Comments (Page 258)

Gotta love this:

Let me know how is the red band trailer. I can't see it, poor internet connection.

New red band teaser for the six shorts:

daliens PM sent

And the chances for all of us to see the play are real.

Bravo to Perfecto Cuervo, Steven Defendini and to all the the actors from Alien: The Play, whom you can see in Ingeniero's related thread here.

I don't think the faculty or students will sleep tonight. That is just beautiful!

Yes ,dk, especially this part:

"Scott Free will advance some financial help to fund an encore performance of Alien. How about your next TEAM production being Gladiator."

Ridley Scott is my hero.

daliens That is FANTASTIC!!!!

It doesn't get any better than this!

"Sigourney Weaver and Ridley Scott Share Praise for Students Who Recreated 'Alien' at School Play"

Quoted below from Comicbook.com:

"I saw a bit of your production of Alien, I just wanted to say, it looked incredible. You put so much heart and soul into that and the alien, I must say, looked very real, to me," Weaver shared on Twitter. "And I just wanted to send our compliments, not only from me,but from [Aliens director] James Cameron and the original screenwriter Walter Hill. We all say, 'Bravo, well done.' And, just one more thing, the alien might still be around, so when you're opening your locker, just do it very slowly."

Ridley Scott penned a letter posted by Deadline, that reads, "My hat comes off to all of you for your creativity, imagination, and determination to produce such an ambitious show. Limitations often produce the best results because imagination and determination can surpass any shortfalls and determine the way forward -- ALWAYS. Self-sufficiency is what this country was largely based upon with its immigrant population coming in to a New World and working TOGETHER."

The filmmaker went on to note that, not only was the experience creatively ambitious,but, with a budget far short of a Hollywood production, the play demonstrates that the future appears bright for all those who managed to pull it off.

"This is maybe the biggest lesson for ALL OF YOU, and your future plans -- stay with this determination, and this spirit in everything you do, and you will succeed -- let nothing put you off -- or set you back," the letter added. "Thanks for doing Alien, I felt very complimented. Scott Free will advance some financial help to fund an encore performance of Alien. How about your next TEAM production being Gladiator."

The film master's letter below, thanks to Deadline:

I think on the BROAD basis, i agree with the Franchise, the Xenomorph is ONLY a Part... and in terms of after the Franchise, with a Prequel i agree there should be something more than the Xenomorph... do something NEW.

Something like the Ultramorph! Aliens: Apocalypse - the Destroying Angels is masterpiece. This comic have a cool aliens and Mala'kak city. Plot - literally better than better than many films. And it have a dosed mythical themes in technology setting.

If you only watched the Movie and the Advent, then YES you could assume and it appears that this is Davids Objective....

However... when talking about the sequel Ridley Scott said it Would-Not be about the Xenomorph, it would be about AI and what KIND of a World David would Create/Build.

AND

If the Xenomorph was Created or Engineered it would also be a AI in terms of what RS was saying

Looks contradictory. But no, if it fits the idea of O'Bannon and Shusett about aliens as smart race. Good point.

FOX felt that having the Origins Answered and introducing the Xenomorphs is WHAT the Fans want... Hence RS and his "they want Aliens, i will give them Fricken Aliens" comment.

Yes, these words seem to be addressed to FOX, and not to fans. It doesn't matter - if they (FOX or Scott) listened to critics of Prometheus - why did they hear about aliens, but not about characters and strange behavior? Is it really harder to create a characters than alien?

For me it sounds like: "they want smart characters, i will not give them smart characters" LOL.

Back in early 2015 when i passed on information from the Source i had, i had mentioned that apparently the Engineers had Technology that could Tera-form Worlds and Affect the Climate and Weather and they hinted that they could use this Technology to HIDE Planets, well cause distortions that could mask a worlds Technology... so it was like Severe Storms could act as a Communication/Scanner Barrier.

So while such Technology helps to shape a World, it can also be used to Cloak it to a degree.

I think we kind of see Evidence of this with Planet 4.

In earlier drafts the World was Surrounded by a like Halo/Ring that was Technology that it was indicated would HIDE the Planet.

I don't think that a Hide Technology is a good explanation. I mean - HOW the Covenant crew could detect and scan the Planet 4? Shouldn't the Cloak technology work better in close proximity to the Planet 4? There is no point. And in my next topic I explain this and tell why Time-Travel can be possible as part of the plot of prequels.

seems RS had ideas where to take the Sequel, the Disappointing Box Office and Criticism may have made RS and his team have to go back to the Drawing Board and ask what went wrong and what would work next as far as MAKING Money.

In the first - "specific" behavior of the characters. They didn't see it after Prometheus - the main reason for criticism, not the absence of the Alien. And they give the characters of Covenant the same behavior.

Good point dk! ;)

Don't forget about the the lyrics to Country Roads- 

"Take me home to the place where I belong".

I don't think the song was there by accident. It seems to suggest something about origins.

@BigDave

It does appear that the Engineers had that capability when you consider what happened with the storm on LV-223, after the seal to/atmosphere of the ampule room was breached.

I was thinking more along the lines of the Covenant being thrown backwards in time, perhaps that could explain the more primitive nature of the Engineer population of Planet 4. Bit of an unsatisfactory stretch though!

