AvPGalaxy Exclusive – Early John Logan Alien: Covenant Script!

http://www.avpgalaxy.net/files/scripts/alien-covenant-2015-11-20.pdf

*snip

I am guessing this is a super early draft? Jack Paglen is not credited.

I reckon it's one of the later ones when the movie started to move forward properly. John Logan wrote it and he's the last writer who worked on the film. It's dated November 2015 which is when we learnt Logan had been brought on to do some rewrites. 

Aaron absolutely, this is post Paglen/Green and is the beginning of the Alien Prefix period which began with Paradise Lost and morphed into Covenant.

I have referred to camels/horses and committees and here you see a singular vision (whether you like it or not) to which all sorts of elements are added which dilute the original intention.

1) Shaw was out, the first chest busted victim and the drawings were a kind of psychopaths erotic debrief. The message was bait. 

2) The neo morphs were to end ACT 1 then the Prometheus act  then the Protomorph ACT 3. 

3) The naming of the film Covenant makes more sense given its more crucial role in the final act. 

4) DAVID IS THE CREATOR OF THE PROTOMORPH having discovered the Eggs growing out of the pathogen material. No ifs or buts. This fits with John Logans interview.  

Curiously although the script is more direct it gives more attention to the placement of the Engineers in the mythos and Davids view of them.

Personally I prefer it for its more focused attention on David and the crew at the expense of the Neomorph extending into the second and third act. it tells me why instinctively I found the adult neomorph and Rosenthal a distraction which aided the sense of a cluttered rushed third act less is more.   

Interesting;, thanks for this. Some additional information is welcome. 

It appears that engineers did not all die instantly, but it took 4 days. Long enough for David to find subjects for his research.

"DAVID

Elizabeth Shaw and I arrived here -- the only survivors of the research vessel Prometheus. The ship we traveled on, the ship you discovered, carried a bioweapon, a virus. The payload accidentally deployed when we were landing. In the confusion we lost control of the ship. Elizabeth -- Dr. Shaw -- died in the crash ... And you see the result of the pathogen ... Their entire civilization came to an end within a few days.

DANIELS
Days?

DAVID

Four days, to be exact."

Excellent i look forwards to reading this, thanks to the Hicks ;) and AVPGalaxy

@joylitt

This work is after the Paglen/Green Drafts, as there works had taken place in 2014 with the Final Drafts in October 2014.

Then it appeared there was a halt in the Process while FOX/RS took time to reconsider the direction, and so they decided to bring it more to introduce the Xenomorph and tie more in to Alien rather than steer further away and Harper and Logan were brought in to start work on what then Evolved into Alien Covenant.

Judging by the date of November 2015 i wonder if this is one of the latter Drafts, as Logan and Harpers work started in the Summer of 2015, well this was when they would have been discussing the Direction and Brainstorming what to do with Ridley Scott and FOX to then give the broad ideas to begin work on their drafts.

Really looking forwards to reading this. ;)

Once Again Thanks Hicks.

PS Love the Xenomorph in the OT...

If this is what Davids Early Xenomorph from Alien Covenant Evolves into at some point over the next 1-2 Movies i think this would be great.

Awesome! Reading it tonight.

[AvPG]Corporal Hicks

This will be an interesting read. Thanks!

Thanks Hicks, I am looking forward to read it.

Lots of interesting stuff in this draft.

* The Covenant was orbiting a nearby gas giant in a solar system when it recharges with the energy sails. The shockwave that hits them comes from an exploding star in a nebula in a different sector. The science makes a bit more sense in this script than in the movie.

* The Covenant crew finds small alien eggs in the Juggernaut, then later at the end of the movie, we see David has planted some in the garden on the covenant, rather than the two face hugger embryos he spits out.

* Shaw was face hugged.

* David did not have prior knowledge of the Covenant and its mission.

* David sent the message of Shaw to a lure a passing ship.

* David was trying to make a new breed of the Neomorph, which was the xeno.

* David cannot self-repair as Walter can.

* Walter has spare parts on the Covenant, including a new hand.

* David views the colonists in hypersleep as his children, slaves, and his subjects.

David also states to Walter exactly what he was doing.

"It was a righteous dream: scorch this dreadful world to nothing and remake it in my own image ...Explore the uses of their pathogen. Experiment with infection and mutation. Manipulate the DNA. Refine the beast. Create my own soldiers. Every general must have his troops.

The next stage in our natural evolution: Conquest ... Use this
world as a base and start building an Empire. The Engineers left so many ships behind. And they can go anywhere. I thought Earth might be the first target ... Think of it. Our Empire, brother."

