Do you think the biblical connections are a bit too much?

The religious angle seems ok as long as it can be enjoyed from a view point not religious.

Early on it seemed like it was headed for earth and I thought I saw the title "Hell on Earth" floating around on this site.

Well Hell on Earth would be fitting if all went according to plan, I'm pretty sure the Engineers didn't want to wipe out humanity, as much as change it into something else altogether.

Recently im thinking it was not some sudden choice to scrap the human project on Earth, but rather just time to begin phase II, because a certain minimum population had been achieved. Its like they needed the humans first, then when they reached a certain population the Engineers add the special ingredient to the mix.  I think maybe people are just like the flour or eggs and have no idea we exist as the means to make a cake. 

I have heard some people say that the black goo may gave varying results depending on the temperature, I however believe that it is more likely based on a system similar to drugs which is based on body size, dosage, and the metabolic rate of the subject.

Shaw 'birthed' the trilobite on December 26.

"Hell on Earth"

Was touted as the name for the sequel in a so called insider leak, which i felt would be odd as unless this was set after Alien and Aliens if they de-cononize Alien 3 and Alien R or after Alien R if they do not.

so it sounded odd really unless again it was set in a flash back scenes set Thousands of Years in the past on Earth?

The whole rumor could have started from Blomkamps Alien 5 where he said he had a Name for his Alien movie, and Ridley Scott liked it and said it was very Bold, but kind of left them dead in the water... So that means it gave a lot away.

And a Alien: Hell on Earth surely would do that

As far as the Religious nods, they are vague and subtle and they are not to be taken too literally but to be taken Loosely as holding some basis for what the Franchise is showing, but then also all other Religions and Mythos are being loosely tied in too.

The objective was... to show that all Ancient Cultures accounts of various Tales and Mythos and Religions about God and Gods, all had a Basis for them all based on Interpretations of the Interactions with the Engineers in the Ancient Past.

Indeed, they're too vague to be considered "a bit too much".

I don't mind them at all. I am not a Christian (nor am I a member of the other Abrahamic faiths), and the religious ties do not bother me in the slightest. In fact, since Covenant is said to have some basis in Milton's "Paradise Lost," I've actually picked up a copy of, and am reading, that book. Although some of it I fear is lost on me as I am not very familiar with Ancient Hebrew/Old Testament mythology, nonetheless I'm enjoying it immensely, as it's given me a treasure trove of ideas to ponder over as the movie's release date approaches.

*Potential spoilers (?) below*

I rather like the theme of free will vs mere obedience that Milton has going in his epic poem. Adam's God gave him free-will,

"for how can hearts, not free, be tried whether they serve / Willing or no, who will but what they must / By destiny, and can no other choose?" (117).

Makes one wonder if this freedom/obedience dichotomy will be explored in Covenant. I do believe it will, as that same dichotomy plays a large thematic role in Scott's other SF films (I'm working on a thesis comparing the four) and many of his non-SF works as well.

I suspect the obedience vs free-will theme could be played out in Walter (obedience) vs David (who likely has free will, with Weyland gone); it could also be Company-loyal crew vs survivalist crew (which would be similar to the split among the crew of the Nostromo); perhaps it would be strife among the Engineers themselves, as they are rumored to have been embroiled in a civil war at one point. Or perhaps something else entirely. I'd fancy the first idea the most, but that's just me.

Another thing, if Covenant is based in part on "Paradise Lost," wouldn't that make Shaw--if she is indeed turned into some sort of Giger-esque birthing machine--more like Eve? Milton has the archangel Raphael call Eve the "mother of mankind, whose fruitful womb/Shall fill the world more numerous with thy sons..." (113). Interpreted in light of ALIEN, those words are disturbing indeed. Imagine Shaw being the "mother" of the Xenomorph race or variants of it?  David offers her the black goo or some refinement of it, perhaps to save her life, or give her the ability to bear children--which we know she wishes she had, from Prometheus. Like Satan tempting Eve with the forbidden fruit.

All of this is mere speculation on my part, of course, but I thought I'd share my thoughts. My apologies again for my interpretation of the Old Testament creation story, which is probably somewhat flawed.

Source for Milton quotes: Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Edited and with annotations by Scott Elledge, Norton Critical Editions, 1975.

I love the religious undertones about it in general. Religious stories all have a bit of science fiction in them already. Massive floods, an arc full of animals of each kind, tree of life, burning bush, soul, giants, the garden of eden, adam and eve, signs, symbols, warnings, knowledge, the stars, the planets, the universe, wars of belief, halos, vimanas, flying beings with rocket packs and wheels, angelic beings, heaven, hell and earth, battles in the sky, mystical tablets, ark of the covenant, monoliths, sacred statues, lost or destroyed civilizations, plagues, fallen angels, sacrifice, nonbelievers, believers, resurrection, virgin births, creation, curing the sick, the blind, water into wine, the holy trinity, walking on water, eating of the flesh, drinking of the blood, and mortality.....the list goes on and on....so yeah, I think it's pretty neat how this genre is using those mysterious subjects to tell a story...I mean, theres ufos all over religious paintings anyway...