Also David could have been lying or mistaken about how long he had been on the planet, he was pretty damaged before being patched up by Shaw & in need of decent maintenance.

The problem with that is how do you then work David & Shaw into the timeline, unless, by some convenient coincidence the same thing happened to their Juggernaut? Again, that is stretching things a bit too far to the point where the story gets messed up & not in a good way!

Well i would say IF he is working on any Project then we should know about it by the time Ridley Scotts TV Series Raised by Wolves and Merlin are Finished.

seems RS had ideas where to take the Sequel, the Disappointing Box Office and Criticism may have made RS and his team have to go back to the Drawing Board and ask what went wrong and what would work next as far as MAKING Money.

Once Disney Take over was going on, you CANT see FOX making commitment to the Project, until Take Over completed and with Disney... they would NOT want to rush into anything.

I would say Ridley Scotts Project was No Further than Blomkamps...  a Vision, Ideas, and Broad Plot Idea and Concepts/Ideas...  But then a case of getting the Green Light and Writers in to Flesh those Ideas into Drafts.

I would say Blomkamp had not got to far with the Writing Process, as he would have wanted to get the Pitch Done to FOX, i think with RS then added as Producer, they would have started to begin the Process of RS looking at Blomkamps ideas and changing things... before we would have got to ACTUAL Draft work being worked on and completed.  Who knows how FAR the Draft work had got... did they get a First Draft?  We do know that some Further Concept Work had been done and so the Ball seemed to be Rolling..

Meanwhile Prometheus 2 was having Problems, despite various Drafts, they had not had a Draft that maybe RS or FOX was happy with.

Then we got to a point, where RS and FOX decided to place Blomkamps Alien 5 on Hold and Concentrate on Completing Ridley Scotts Prequels.... well at least what become Alien Covenant first.

I think the Sequel (to AC) has been put on ice due to Backlash, Lackluster Box Office and Pending Disney Take Over.

I think IF there is a Project in the Works then surely we should find out within the Next 12-13 Months.

"Sorry BD but if you look at the core thing in the movies it was never about the Xeno, which your reply makes it sound like"

Respectfully i have to disagree... the Franchise was about the Xenomorph it was the THREAT that carried the Story, but this Story is NOTHING without the Human Characters who would be placed in Peril with being pitted against such a threat...

I kind of see what you mean, as a Xenomorph alone is NOT what the Franchise should be about, you also had it about Ripley Character... but then also about a Company who wished to obtain the Xenomorph and would go to any lengths and extreames to do so.  But for any Story to WORK there has to be Characters at the Center... 

So its like say Friday the 13th, while it was about JASON, it did not matter if he had a Hockey Mask or a Sack on his Head.. you could replace Jason with a Human Skin wearing, Chainsaw Wielding Nutcase (Texas Chainsaw Massacre Leather Face) as long as there is a THREAT thats all that counts and this THREAT will only work well depending on the Human Characters who are placed in Peril and HOW well they are Written and HOW much we can connect and Empathize for them.

With the ALIEN Franchise its a bit different...  take ALIENS.. if Alien 3  we had the Sulcao end up being ambushed by some Camerons Avatar looking Navi Arcturian's would that had gone down well?

I think on the BROAD basis, i agree with the Franchise, the Xenomorph is ONLY a Part... and in terms of after the Franchise, with a Prequel i agree there should be something more than the Xenomorph... do something NEW.

Some Fans HOWEVER.. expect Xenomorphs and Connections when i agree the Prequels did-not have to give us exactly the same Xenomorphs.... but now they are going for a Literal Prequel a movie that has started to show HOW/WHEN/WHY the Xenomorph came to be, and will END with showing HOW/WHEN/WHY those Eggs got on the Derelict, then its expected as a ALIEN prequel series that it now is, then the Xeno is expected...  

And trying to do something thats NOT about the Xenomorph, so trying to pull a Prometheus for a Alien Covenant Sequel would be a Distraction....

My  OPINION! i dont see why we had to go that route, i would rather had seen Prometheus expand to something NEW and maybe give us a few Xeno-like Monsters, but not give us or be about Traditional Xenomorphs.. the ENGINEERS and Who created them and WHAT else they created (aside from Xenomorphs) is where i would have liked to had seen the Prequels go, and Steer Away from ALIEN... but Alas... we cant all get what we want.  And i feel the direction of AC was a mistake!

Should the ALIEN Franchise be about the Xenomorph? prior to Prometheus i would say YES! but you have to change it a little...  The Prequels opened up the other Engineer Experiments and so could have allowed the Franchise to give more than just Xenomorphs!

Should the Franchise be about the Company and its persuit of the Xenomorph.... NOPE!  well kind of NO... if its as far as Company Wants Xenomorph... you cant keep repeating this... with the Prequels we could have Company wants Engineer Technology and Black Goo instead... but you DONT have to always have the Company Sends Humans to places where Xenomorphs are to Exploit/Obtain them... there are other ways Humans could Accidentally stumble on Xenomorphs or Engineers other Horrors without the Company Planning it.

Should the Franchise be about the Ripleys?  Simple NO and enough said... YES the First 4 movies but we dont need connections with EVERY other movie..

