Theory

Not sure, but I think the dead jockey in the ampule room is just the empty bio-mechanical suit, minus the years of decay/ fossilization mentioned in the original Alien. That would explain why the head was separated from the body. It would be better if it was the body- torn apart by some massive monster, but I have a feeling that won't be the case. No one in the room seems concerned that there is a threat around, past or present. If you found a 10-foot tall body with the head torn off, I would think the folks would be a bit more on their guard instead of casually looking around like they are at Wal-Mart. I've seen quite a few other discussions that all point to the same line of thought. That is that there aren't any real monsters in this film, aside from mutated crew members and a smaller, somewhat benign being that is the actual jockey. I hope they are all wrong, because that will be a major disappointment.

I read in one of the other discussions that the Prometheus crew were doing an MRI on the head of the Space Jockey. Not sure if this is the case, also not suggesting that they removed the head, but obviously if it is the case, they found it? I do agree with you though, even discovering a bipedal creature wearing evidence of advanced technology puts a certain funk on a person coming from a planet that until recently believed it was the LONE gunman in this shootout. It's one of those pivotal events that makes a thinking person sit down and rethink his place in the heirarchy of things. Finding out you are little more than a glorified lab rat can do that.

Ridley can't do an Independence Day; having a puny alien inside I super suit. It does look like a head or helmet on the research table. Still can't see any aliens; the one I thought was a Xeno with someone jumping from above seems to be a member of the crew in a space suit with someone jumping at him from above - mutated crew or insane android? The only xeno type thing I can find is in the original leaked trailer where something jumps quickly out of either an egg or a tube - all apear to be some sort of biological organism. I'm thinking the parasite / alien in the suit could be quite small; taking a human as a hoste?? But I agree this will be lame as I would like to see a space jockey in all it's splender. The original space jockey may have been wearing a suit but it had teeth and ribs..............

maybe the head was out of the suit ...

There is another possibility... Maybe the suit is alive, sentient. Maybe it symbiotically fuses with the wearer and takes them over, think Stargates Gu'Uld but the other way round.

Thats not a bad concept. I have considered the sj as a being molded into a suit ever since I saw Alien 30 years ago and was totally fascinated by it. The fact that there were absolutely no answers or mention of it when out of sight was quiet brilliant. All the question and all those years and here it is. I will hang my hat on it being a suit and if you look carefully at the original pics see if you can determine where the join is between sj and ship.

and another possibility about the Jockey suit... Maybe the trunk-like appendage descending from the derelict ships "Jockey" isn't a component part of its suit or body. Could that be a fossilized facehugger? Maybe the Jockey was impregnated by a Jockey-based facehugger that died naturally in place while mounted to its host? looking at photos of that thing sitting in the chair has me wondering...

that is the best idea yet! But it's attached to his crotch...no no it's more umbilical.

[quote]It's one of those pivotal events that makes a thinking person sit down and rethink his place in the heirarchy of things. Finding out you are little more than a glorified lab rat can do that. [/quote] you can do that without having any evidence to that effect, and you don't have to be a thinking person either, just a person will do. i submit an even more awe inspiring revelation, which all of us are already privy to, is the fact that all of humanity is but a mote in an infinitely large and unknowable universe. if you know this already, the discovery of aliens isn't going to do much for you. the most profound discoveries necessarily tears down our presumptions of the world and reinforces the idea that we only know a fraction of reality. discovery of aliens isn't going to do that since we know they exist already(fossilized microbes for example). but that's not what scott is saying. he's not making a mongo statement about alien technology and humans as lab rats, that's way too easy.

@ drexl - up until a few days ago that could have been a viable possibility, except for the image that we have now seen a "space jockey" head/mask being scanned in the preview footage, complete with hose-like attachment.

I love your theory on the suit that was mentioned Snorkelbottom. If the suit was a sentient being too and the the creepy bald guy would use the suit as a tool for his bidding. It would be pretty awesome! Plus what if maybe a crew member of Prometheus actually got inside the suit and found out all the secrets of terraforming that the creepy bald guy knows. Just something to add to you theory. OK it is December 22nd where is the trailer? Come on FOX get the lead out and lets do this! Its not like we are forcing Axl Rose to reunite with his original band mates.

@ Pred - that would work, but what i meant was more like the symbiote in spiderman. That when you don the suit it takes over, IT is in charge, in control. All the person inside the suit would be is nutrients, a food/power source. That way the Space Jockey would in actual fact be the suit, a living, bio-mechanical, vampiric organism - in a sense the reverse of the Alien, while at the same time its mirror.

snorkel and ghost have been posting literally the lamest b-movie sci fi film theories i've ever read. seriously, if anything from ghosts of mars, sphere and event horizon, that most likely influenced your stupid theories makes it into this film, someone's going to die.

I've made no reference to ghost of mars or sphere, and my reference to event horizon was by proxy while i was trying to find the right words to explain the images in my head. which theories are you referring to?

Also, by todays standards Alien is a lame B-movie plot, but its mix of Gigers designs, Cobbs designs, the order 937 conspiracy and Ridleys direction saved it from mediocracy and made it a classic.