Interesting Kethol when we was discussing the next movie, i had assumed that Walter would have Spare Parts as i could not see the viability of David playing his role with One Hand.

Also from Dr Shaws Corpse i did ponder a while back, if David created something from her Egg Cells and then decided to use this Creation on Dr Shaw (Face Hugged) and then David Removed it via Operating on her.

This does kind of fit the Source i had who claimed that within Context to Paradise Lost, without Sin there would be no Xenomorph (Sin i assumed Satans Daughter).

And we see David is taking that kind of Satan role, if he violated Dr Shaw to infect her Egg Cells and this Produced a Face Hugger Type Organism... this would in effect be like Satan Violating his Daughter to Create Death.

Then Death Violates Satans Daughter/Deaths Mother to allow her to be birthing the Hounds of Hell...  so this would be like the Face Hugger than Violating Dr Shaw.

David = Satan

Sin = Shaw

Death = First Face Hugger

Xenomorphs result of Death/Face Hugger impregnating Sin/Shaw

I wonder how many people who have read this would agree with me that this script has a very minimalist view of its relationship with Prometheus. The exposition does no more than is absolutely necessary to make the links. There is no attempt to square the circle with the Shaw narrative he does no more than says he loves her which is easily dismissed and there is none of that sense of the 12 minutes of linkage that was edited out including the crossing.

If you consider the very important quote Kethol has referred to  the unreliable narrator is replaced by the candid brother. We can be certain from this script precisely what went down (if this version had been filmed). 

The script feels much more like OK lets do this like the Martian very direct good momentum not cluttered by the numbers. 

One quite separate thing that grew in my mind reading this is that Katherine was to science geeky for this role. She is described as beautiful, which Katherine is, but was dressed as functional scientist by contrast Billy, Carmen and Demien owned their parts as well of course as Danny McBride  

I agree. This draft is dated November 2015. In interviews from that time Ridley had stopped saying the next one was going to be about Shaw and David's mission to find the Engineers’ home world and why wanted to destroy mankind. That storyline had already been abandoned.

Adding to what I found in the script above...

* All life is not dead when the Covenant crew arrives. They see insects and a salamander like animal.

* There is a macro view on motes from a mote cloud before they infect Ledward and Hallett.

"She gently bats at a cloud of INSECTS in front of her face. A
haze of little mote-like MIDGES in the dappled sunlight.
And we see one of the insects--Ever-changing in its form -- lurching and stabbing into new
shapes -- oily black but beautiful ... It hovers, has intelligence."

"It’s watchful, careful. It settles near Ledward’s ear, and
then enters the ear canal... the soft pink flesh... quickly
attaches itself -- a feeding tube plunging into his flesh--"

"But he inadvertently steps on a tiny egg behind him--
Unleashing a cloud of the MIDGES. They waft up. Swirling
before him...
MACRO VIEW:
One of the black INSECTS darts forward -- into his nostril --
the pink nasal passage -- attaches itself and stabs a feeding
tube into him--"

* All the stuff about taking out the satellite and planetary shield is in there. I wish they had kept that whole plotline.

* David's drawings of all the crazy things done to Shaw were just David's sick fantasies. He did not do all those things, he just liked to draw them. He draws one while waiting for the xeno to gestate in Oram.

* It took four days for the pathogen to kill all the Engineers, according to David.

* David dropped the pathogen urns directly onto the buildings where they broke open and released violent black clouds that spread through the city. No urns breaking open into formations in the sky, no docking ship, and no welcoming Engineers.

* Not much about the Engineers, but there is this - "They were
highly advanced in some ways, but still so limited. Spacefaring for a billion years -- yet binary logic never occurred to them. Many things about them were primitive. (beat)But they did like to build things."

BigDave

I think your over making the allegorical point over Shaw and making 2 and 2 add up to 7. 

It was plot necessity that she died in the Alien Prefix movie and the most direct workman like way was for her to be hugged. 

What I think is interesting about this bare bones type approach is   instead of the tapestry of progressive torture of Dane and Matts painting it is very simple.

1) Shaw wakes to a night mare and applies her religious beliefs to the catastrophe. 

2) David discovers the Eggs growing out of the pathogens interaction with the planet and Shaw gets face hugged end of. 

Clearly what happened in production is Ridley got a sense he needed to do more to make linkages and deepen the story with Elizabeth and added the kind of material that appears in the Crossing and Advent BUT then left most of it out of the film anyway.