" I would guess that it would mainly be about David creating monsters"

If you only watched the Movie and the Advent, then YES you could assume and it appears that this is Davids Objective....

However... when talking about the sequel Ridley Scott said it Would-Not be about the Xenomorph, it would be about AI and what KIND of a World David would Create/Build.

"What I don’t like is that Scott seldom or never explains what he means about AI"

Again he has done but only if you look at his interviews, where he had said about AI and then said that the Replicants are AI....  so here he is referring to a CREATION that is Not Natural...  It is something Engineered and Artificially Created... which Does-Not mean its a Robot made from None Organic Material.

If the Xenomorph was Created or Engineered it would also be a AI in terms of what RS was saying, if we created a Hybrid Dinosaur from Engineering a Ostrich then again this is NOT Natural so its a Artificial Creation but its NOT a AI because its Not Intelligent...   if we Created a Hybrid Human/Ape that was Intelligent then this would be a AI unless its a case of Human Mates with Ape... if its done via Genome Mixing/Engineering then its a AI.

But i agree RS does appear Vague with Statements, so confusion often happens., sometimes you can Ponder if he is the one who is Confused lol

I agree that they need to Balance the Next Installment, it should not Focus on David but it should not Write/Kill him off.  Each Fan to their own, everyone has likes/dislikes.. You like Alien 3, and i know people who HATE! that movie because it Killed off Newt and Hicks lol. Some people dont like David or Alien Covenant because it Killed Dr Shaw off..

I am more concerned at what it did to our Engineers as THIS is what the Prequels should be about, but you would need to have Human or Humanoid Characters you can connect with.

With Prometheus a lot complained about the Characters and some Dumb Stuff!   But there was a fair bit of Backlash because the Prequel did not EXPLAIN the Origins of the Xenomorph or have enough clues and it did not have Xenomorphs or enough similar Monsters.

This is what FOX then felt was missing... and why they changed things...  but in doing any changes, it all would come down to Characters and Story and if its Good, Well Written and Executed.

FOX felt that having the Origins Answered and introducing the Xenomorphs is WHAT the Fans want... Hence RS and his "they want Aliens, i will give them Fricken Aliens" comment.

I think he wanted to do something else, hence some of his last comments where he said regarding Alien Covenant, that he was AHEAD of the Curve with Prometheus.

Franchises and Fanbase does cause Problems and you cant NEVER please Fans, you wont make a Movie that pleases everyone.

Even when Star Wars EP9 comes out, it likely WONT please every fan, each Fan will have likes/dislikes... and what ever they do with the ALIEN Franchise would be the same.

I have said it before, all they can do is TRY and rescue the Franchise, like they are trying with the New Star Wars... and for Alien Covenant to Alien... i think we need a After-Math like Movie!

Whatever David does for the next 5-8 years is NOT likely going to please Fans, some may like the ideas RS maybe had, some wont... i think you need to build off them but come back to AFTER David has Created what ever he does, and the Point when  incoming Humans or Engineers Arrive and things GO TO POT..

ALIEN  year 2122

Alien Covenants Ending 2105

The 17 years between is something that i feel we dont need to see apart from say 5 years before ALIEN

Alien Covenant was like a Sequel to Prometheus 2 where they By-Passed Prometheus 2 and so what we need to do is not a Alien Covenant 2.... but a Alien Covenant 3 or Alien Covenant 2.5 and By-Pass a lot.

Most Fans are going to want to know WHEN the Xenomorphs get to become those that END up on the Derelict... some may hope for a Explanation that shows Davids Xenomorphs are NOT on the Derelict.

Some Fans would want to see the Engineers Return!

I feel most are not interested in David apart from finding out IF he does end up being the Creator or Not of the Xenomorph, and then be done with him.

I dont think most Fans are like... oh i we need mainly Good Human Characters... they would want other stuff but expect that the movie would need Improved Human Characters to work.

For example....

David kills all the Crew/Humans sets a Signal and other Human Ship with Good Characters Arrive and they Land on Origae-6 and Discover..

*NOTHING.. the Covenant is Destroyed... but the Planet does have some Native 12 Foot Space Lions, who Hunt Humans down!

*David Lands but he and the Colonist are killed by Predators, and they wait for more Prey to Hunt!

*David builds about 20 Walters, kills Humans and waits for other Humans to turn up and have to Fight to Survive against Synthetics.

*The Covenant and Colonist Die... David Raises the Embryos as Normal Children they they KILL him and become Feral and the incoming Humans arrive and Face some Aggressive Humans..

*Covenant Crashes, Kills David and Black Goo infects some Humans who become Zombie Fifields, KILL rest of the Crew and we have like Mutant Humans, who then become the threat to the incoming Humans.

We need Human Characters in Peril... but we also need a THREAT that is Good, and Fits within the ALIEN Franchise...

As a ALIEN Prequel it would be expected this THREAT is very connected to the Xenomorph or leads to it eventually.

I believe Disney wants to recoup some of their money thru using the Alien universe.  Not making movies won't make back a lot of money.  They need to hire good writers and explore more of the universe.  I liked Prometheus and AC even though they could have been better but I'm hopeful that we get one more film to close the story arc and then Disney can cut loose on a new story line.  

