Why the Difference in Physiology?

SR this is definitely a topic that has been debated many times, but it never gets old. Everyone here has a thought, theory or rant about the SJ relative to the Engineers, as do I, but I'll have to visit later to lay it out for ya. I'll be back!

Hi Something Real;

You're right regarding the space jockey looking like a creature rather than a suit. I think that was the original intention of Dan O Bannon, Ron Shusset and Giger. However, i'm not quite sure whether or not that was Ridley's original intention.

Indeed, in ALIEN, when we get the close-up shot of the Jockey, we see what appears to be TEETH in its mouth. Also, if you look into its eye sockets, we can see what appears to be decayed EYEBALLS.

We also have the obvious size difference between the SJ and the engineers. The SJ being approx 15-16ft long and the engineers being approx 9ft long. That is a massive difference!

Ridley as stated that he always thought it was a suit, but did he think that at the time he was filming it?

In the Prometheus documentary, Ridley shows some concepts to Giger and while pointing to the space jockey concept he says "This is yours," (regarding Gigers original design of the SJ.) Then he continues "This is a suit." To which Giger looks puzzled and replies "Uh uh."

He probably thought Ridley had lost his marbles.

So yeah, i think that it was originally a strange alien creature, but Ridley decided to do something different.

I personally love the idea of the Space Jockeys being human like. However, i'm not a big fan of the new Space Jockey suit! It looks like a cute little elephant.

Yer that was the initial disappointment images of amazing elephant like alien beings filled my head when I first heard about it all then well you know the rest. It’s not the worst idea ever but yer looks so different. I know there were budget problems but still they could have made them look the same. There is still a get out and that is if that one was a elder not an engineer and we see an elder in part 2 :D !

More kind of like this was what I hoped for (last two in the five) or even more crazy :

 http://jimsmash.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/prequel-concept-art-space-jockeys.html

@SomethingReal

What a great question you posted. Sure this topic has come up before and there were many cool answers to this question.

The one I like the most is in refrence to what Ridley Scott stated about the Space Jockey having a space suit.

This briliant poster stated that the Engineer's suits are bio-nano materials. As the Engineers grow older we do not know how the suits change or adapt to the Engineer's physiology.

Things in science fiction some times are difficult to explain because the technology could be very advanced.

A lot of people agreed that the suit on the space jokey looked like part of him because it was integated at the celluar level when it died and so it fused into one. I hope this helps.

And please keep posting these great questions!

Well indeed the Original idea in Dan'O'Bannons Star Beast was the Pilots of the Alien Ship (Derelict) was indeed a Giant Skeleton of some Alien being that did not resemble Human Form.. so was Alien.

Giger designed the Space Jockey for Alien and when he did so, his idea was the Pilot was Part of the ship and he was fussed to the chair.  (Gigers ideas also had the Ship actually made the Eggs but thats for another topic).

Ridley after Alien refered to the Space Jockey as a suit so we can only assume that the Original Idea was a Skeleton, then Giger designed this skeletal Pilot seemingly fussed to the chair like some of Gigers work, the Skeleton was given a touch of Giger design and he must have felt this Space Jockey was part of the chair and ship.

Ridley must have looked at Gigers Artwork on the Space Jockey pilot and from how it looked and his idea of it being part of the chair, Ridley must have maybe not liked the idea that the Pilot is part of the Chair but maybe that its a Space Suit thats part of the Chair.

This is were i think Ridley then went for the its Space Suit idea.

If we look at Gigers work above, then it appears to be a Space Suit well the Space Jockey does not look like a Skeleton if you check out the Arms and how they match parts of the Chair, the Space Jockey also has what looks more like a breathing hose connected to his torso than a Trunk of a Elephant.

However yes the Skull does look like a Skull and not a Helmet.

If you study how bones are as far internal structure i.e not exo skeleton like the Xenos looks.  Then the Arms of the Space Jockey even the one in the movie does not look very skeletal at all.

It looks part machine..... but yes the head looks skeletal, my conclusion years ago before Prometheus was that indeed what we see is the Skeletal Skul of something inside a Space Suit. While yes the Ribs do look like part of a Skeleton also. Just the rest apart from head does not to me.

This Space Jockey prop thats not yet finished shows hoses going to the back of head and trunk, which futher supports the Suit Idea.  If we look at the above and remove them hoses we get the same as this design fan made concept.

Space Jockey

I think if we use Giger as inspiration then look at the Alien Mural from Alien that was never used this shows us some similar parts of the Space Jockey in these beings suits.

This is similar apart from the Helmet and Rib Cage, apart from that the rest of the Space Jockey has similar look, and this Mural must show us another Race that had encountered and used the Xeno and thus not to show Humans. Thus we can assume that it was the Space Jockey race in this Mural.

Anyway cant find image just had 15 minute look on google, but the above Mural had a Alternative that was exactly the same only these beings had no masks and was Bald Headed Humanoids.

So maybe Gigers ideas all along pointed to Bald Humanoids in Space Suits.

When we do look at the Prometheus Space Jockey Suits and the Space Jockey they do appear to look the same apart from the hose/trunk area..

 As far as the size, well the Space Jockey was supposed to be 26ft long, the actual prop was about 16ft but the Space Jockey part of it (i.e not chair) would be 13-15ft tall/long.

In Prometheus the idea was for a 15ft Race, this was then downsized for the movie to be 9ft and 10ft in Suits, but again they actually only appeared as between 7.5ft to near 9ft suited. (Ones on Floor and Hanging Up on Walls etc).

Thanks we have to remember that the original ideas do change and what they may have wanted at first they gave to Giger and when he designs things and artwork he sometimes gives a purpose to them, maybe Ridley and the rest of production team take on board some of Gigers ideas, sometimes they dont.

