How old is the Xeno race?

That was touched on in.....im sorry to say.....one of the AVP comics. The Aliens did indeed have a homeworld with hives and natural predators. But alas its part of the AVP world. It looks like, and im pretty sure of myself looking at the evidence that the Aliens were pretty much engineered or an accident from cross bio engineering looking at the trailers. We will have to wait and see wont we?

to be honest I don't like the idea that the Xenos are a natural species. I believe the 'Alien' Xeno is bio-engineered a la Prometheus, and the James Cameron 'Aliens' are a natural species (at least in his mind) I think the most canon explanation would be the intentions behind Giger's original concept, which indeed was bio-mechanical, something that definitely does not occure naturally, so Prometheus is kind of correct

Judging from the mural seen briefly in the 2:30 mins trailer, the Xenomorph or it least it's original form has been there for a very long time as it is part of the SJ's temple or ship. So IMO, they were not created due to the interference by the Prometheus Crew. But maybe only revived or slightly evolved further.

I guess I could live with fact they are bio engineered but not if they are only a couple of years old. Hopefully CBT1979 the mural of the Xeno will have deeper meaning.

@ The Next LV426 yes, I think so too. And as the mural has the Xeno on it, maybe the Xenos were a special race which even the SJ's have much respect. maybe they were royal creatures like lions or dragons in human history, knowing for their powerful and majestic being.

If the Prometheus myth has any bearing, this has all happened before, numerous times, so I can see how certain things may appear to be part of the universe, as a constant, and the beginning fuse of that history continues to happen. The trick may be to break that cycle of creation. This film? A next film? Who knows? ... and I'm pretty sure I just fell into a Jonathan Carroll poem.

@TheNextLV426: I've always thought the same. I've never seen anything in the movies to suggest that the Xenos are anything other than a naturally-evolved species. There are species on Earth like caterpillar wasps which reproduce the same way. The Xenos' extremely fast growth and prolific reproduction suggest that they evolved in an environment where they were under a lot of pressure from predators. They might well not be the dominant species on the planet they came from -- maybe something more equivalent to cockroaches. I really hope they aren't going to waste this movie on just another trite "message" about technological hubris and "there are things man (or SJ) was not meant to know (or do)" clichés. That's been done to death a thousand times over -- since the Greek tale of Icarus, in fact. Science fiction, and the Alien saga especially, are capable of being so much more.

Infidel: I imagine you will be one of the ones leaving the theater disappointed. That's okay. Not everyone agrees on what makes good science fiction. For my own taste, if this turns out to be nothing more than a bug hunt, it will be nothing more than a shiny new version of of a monster movie. The good news for me, is that every interview points toward this film speaking to greater ideas and a contemplative/thoughtful explanation for the things we have seen in the Alien films. It's definitely playing toward my taste, and sadly, I think that is perhaps very divergent to fans of the Cameron bug race and definitely the AvP ideas. It's what I would suspect from Ridley Scott. This brings up another area where fans of Alien are a bit divided. Some are attracted more to the horror aspects, and some are attracted to the science fiction. I've never considered Alien as a horror film.

You want a place where even the Xeno is hunted and eaten by other predators. You got your wish a long time ago, Predator!!!

The Xenos already exist by the time of Prometheus, and I believe they are exalted by some race on that planet. The mural, the mural, the mural...

"The Xenos' extremely fast growth and prolific reproduction suggest that they evolved in an environment where they were under a lot of pressure from predators. They might well not be the dominant species on the planet they came from -- maybe something more equivalent to cockroaches." But by the same Token if you wanted to create/bio Engineer a breed of Creatures to be used as a Bio Weapon then the fast speed and way the reproductive cycle occurs would be ideal for such a task.

Agree, CBT...I think the "Xeno", or some iteration thereof, has been around since time's beginning, as it is apparently "worshiped". you don't go around "worshiping" "new" entities...

Perhaps, that is what the Space Jockey's were trying to do: They were trying to bring their Gods to life. Maybe they finally figured out how to do it, and when we get there, thinking that we had been invited, we find out how wrong we were. We meet a very uncivilized race that weren't opening their arms to us, rather waiting for our arrival so that they could experiment with us, in hopes that we were the right combination to bring their Gods back.

Seems a bit far fetched if that was their plan.. Why wait for us, if they wanted to experiment on us they could come to us instead as their Technology is 1000s years ahead of ours.

The Xenos' growth rate just indicates it's a fictional piece of entertainment in which the 2nd law of thermodynamics can be violated if it gets in the way of a great yarn.

I may not be the first to suggest this but; I could see the xeno being a weapon created to drop on a planet you didn't like from orbit. Like in starship troopers. Someone to do the dirty work, whom evolves to become more like it's prey to better hunt it, and acid blood, life cycle, etc.. That would explain the direct infection, access to our dna like a virus. Just think in Prometheus promo they send a ship to earth for some mysterious purpose after Promethues lands on this planet. I'm sure that the SJ's could identify what race had arrived. If I had a weapon like that I would immediately send one out to the homeworld of any race that landed on my homeworld. What if that qoute about a king has his reign and then dies. Well some people want to share the misery, what if the sj's are dead and simply wish to share their marvelous tech advancements posthumously with all who visit thier now dead planet. I don't know how to explain all the mythology and worship in the movies but note the xeno mural doesn't have a head as if to suggest it's face will change with who it hunts.

I have a theory that Prometheus discovers the old ship, the alien race discovered evolves quickly from that black substance we see in the trailers. The "pilot" has most of the xeno dna, he fuses with a human seen in the last part of trailer. How else would you explain a human skull at the forefront underneath the Alien dome? as seen here: [img]http://www.avpspectrum.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/aliensuit-226x300.jpg[/img]