@Lone

Indeed that is a good question, HOW did they miss this System/Planet?

Back in early 2015 when i passed on information from the Source i had, i had mentioned that apparently the Engineers had Technology that could Tera-form Worlds and Affect the Climate and Weather and they hinted that they could use this Technology to HIDE Planets, well cause distortions that could mask a worlds Technology... so it was like Severe Storms could act as a Communication/Scanner Barrier.

So while such Technology helps to shape a World, it can also be used to Cloak it to a degree.

I think we kind of see Evidence of this with Planet 4.

In earlier drafts the World was Surrounded by a like Halo/Ring that was Technology that it was indicated would HIDE the Planet.

I think when it comes down to the Neutrino Burst that Damaged the Ship, the Neutrinos would NOT do this but the Shockwave from a Event that would Produce the Neutrinos would so some ATOMIC Event had occurred within so many Light Years from the Covenant..  The Birth or Destruction of a Star or some Massive Energy Release by a Star or something that would have similar Atomic Energy

Could such a Event had knocked the Covenant through a Tear in Space and Produced a Alternative Time-Line?

Maybe... but i am not so sure such a Event would have affected David/Shaw too because we can assume they had been on Planet 4 for 9-10 years prior.

But as FAR as placing the Covenant in a Future timeline.. maybe... But i think we still run into the Problem of how would this effect Planet 4 too... as it was 7 weeks away from the Covenant, so if the EVENT had thrown the Covenant into the Future, we have to ask would its Radius Reach Planet 4 and throw that into the Future too?

So at that Moment David had been on Planet 4 for 10 years, the Covenant had left Earth for about 1 Year... but this Event then THRONE both Planet 4 and the Covenant like 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 or so years into the Future? 

Maybe that could work!

AHH Yes! It's possible!

Guys, I just thought of something....

Planet 4 never showed up on any scans until after the Neutrino burst. Is that a clue or even proof that the burst caused the Covenant to travel to another point in time & space?

Ricks: It appears to be a main sequence star, a lot like our own, but old...very old.

Daniels: How did we miss this we scanned the entire sector?

@Gavin & Chris

As you guys no doubt realise, in the past I've been guilty of jumping on any nugget of info & getting carried away. With hindsight I have learned to be a tad more cautious!

As you say Chris, Deadline may well be privy to select intel. Ridley really needs to finish the story, whether it be good, bad or indifferent. Then Jim Cameron, Neil Blomkamp, whoever, can continue the Alien Franchise. 

For now, I'll remain cautiously optimistic ;)  

Lone said "what's the difference between Ripley being in cryosleep for 57 years set against travelling forward in time 57 years?"

I am not a fan of time travel for this franchise but you make a good point here and could agree as long as time travel could only be forward. 

"Could ORIGAE 6 actually be a "Pre-Historic/Ancient" LV-223 in its prime developing civilization phase or even LV-426 during its  developing times of the past"

This has been speculated before, but i would say 100% No, by Virtue that Origae-6 is  about 8X Further from Earth than Planet 4 was and Planet 4 appeared to be within Close Proximity to the Zeta 2 System.  So i would speculate that Origae-6 would also be 7-8X Further away than LV-426.

@Chris

I think using the Neutrino Burst as a way to open up the Potential for Paradoxes/Multi-Verses and Time-Travel could WORK... its not something i would be a Fan of though!

But if we consider what a Neutrino Burst is, these types of Activity are NOT limited to a Super Nova... they can be detected from other Nuclear Activity that is happening in a STAR.  And so any other means to Produce the Energy on a Atomic Scale that a STAR has could produce Neutrino Waves too.

This could open up the Potential of a Energy Weapon/Technology that the Engineers or their Creators would use to Create STARS as some of Ridley Scotts comments seemed to be pointing to more than these Engineers just find Worlds that are Pre-Existing Rocks and then they attempt to Tera-form them.

@Leto

I think its a interesting idea, and i understand some Sci-Fi ideas like Paradoxes are Interesting, i am not a Fan of these being applied to the Alien Franchise, but if done in a interesting way, i would be open to it... and its a case of what would the Majority of Fans like.

I think when looking at my Topic, and Speculating what David would create, then i think indeed what if he Created some Evolved Humanoids that are NOT too far off our Engineers, not saying he created them...  but certainly seeing him Re-Create something similar... 

I think its interesting to see WHY he would do this, and what does he Teach those beings, about their Origins and Religion etc... does he opening tell them they were Human Embryos that he had Ascended to the Next Level of Evolution are are Superior to the Unworthy Race that Humans are?  Does he tell them about Humanity, does he paint them as Barbaric and a Threat... so does he have a Army of these Humanoids who are prepared to defend their world against Humans and Engineers, or are they brought up to be used for the Purpose of WAR against Humanity?

Or does he tell them NOTHING about Mankind, and Proclaim that he is their Creator and their is NO other Creator but HIM?   But for a Species who would Worship David and see him as their God/Leader, we then could ask things like.

What is the potential these beings see themselves as Superior to David and would refuse to accept him/serve him like he had with Mankind?