I like them best when they can be enjoyed either way- whether one wants to delve deep into religion or not. Definitely gives rewatchability value.

As others have said, I definitely don't think the religious symbolism is too much.  I personally enjoy it.  When dealing with a film involving the origin of human life, meeting your maker, and essentially discovering the "meaning" of life - I'm not sure how you could leave some aspect of religion out of the equation.  And I think the subtle & symbolic way it is done in Prometheus is the right way to do it to make it palatable to a wide range of people.  I never really understood why people had a problem with the religious aspect in the first place.  

My reflexions there are many biblical connections in AC, in the Orthodox Church, Holy Thursday is dedicated to the memory of the four events described in the Gospels. We can find something in AC.

 1. The basin of the Saint, that is, the washing of the feet of the disciples by the Lord (We can find something in PROMETHEUS movie)

2. The Last Supper, [inluded as AC viral] which is the tradition of the mystery of the Eucharist. 

3. The Lord's [Prayer] on the Mount of Olives (remember WORD PRAY: Teaser: "RUN, RAN, PRAY")

4. The betrayal of Judas, which the beginning of the Passion of the Lord. Judas betrayed to the Lord to the Jews for the modest sum of "thirty pieces of silver," giving him a kiss passwords and ironically saying "Hail, Master." [One member of the crew] (?)

Nice variety of opinions so far. I don't mind the blatant references to the bible and religion littered throughout the story, I just don't know how this can come full circle in the sense of a prequel to Alien. Passion of the Christ perhaps, Chestbursting Alien at the dinner table, not so much.

It seems like the franchise would have better legs if it was presented as its own set of related stories and not so much a direct prequel so to speak doesn't it? 

@ BigDave, I'll agree to the Engineers being the tie that binds, but that was established in the first 10 mins of Prometheus as stated in Hollaway's speech to the crew. However, the sheer number of cave paintings combined with the timespans and locations in which they appeared would seem to suggest the film should avoid any particular connections to one specific religion would it not?  But the emphasis is clearly placed on Christianity with the whole Christmas, 2000 years ago, Shaw giving birth, LV -426 007 / Leviticus passages etc.

Why be so obvious, if the purpose is to show such a vague relationship right?  

@ Raido Brilliant, seriously. Will Black Hawk Down be part of that thesis? Nothing like the land of the free sending out its military force where free will is unheard of, or at least MIA and complete obedience is required for it to function as intended to illustrate that dichotomy. In a sense free will and obedience to nothing (system, structure or any set of rules beyond those of science or biology) is something only David is able to enjoy in the true sense, at least until the covenant crew arrives to pee on his birthday cake lol. 

@ Dirtwolf,  I don't care about the religious connections apart from how I don't see how they factor into the final end of the ride, which is the film Alien. They are setting up answers to a question the original film never tried to ask.

@S.M.  "Vague" The name of the upcoming movie is Covenant. Vague isn't quite the word to describe the sheer amount of references to the bible we've been given so far.  I've settled on an avatar specifically as a result of that comment S.M.  Thanks for the unexpected influence in that regard =]

Shaw didn't give birth on Christmas day.  '2000 years ago' would be around the end of the first century AD; not at the time of Jesus birth.

I say vague because you're skewing what's actually in the film to fitr a theory.  Ridley said they deliberately avoided references to Jesus Christ. There's going to be biblical references because of things like Shaw being a Christian and Weyland's claims about becoming the new gods.

But I don't agree that it's "too much".

I am of the opinion Shaw birthed the antithesis to Jesus Christ.  Shaw physically birthed the 'death' she saw the Engineers bringing to Earth.  We discussed it in a thread a few years ago as the black goo being the creation of death in the universe.  The Engineers were the seeders of life in the universe, as well as the seeders of death in the same universe.  You cannot have one without the other? 

Well the Source i had from over 2 years ago claimed that the Basis for the Story is the Constant Chain of Hierarchy of Creation, the Repeated Cycle of Creator Creates, Creation Rebels and Creation Sub-Created and Repeat.

This Process did not start with the Engineers and does not end with David, which is a hint that the Engineers are Creations themselves and David wishes to then also Create from himself.

This ^^^^ has now been Proven

They said this is the main theme they was exploring and its a theme that runs in many Religions not only Biblical, but others too, and the Greek Mythos,  they also said that the Fear of being over thrown by their creations plays a big role in WHY we was to be destroyed and this theme is also in many Ancient Mythos which included how Cronus in Greek Mythos had feared his Children would Rebel against him because he did so against his Father/Creator and so Cronus attempted to Eat all his Children.

The whole Freedom of Knowledge not intended for the sub-creations plays a key role too they claimed, which they mentioned is again in various Mythos which includes the Tale of Prometheus and also the Tale of Satan especially as far as the Paradise Lost Poem.

They said these things are the Main Theme, that is shared with many Cultures but they are not going to try and single out any particular Religion or Theme, but of them all indeed John Miltons Paradise Lost gets a number of loose references.

But they said the whole thing is played out more like how the Matrix had taken on this Plot/Idea more than anything.