The Eggs for example..... The Original idea was that there was what O'Bannon refered to as Spores that was stored into Leathery Urns, these Spores contained the Face Huger or was the Face Huger.  The Cycle is the same we see in Alien (Face Huger-Embryo Implantation-Embryo Gestation-Chest Buster-Adult Xeno).  However Star Beast then had it that the Xeno then Mutated the Crew to turn them into more Spores, thus something that could produce a Face Huger.

Alien pretty much ran with that idea but never gave us a idea where the Eggs came from, Star Beast showed us they was stored in some Ancient Pyramid that had Murals of the Life Cycle of the Organism and Frescos of a Sacrifice.  The Giant Race that was on the Derelict came across this temple and tried to take some of the Urns to the ship but got infected.

Alien of course due to budget had the Eggs in the Cargo Hold of the Derelict and not in a seprate Temple/Pyramid as first planned.

Off Topic i know, but this leads to my point in that when Giger designed the Derelict and Eggs he drawed sketches of the Cargo bat Walls having like Pregnant Bio-Mech Bellies that would lay the Eggs..... thus he ran with the idea that the DERELICT produced the Eggs.

Off course the franchise went on to show us that the Queen lays them, but also some Xenos can transform hosts into Eggs.

But my point being that the Space Jockey was indeed supposed to be somekind of Giant none Human Looking Skeletons.....

But Giger when designed the Face Huger and Eggs, drawn them first with Bald Beings being Face Huged, then this was latter changed to a masked Humanoid in a Mask that looked more Human Space Suit.

He then went to do a Life Cycle Mural that was never used in the movie that shows what looks like the Derelict produces something that evoles into a Egg, that then produces Face Huger that some Humanoids in Space Suits use upon another that is on some kind of Alter, thus shows that some Humanoid is using the Xeno against one of its own.

There was two designs of Mask as there was again two versions of this Mural, one more Alien looking that the next (other more Man made Looking but only in the mask) the suit looked more like the Space Jockeys.

And i am sure the Mural had a 3rd version with Bald Humanoids but i may have been mistaken to this because Gigers Face Huger concepts showed Bald Humanoids being Face Hugged.

And indead thesed 1977 concepts have the look of the Engineers and their pressure Suits, and of his Face Huger concepts two of them had same Bald Humanoids but the Face Hugers where different slightly.

Giger indeed has these two different Face Hugers and Bald Sacrificial Hosts in his Prometheus Mural.

Maybe shows Gigers idea for the race that used or was connected with the Xeno i.e the Space Jockeys, where indeed Bald Humanoids in Space Suits.

So i guess GIGER had all along had the idea of the Engineers so maybe he needs credit for them.

But just because Gigers Artwork and ideas on the Xeno and Space Jockey, showed this connection, they was never shown or used in the Alien Franchise. Same as it was never shown the Derelict produced the Eggs like Gigers ideas.. and we cant be sure if they would ever use Gigers ideas in the Franchise.

But hey having the Jugernaughts loaded with the Urns that it then somehow uses to produce Eggs could work.

So while yes O'Bannons idea of the Giant Race was a Skeleton, of a non Human Looking creature.

Here is Gigers Artwork he did for the Alien movie after Ridley took O'Bannons draft and started to work on it to make changes for it to be Alien, and Giger was asked to then design the Alien, the Alien Cycle and Derelict ship.

Life Cycle Mural.

You see the thing at the top looks a lot like the Derelict, it seems to be made from Body Parts and even has a Xeno head and maybe this is symbolic that the Derelict is actually a Biological Machine that somehow is related Genetically to the Xeno?

We see below that we have suited Humanoid opening a Egg to infect another Suited Humanoid, while the Mask is not he same as the Space Jockey from Alien, you can see that the suit has some simular features, but this suits also looks a lot like the Engineers preasure Suits. If you notice the Hose goes into a Back Pack!  Well in Prometheus the Ghost Engineers and Engineer Suited dead boddies and the Suits hanging outside the Jugernaught control room all have very similar back packs.

Engineer Space Suit 1

Necra released a Toy Action Figure and they had acess to the Engineer Suit designs to make their Figure.

Necra Engineer Suited

You see those two images and how apart from the Mask they have a similar look to Gigers Mural for Alien!

Now the Chest Buster at the bottom does not look the same but we have to remember Giger had not designed them fully yet, the Chest Buster we see is based on Gigers Concept for them which is well maybe one worst Giger ideas he ever had for Alien.

Giger Chest Buster 1st Concept

Anyway here is Gigers other Face Huger concepts before his final one ended up like with what we have in Alien is number 1.

Face Huger 1

Face Huger 2

Face Huger 3

Now you see while number 1 has a Mask on it the mask is more Man Made that Alien.... yes his suit seems to be very simular to the Engineers Presure Suits with some elements of the Space Jockey from Aliens, and you will see the other Face Huger Concepts we see same kind of Suit but no mask and under it is a Bald Humanoid.

The Face Huger 2 and 3 concepts are incorporated into Prometheus Mural

Face Huger Prometheus

My point being that the Alien Mural seemed to show that some Race that does not look as if its Human well from Earth/Weyland is using these Eggs/Face Hugers on their own kind in some kind of Ritual Sacrifice. These cant at time of Alien had been Gigers idea of Humans so maybe it was the Space Jockey.

So maybe Gigers Artwork gave the idea of the Race who was using these Eggs as Weapons or what ever, was indeed Humanoids in Space Suits, also that Gigers works seem to show Bald Humanoids without the Masks and thus all Along Giger had made the concepts that maybe the Space Jockey was a Giant Bald Humanoid Race in Bio-Mech Space Suits all along.