What happens when Humans or Engineers turn up and the Revelation that David has HELD their True Origins and his own from them?

These are ALL very interesting, but the Problem would be that they would be a bit of a Distraction from ALIEN, because Fans would want to get to the Bottom of the Xenomorph Origins, and WHEN/HOW the Eggs get on the Derelict, and would want to see the Engineers more than David and his World of Evolved Humans...

The expectation is there... and for this you cant blame any Fans because a ALIEN Prefix Prequel has set up to introduce the Xenomorph, and so it HAS to be introduced and i feel it WOULD be introduced... its case of would Fans want to have to have 2 hours before we get to see the Xenomorph Return?

So you have to have a Balancing Act to have such a Plot like this, but also have the Xenomorph Involved... and so any Movie Next would have to have the Xenomorph involved to some degree, and set up a more Heavily Involved Presence in the sequels.

If most Fans wont sit through a movie that has nothing to do with Xenomorphs, if this Disappoints, then its a Hard Push to commit to a continuation..   By Virtue of teasing a Direct Prequel route, you HAVE to have the Xenomorph play a role.

But as far as what you propose Leto... that David Creates the Engineers, in a way thats interesting Curve-ball, in another way it would maybe make the Creation of Engineers being about David, similar to how UN-ALIEN the creation of the Xenomorph was by David.

I would prefer David had Re-Created/Evolved his own Xenomorph, and David Re-Creates/Evolves his own Humanoid Super Humanoids....

Potentially say the Engineers Creators Return and use their Xenomorph and themselves vs Davids Xenomorph and Enhanced Children could be that WAR OF THE WORLDS that Ridley Scott hinted at.

Mankind are Powerless in this... but after these Races Destroy Each other.... Mankind Decide to Obtain the Weapons (Xenomorphs) for themselves could open up the whole Back Story to ALIEN and Special Order 937

But none the less Paradoxes and Ideas provided in this Topic are very imaginative and i applaud that.

I have not seen this yet... but its nice to see they made a Good Effort and Especially from a Generation was not around 30-40 years ago...

There is a interest in the Franchise, there always will be...

And while we can applaud the Effort, i think when we are talking about any Real Prospect of Exploring a Disney/Fox funded Project then the Budget is a Problem, its a Risk to commit a Large $100M or more Budget, and yet you are limited with a $50M or less Budget as far as Certain Special Effects.

But it will be interesting to see what those Soon to be released ALIEN Short movies will be like and what kinds of Budgets they have, but have to bare in mind these would be what? 10 Minute Shorts?

So making anything thats going to be 3-4 hours be it Two Movies or Split into 4-6 Episodes would depend on Budget as far as Quality we end up with.

But i think its still interesting to see some Fan-Made, Low Budget attempts.  And Appreciate them for what they are and consider the Budget Restraints.

I think the PREQUELS are a whole different Story... you are LIMITED to how you explore them...

A Prequel that Focuses on the Weyland-Yutani Company, would not be Interesting Enough on its own, there would be expected to be some ALIEN Connection as far as AT-LEAST the Xenomorph.

Special Order 937 would have been a avenue as the Company had some idea about the Xenomorph before the Nostromo Crew had been sent to LV-426.  The Question would be HOW and WHAT did they know and this could have evolved a prior Discovery/Mission to LV-426 and the Derelict and maybe Explain the ACID Hole, but leave the Derelict Crash as something Ancient and a Mystery.

They could have explored a Outpost connected to the Derelict like LV-223 where some clues could have been given regarding the Origins of the Xenomorph and Date of the Space Jockey/Derelict event and have this Movie/Franchise END with the Destruction of LV-223 but the company discover the location of LV-426 as a avenue to obtain the Specimen Elsewhere... 

Both Prequel ideas could have explained Special Order 937 and gave some insight to the Space Jockey Event and Origins of the Xenomorph while also being a ALIEN like Movie with Xenomorphs.

But the other ASPECT of ALIEN that was not Answered was WHO the Space Jockey was... and maybe WHY he had that Cargo... which is another Avenue to look at that has NEVER been covered in the Franchise, as we had seen Xenomorphs before and the only things that we Did-Not know was.

*Where do the Eggs come from?

*How does a Queen Come about?

*What Connection/Purpose does the Space Jockey have with them?

*How did Special Order 937 come about?

But then when we try to answer those things we have to BARE in Mind the Derelict was supposed to be there for Thousands of Years and so it would be only via Clues, Flash Backs and Information Left/Obtained from the Derelict that would give us a Answer to those Questions... UNLESS you are going to Set a Movie that is set Thousands of Years ago.. but how do HUMANS come into play?  OR if you have it that the Derelict Event happened much more Recently and after Humans Discovered some World the Derelict then leaves.

But another Aspect Never explored would be WHO the Space Jockey race was and their Purpose.

*Who was the Space Jockey, its Race?

*Why did they have that Cargo/Bio-Weapon?

*What Conflicts were they involved in?

*Where do they come from?

*Where are they Now?

And so again its a Question of HOW do you discover these Beings, do you have a Movie Set Thousands of Years ago?   Do the Humans come into Contact with their Species, and the Potential Plot Holes this Raises as far as NEVER having any Interactions with them at the Time of the ALIEN Franchise.

