two or more parties

Indeed, I've thought about the religious significance of the title as well. 

Hello all,

Been on this site for a while.  Guess it's time to become an Alien fanatic again.  Been reading all of your contributions and these are some great posts and inputs.  Maybe I'm in the minority here, but AR style rifles and EO tech sites 87 years later just doesn't make sense to me.  I agree with you Big Dave, a kinetic weapon is a kinetic weapon but......87 years later there hasn't been a change in weapon frame?  It's a dark picture and you really can't tell what they look like but those weapons are a big departure from the crazy "Shotgun" Waterson is cradling in that earlier photo they released. I akin it to going to explore Africa with a muzzle loader.  Works great unless you are going to encounter Lions, Crocodiles, Elephants, Hippos, and Cape Buffalo.  Of course I'm sure they aren't taking a standard 5.56 round to another planet and I'm sure it won't detract from the overall movie, but you already know they are all probably gonna die, I just want them to have a fighting chance.

I'm also not a big fan of present day weapons in the future sci-fi Alien Covenant but remember the pump-action shotgun and handgun in Aliens. 

If they change the color of the muzzle flash like in Prometheus I'll be satisfied, a solution to make a firearms seem futuristic.

The marines remind me of those Weyland Yutani pmc's from Alien Colonial Marines Last dlc.

Has the game been patched to a better version yet? 

@Gaseouswater

Nice find... and yes seems to fit the bill.

" years later there hasn't been a change in weapon frame?"

Depends, if its not broken why fix it?   its been a long time since the Car was invented but most Cars still stick with the 4 Wheel Principle.

So i think we cant rule out, new lighter construction material to make the current frame (Barrel and Stock) some % lighter.

Quicker Fire Rate by some %

And changes in the Propellant for more Speed and Accuracy with new kind of Slug at the end.... Armour Piercing Exploding Rounds pretty much like they used in Aliens.

Neomorph

Well there have been a lot of patches and they have managed to fix some mistakes but the game hasn't change much, but the last dlc brought a new campaign story with the USS Legato and continuing the story of Hicks

That's a bummer because I actually had faith in improving that game as the huge Alien fan that I am.

But we got Alien Isolation and that's the best Alien game to date closely followed by Alien Trilogy imo.

its been a long time since the Car was invented but most Cars still stick with the 4 Wheel Principle.

Yes and cars have undergone massive design changes throughout the years as well, as we speak of appearance.

Well spaceghost, those are OBVIOUSLY not shotguns, so that point is moot. And it's only natural that if they are Colonists, that there would be COLONIAL marines. As far as the look of the guns, we really can't say whAt they look like as the picture is very dark. However about the scopes, that tech hasn't changed much over the years, and I believe the phrase goes:

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it." 

The only thing this picture worries me about is if Fox looked at recent blockbusters and demanded that Ridley add more action scenes to make it more appealing. I wouldn't put it past Fox, as they can be intrusive bastards that repeatedly screw themselves over for intruding too much on a film. 

"years later there hasn't been a change in weapon frame?"

Depends, if its not broken why fix it?   its been a long time since the Car was invented but most Cars still stick with the 4 Wheel Principle."

Well Big Dave and Neomorph, I certainly agree with you but props are such a huge addition to any movie, they add tone aesthetics, and perpetuate that 4th wall.  For example, if Deckard from Blade Runner was using a WWII Model 1911 instead of his futuristic "bang bang" it just would not have been the same. I'm sure a 1911 in .45 ACP would be more than adequate to dispatch a replicate.  Obviously the use of contemporary firearms in this movie isn't a deal breaker, but the use of more futuristic props helps in the overall realism of the movie.  Just my opinion.  And of course that new picture just posted alleviates my concerns, it's definitely futuristic looking.  One other note, we all need to buy stock in ACOG because 87 years from now they will be using them on other planets. ;)

We need to look at what makes a Perfect Fire Arm

1) Barrel that the Projectile is Fired down, Advances in Barrels can be made that do not differ the design of a gun greatly.

2) Projectile a object that is fired at a target that can cause damage and at speed.... Advancements in this can happen that dont differ the the design of a gun greatly.

3) Propelant the means of which to force kinetic Energy to the Projectile to leave the Barrel with speed and Precision.  Improvements to the  efficiency of the Cartridge and its means of activating the Propellant can advance to not necessarily adjust the appearance of the design of a gun greatly.