Or does a Prequel come across a Ancient Ship, or a where the Ship came from and make discoveries/answers via any Information/Clues this Race had left behind, or any Recordings on their Ships/Outposts?   And having it that only ONE or a Few of their Species is Alive but in Cryo-sleep like we had in Prometheus.

THIS would have been the way to go and explain the Origins, which is what the Prequels attempted but they did it in a too vague way....

Once you answer those Questions...  and Lesson the Mystery, its then a case of what NEXT for the Space Jockey as far as exploring them in Future... where would we discover more of them, and what implications would it be to run into this Race in Future?

This is where the Prequels introduced the Creators/Would Be Gods Plot... as a way to OPEN up the Franchise to expand in a lot of ways, rather than having Discover the Space Jockey was a unconnected ALIEN Race who had taken the Eggs to USE in some Ancient War that Mankind is NO part of...

Its then WHO was they at Conflict with and WHERE is this other Race etc....

So the Prometheus Plot was a way to introduce a Back Story about these would be Gods, and opened up a HUGE possibility of HOW many Worlds had they interacted with, HOW many other Races are their in the Galaxy etc.

The Question is would having the Space Jockey/Engineers being NEVER involved with Mankind, and just at Conflict with each other FAR FAR away or another Species had been a better way to go?   I guess its HOW do you expand upon the Space Jockey/Conflicts in Future Movies.

"I speculate that maybe there was more than ONE of these Emissaries sent down, and NOT every Culture/Continent had KILLED their Emissaries, and i feel this would explain why some of the Star Maps were from Cultures that had been around AFTER the 2000 years ago Death of Christ and Engineers Attempted Destruction of Earth."

Correct BigDave, map below.

Excellent topic and poster Decs. 

Regarding Killing Off some of the ALIENS cast, this is a problem that Movie Franchises Face when there is a certain TIME between each movie, which is not a problem sometimes... but it is when a Surviving Character is a Child, but as you said they could have cast another 8-10 Year Old as Newt, i think you can get away with it more if say you had a 9 year old in a movie and the next movie she would be say 13-15 and you Change the Actress, or say 18-21 Years Old now and you use someone else, because any differences could be put down to how people can change in appearance from their Preteen years to Teens and to Adulthood.

So that could have worked.....  this is a Problem that Faces Ripley 8 and David as far as Future Appearances because we have to assume David would remain the same Age Appearance forever... so the longer any Alien Covenant sequel takes, the more they have to explain WHY would a Android Age!   With Ripley 8 as a Hybrid with Regeneration you then have to ASK would a Ripley 8 Age?

I think another Problem at the time of ALIEN 3 was how do you continue after ALIENS with the Survivors and then Figure out HOW/WHERE to you introduce the Xenomorph again?  Did the Destruction of Hadleys Hope, also Destroy the Derelict?  Then IF-NOT its a case of WHY would Ripley want to go back to that Nightmare again for a 3rd Time, she likely be NO THANKS i am off to raise Newt and have a Life Back!

The response would be likely the same IF the company found another place where they could obtain the Xenomorph on another World, which must be something they had no idea about between the years 2122-2179 and so the Alien 3 Plot was a way to introduce the Xenomorph via Eggs on the Sulaco.   While i can understand WHY they would kill off Newt...   they could have still had Hicks Survive and it would maybe give us Greater Character Connection as we see Hicks and Ripley Mourn the Loss of Newt... we could then have had Ripley and Hicks become close.

So when we see Ripley having to Sacrifice herself we could have more impact at the LOSS via Hicks, and this would also have left Hicks open to be the Protagonist in any sequel as he would make a VOW that Ripleys Sacrifice was NOT in Vain and he would NOT allow the Company/Mankind to obtain a Xenomorph at any point!

But ALAS... things Never Turned out that way!

When I see that picture I wonder how the breath of the Xeno is. :D

I kind of wonder what their sources are? I am not sure how much that I shall trust this piece. It is easy to post something if it sounds interesting but you also got to think about how likely something is. I am remaining skeptical.

DK:

Thanks, I don’t really hate any movie in the franchise because it is such a strong word so I save it for other things. Alien 3 is my favorite but I bet that there are people that find things in it that annoys them so they do not like it that much but that is alright. We have had releases since 1979 so there are many things in there that people like or not, I am totally fine with it.

I agree that there are different tones in the movies. 1 and 3 were similar, aliens is action, and 4 is a bad comedy. One thing that is interesting is that they are different from each-other despite of things that unify them but then it would be bad if they were all the same. Prometheus for all of its faults tried something new so I got to respect it for that.

Yeah comedy is probably the closest thing that 4 is in terms of genre. If the franchise is a family then AR is the odd-ball of it. Hmm, I am not sure about that because I did not see that much of what their traits as characters were. The wheel-chair guy was in a wheel-chair and that was what he was about.  The rasta guy was what? I don’t know. The female that got the foot-massage was worried and a crier but we learn nothing about her as a character, actually that goes for most of them. Those that get a background is basically Call and Ripley and that’s it (you see that when they are alone talking).

“I loved that dynamic of Ellen and a Xeno occupying the same body and mind.”

The idea is not bad but it feels too much like a comic-book to me. It doesn’t fit in the tone of the franchise, it is just odd but I got to say that I watch Resurrection when I have nothing to do and just pick a movie without too much thinking (lazy crap).

Sure there is different context to every movie, how it was in society when it was made and what ever so that is just something that I accept no matter if I like or dislike of what becomes.

A male lead could be interesting because we haven't had that in the franchise but what is the most important thing is that he or she is well-written. You mention Amanda, I think that it is a little sad that they got to have Ripley-connections in a lot of things. Having a new character that is independent from those that came before should have been better in my opinion. What they went with is too much of a repetition which I am not too excited about but that is just my take on it.

123Engineer:

I do not mind that Prometheus tried something new, the Engineers were interesting. My problem is that mist of the characters were lame (except for Janek, David, and maybe Vickers). I don’t know about Daniels or Tennesee because they had no personality as far as I could see. How were they as characters? What were their personalities? I can not tell

Raised By Wolves, I am not sure if it is a part of the Alien universe but maybe it has some similar things. I am not very interested in the android thing so I do not have any plans to watch it but if people enjoy that then fine for them.

AC had some things that I enjoyed but too much of it was a waste. Yeah, it depends on what you want in a movie for it to work for you. I can not watch a movie where the characters are not well written but some people are maybe in it for the themes or for the environments, and so on.

“I‘m pretty sure that the fans will love the sequel, if it is how Scott described it... War of the worlds-scenario with engineers on a new planet, thousands of colonists and the juggernaut crashing consequentially? Sounds interesting!”

It could work but then the characters got to work but the idea seems interesting. I am afraid that David will have a big part in it so I do not want that. Having it as a survival horror thing seems interesting to me but they got to reduce the role of the androids.

He (Scott) could be a producer but he should stay away from the story. Maybe Scott will not be involved at all but I can not say that it would be a disaster to me if that would be the case. I agree with Hypernova that they should try new writers and see what they can do. The mini series if that becomes a reality, short-films or what ever could be interesting, I would rather have that than another movie about David.

There are other things than androids, Xenos, and that so why not. Maybe a bit about WY could work as long as they do not reveal everything because there should be some mystery left but they need good writers and keep Scott away from the story. As long as they get the characters right I am interested in something new but don’t lay all the focus on the androids.

As far as to tie it to alien you just have to call it X – an Alien-spin-off, and there you have it.

Hi and welcome to the board, it is always nice to see new members because we all have our history in our own ways with the franchise. I hope that you will like it here

The prequels have a lot of problems but there are also some interesting things about them. My main complaint are the characters, they have been lacking since AR but I like the first three Alien 3 being my favorite. I can see why people dislike 3 but I enjoy it, there is no problem for me that they killed Newt and Hicks because it was never about them anyways. Aliens was probably my favorite when I was younger (hey it is an action movie) but as I have gotten older that has changed so now it is

1. Alien 3
2. Alien
3. Aliens

This is how I look at it

Alien 3 had some things in common with the first one but in no way is it a repetition I think. You had new characters (prisoners instead of working people), a new place (prison instead of a ship), it was more about religion compared to the rest which I like (not a religious person though), the monster was born from an animal and it also took traits from the host. Ripley was at the end of her life which developed the character. The way it was shot was very good, I can go on and on. Tonally (is that the word?) it is closer to 1 than 2 and I like that but 2 is still OK.

I like the poster that you made, well done there.

I agree with you about David, I think that he was interesting in Prometheus but he was a psychopath in AC. I like it when they are more ambiguous as characters because it makes me think more.

“And that stuff about him "creating" the xeno's that we know and love practically out of boredom... Man, that was painful for me. But i digress.”

Yes, that is totally effed up, that is probably the part that disappoints me the most about Covenant after the characters or lack of as far as the quality is concerned.

Thanks for the short fan story (short should not be seen as criticism), I enjoy it. I like it when people come up with ideas of their own as long as they are not here for self-promotion.

Don’t worry about Big Dave, he is smart but he can never write short replies. ;) (Sorry Big Dave, I just had to say that even though I enjoy reading many of your replies.)

DK: I think that he has money but he probably wants control of the franchise that is what I think. Unfortunately it has not turned out well this far so we have what we have. His habit of affecting the story-writing is just bad and makes things worse so he is one of those to blame IMO.

It has Alien 3 stuff in it, wohoo!!!

Actually I have never seen that stuff before so thanks for posting it. I really like to read historical things like that especially since Alien 3 is my favorite Alien movie and one of the movies that I watch the most (the Assembly Cut).

“they do seem to be a Distraction to what many fans would expect the Franchise to be about which is usually Xenomorphs!”

Sorry BD but if you look at the core thing in the movies it was never about the Xeno, which your reply makes it sound like (this is not to say that it is what you mean but to me your answer sounds like that).

“The AI element was likely to be about Artificially Created/Engineered Humanoids.”