4) Firing Mechanism the means that allows a contraption to be easily fired (Trigger) to impact or cause the type of Propellant to Activate and Release the Bullet/Shell Slug. Again unless a larger one is used then it wont effect the design of a gun greatly.

6) Magazine/Loading/unloading Mechanism means to load a Projectile and Propellant into the Barrel as quickly and efficiently for the  Firing Mechanism to activate and then remove the empty and replace with a new round.. Larger Magazine to hold more rounds... (can effect the look of the gun and design slightly).

7) The Stock and other Aesthetics  that effect how comfortable the Gun is to hold, and protect user from force of the shot (recoil) materials to make it lighter and more cushioned. The Rail around the Barrel and what these can connect to it. These can affect the design of the Gun greatly but in general if something is not broken why fix (4 Wheels + Chassis + Drivers Seat and Steering) Element of a car.

8. Other Modifications that aid to the performance of the Weapon, reduce recoil,  reduce heat and muzzle flash. This can have a  mild effect on the design of the Gun.

9. Optical Assistance generally a add on, to aid Sight and these can change the dynamics of a Weapon as far as Weight, Ease of use due to size.  For some purposes Big Scopes are a advantage... for more Tactical Quick Operations a simple AR gun sights when used by those trained provide ample assistance. For Short to Medium Range Assaults.

So the Major changes would be the Stock... but this would not need to be changed much unless it was to incorporate different Barrel size, and type of Propellant mainly.. hence difference between a Riffle and Shot Gun.

To me the guns look like the Stock/Trigger Mechanism of a S2000 with the Barrel/Rail of a HK416.

With future technology they could improved the Projectile + Propellant component and the Loading/Unload and Trigger Mechanisms to significantly improve the Firearm without effecting the Aesthetics...

A major difference to design would require the use of Larger Slug, which needs Larger Barrels and has a fast load and fire mechanism....  this is what the Aliens M41A Pulse Rifle was and why it looked different.

Same Principle as Explosive Propellant Weaponry of Today.

Only Caseless rather than Cartridge at the moment however the Cartridge is more better,  as Caseless Ammo is prone to Jams and more so overheating to make a practical replacement.

Once Perfected though it could lower the weight and size of the Magazine and also effect the load/unload mechanism because it would eject the Propellant out with it via the end of the Barrel and not via ejecting from the side.

Big Dave,

LOL, my point was simply meant to state that based on the action picture and silhouette,  I would be disappointed, if in fact the prop master decided M-4 style rifles would look cool and since popular would be a good choice for the production.  I'm not worried about fps, foot pounds of energy, materials of the weapon, etc.  They just need to look the part. Gaseous Waters' picture fits.  The weapon looks futuristic and isn't anything you can currently find in the market. M-4/AR Rifles are popular in any of today's action movie.  I would just prefer something a bit different.  I.E., 1911 vs the LAPD 2019 Blaster in Blade Runner.  Huge difference.  That's all I was trying to say.    

The guy in the very front. His shadowy face looks like James Francos. My guess is he goes with the marines on first contact and dies. Just look at the man in the very front.

SpaceGhost I fully understand your opinion, because if they've invented advanced technology like hypersleep, androids that are indistinguishable from humans, holograms and so on, they ought to have more "advanced -looking" weaponry to enhance the sense of a sci-fi film set 90(!) years into the future.

That being said my opinion regarding Aliens other possible esthetical changes remain; altering the muzzle flash in post production can really give the impression of futuristic tech disguised in present time appearance.

Additionally, it would be even better if they swapped parts from different firearms like BigDave mentioned.

I agree with @NoiseBringer. If you take the codes on the photographs from the viral campaign as time stamps of events, this photo is a month before you see the cryo-chamber sections. This makes me think that the first image is a first contact landing team sent to set up perimeter, check the area and set up a beacon for the main landing party; this could potentially explain James Franco's brief involvement at the start of the movie, with the potential of re-appearing at the end of the film. The picture also represents the same foliage that you see on the location shots in New Zealand with tall grass.
my full presumption is that the landing party go down and set up the start process beacon and then disappear. The rest of the colony, still in cryo, wake to find the beacon has been set up and acknowledged, but there is no direct contact with the ground. They land anyway.... the rest is/was... a big mistake.

just a theory 

**update** well, that theory was put to rest with the plot update delivered in Empire magazine's latest output.

Are you sure the trailer comes out tonight?

22:05 12/05/2104

13:01 12/06/2104

18:56 12/08/2104

22:46 12/07/2104