Likely is the main word here, I am not sure if that is where it would be going and David would still have too much of a role in it. Nowhere does it say that it would be about that, I would guess that it would mainly be about David creating monsters. Remember that he said something like “I will not let them start again” or something like that. What I don’t like is that Scott seldom or never explains what he means about AI, if he is stubborn that it should be about it then at least explain more in detail what it is. To say that those in Blade Runner is AI isn’t enough, you got to be more specific. It is difficult when you have someone that is talking in riddles or at least talks in a way that makes it possible to have different interpretations. Either say what you mean or don’t say anything, otherwise it is just confusing. You shouldn’t need a dictionary when listening to an interview. Morse-code anyone? ;)

To paraphrase this page:

For learning the Ridley-code it is recommended that…

https://morsecode.scphillips.com/morse2.html

I get some hilarious mental images. :D

“... but some Fans may-not like this as it may put some Emphasis on David again.”

He could be used in some flashbacks, but I don’t think that he should be given this emphasis that he is given now. Sure it doesn’t need to be about David but they have built it like it is about him so how likely is it that they will totally change that? The problem is that it is set up in the way that it will be all about David, that is what I hear when I hear Scott talking.

“While Interesting to some, i think a point of concern would be IF our viewers can have any connection to a Genetically Engineered Species, as opposed to one with Weaknesses and Flaws.”

Genetically enhanced doesn’t have to mean perfect, so it depends. We all face struggles so would they probably. It depends on how they are written.

About Engineering humans, maybe it would be better if we leave that to the Engineers or maybe they have decided that it will be a failure from the start

“Then latter we could reveal a Sinister Motive to these Engineered Humans.”

That could work but no android-centric movie thank you very much.

“These are just how interesting a sequel could have been, that does-not have to be about Xenomorphs...”

I don’t think that it has ever been about the Xenos, it has always to me at least been about humans that get into situations that they are not equipped to handle. It has never been about how the Xeno eats, how it builds a home, and so on.

Prometheus should have had better links to the Xeno but the characters were the main problem.

“I am led to think those LV-223 Engineers are just the Replicants of the Engineer Society, maybe the LV-223 Engineers Rebelled and this caused some Ancient Conflict?”

Maybe, the Prometheus one looked like a steroid-version of those in Alien Covenant.

“Theme was one of the Big Ones that Ridley Scott wanted to explore...”

Well they decided to have it about David at the expense of human characters so that is what went wrong IMO. No matter of the themes, it is what we see on screen that counts. Sorry but I disagree, I don’t think that the prequels lack because of no Xeno or Ripley, most of the complaints have been about weak characters as far as I know. Not sure where you get this idea that the main complaint was about the lack of Ripley and/or Xenos, that is not my problem at least.

“But Fans wanted Xenomorphs, Queens and maybe Ripley's!”

I disagree, my understanding of it is that it was about poorly written and executed humans. Search the www for criticism of Prometheus + human characters and compare that to the complaint about lack of Xenos and you will see that the human characters was a bigger problem. For me at least it was not because it did not have the traditional monster. Some people are in it for the creatures I am in it for the human journey.

It is a good thing that the answer is a bit open, it is like what came first the chicken or the egg. I am not sure if the Xeno should be the ultimate weapon or a copy that the engineers (not David!) did.

“The Plot had been U-Turned with Alien Covenant, so now its David who has Re-Engineered the Deacon/Black Goo into the Xenomorph... which i think is ONE aspect that MOST fans can agree was a MISTAKE..”

Yeah that was really effing bad.

It is nice to see that the franchise can make people interested enough so they make their own things. It is also interesting when you see people make things like that because it makes you in a way see what they possibly associate the franchise with. The picture that makes me the most interested is the one with the SJ but they failed to make it big enough. ;)

I don’t know but I would rather have a TV-thing rather than a David movie. Another David movie would be shit. As far as a general thing I am not sure if enough people would be interested in another prequel since the first two were poorly executed.

The prequels tried something new which I am kind of happy for but the characters were mostly weak and the emphasis on David was lame. I do not think that they need to spell everything out because having something to think about is interesting. Having the Xeno Fifield would have been enough for me because it looked awesome and it would also have had some better connections to the goo and the Xeno thing. Sure some would not think that it was enough but it would have been enough for me to make us see that there was a connection between the goo and the Xeno. Engineers + goo + life-forms = Xeno, that is how I would like it to be but things got worse with Covenant.

Having it about David is one of the things in the prequels that annoys me. They should never have gone that route, another thing that I do not like with Covenant.

The Engineers looked like they were connected to the SJ so having them as a big part in it would have been alright to me. They just needed to explain them a bit more. We have the SJ as a start that we can use to develop the Engineers. Not having the Queen was a good thing, I think that it is too early in the evolution of the Xeno to be at that stage.

Ridley should not affect the story, he is a good director but when he is trying to influence it then things get effed up. Let him throw out ideas and then people can accept or reject them but he should not have as much of a say as it seems now to be now. I agree that we have had enough of Ripley, let her be.

"This is how I interpret now Advent.

Can anyone help explain this: There was so much potential on this world. Wasted by Gods that feared their own might.

What was the potential wasted?"

I believe David was trying to say that the Engineers got soft daliens.

And...no one has addressed that I'm trying to make my point citing the notes of a mad robot who could operate Engineer technology but blow it when asked who penned Ozymandias. Just saying.