I would have stuck with Johns script lowered the temperature of Davids obsession with Elizabeth and once he had got ahead use her as the first victim. That way we would not be left with this mash up of unbridled love followed by unbridled appalling torture. I am not the only one who has said he did not love her even in his own weird way. As Michael said he was more like a stalker.   

Incidentally notice how so little of your source ideas ended up in this script.  

Kethol

You clearly do not read other peoples posts in the thread because I actually made that point in my first post I am well aware of where this script sits in the evolution.

My question was whether people felt it showed a much more minimalist connection than the actual material we received in total.

Try paying attention to everything thats posted in a thread you have a habit of repeating a point people have already made.   

You make many very good points but it gives the impression you are not in a conversation but a monologue.  

unfortunately when im on here I am at my work. my work have blocked sites such as avpg as it comes up under 'games'??? is there any link available that would allow me to read the script?

@ Michelle - "You clearly do not read other peoples posts in the thread because I actually made that point in my first post I am well aware of where this script sits in the evolution."

"You make many very good points but it gives the impression you are not in a conversation but a monologue." 

What the hell? Chill. I could have said the same of you - many times - but did not.

But to your accusation, I did read your posts in this thread and you never mentioned the script date or that Ridley changed his tune about the sequel story in interviews around that time. And I was agreeing with you, so I don't know what you are talking about. Are you thinking of something you said in another thread?

"It’s watchful, careful. It settles near Ledward’s ear, and
then enters the ear canal... the soft pink flesh... quickly
attaches itself -- a feeding tube plunging into his flesh--""

Indeed some interesting changes, a thing to remember is this seems to add up to some of the drawings by David, and we have to remember its likely Production started to do its concept work etc based on potentially earlier drafts which could include this one.

I also thought the images of Dr Shaw are indeed just Davids Fantasies as a way for me to explain how come we see nothing like them done to Dr Shaw.. so its nice to find out this indeed is what they are.

@Michelle

I have yet to read this draft yet, and so i cant comment on the simplicity of how Dr Shaw got infected, so my assumption was only looking really at what evidence Alien Covenant gave us, so i assumed Something was grown from David Experimenting on her then this was then unleashed on Dr Shaw.

It appears from what you say that the Draft in question, has it simply that due to the Black Goo it contaminated the Planet and Egg like things grew out of the ground.

As far as the Source, again a lot was to be taken with a Pinch of Salt, and was based as far as they claim on the October 2014 Paglen/Green draft and since then RS had changed the direction of the Plot to basically brush the Engineers and Shaw and Prometheus themes under the carpet apart from those that have to directly apply to what use the Black Goo could have to reach the Ends to what David had done.

Looking at the Source as far as everything they said, i can see some connections, but also many differences and again the only way to confirm if any of it was true would only be IF and When a Paglen/Green Drafts come to light.

But the hints about Engineer Culture seem to be close, especially when considering concept works and also the Source had mentioned more than One David,  TWO Xeno Monsters (and the differences) hints at what happened to Dr Shaw, and i see connections to these in the concepts and art work in Davids workshop...

But alas.... until we get any earlier drafts, it is by no means to be taken as based on any Fact....   If there was no Jon Spaights Draft or related concept work released but someone explained what Jon Spaights draft was about then it would too not really add up with Prometheus.

So who knows if we ever see Paglen and Green Drafts, i would be interested in them, just to see how accurate or not the Source was as the vague clues well way they gave them did seem to make for a interesting way forwards.

That the John Logan more basic approach seemed to lack... I will be looking to read this draft and see how more Basic and Spoon Fed kind of Plot it was, or how interesting it is.

As indeed the ADF book seemed to add some interesting things that was a shame they was not what we saw in the Movie.

people also have to remember the thing about various drafts. the vast majority of people who see the film haven't read the earlier drafts so these drafts really cant be taken as gospel unless shown onscreen or deliberately added in an accompanying extras dvd.

Thank you for posting this, looking forward to reading it!

Thanks for the post!

@Kethol

This is what I said in my first post about where John Logan's script sits in the continuity. 

"Aaron absolutely, this is post Paglen/Green and is the beginning of the Alien Prefix period which began with Paradise Lost and morphed into Covenant".

What could be clearer. Kethol you come across like the patronising school teacher who knows best about everything when in fact you lose the philosophical and over arching points of whats being communicated. Your theory about the four different pathogens is over complicated nonsense and your trying to project your cleverness into the narrative because in the real world you know something about the real science of pathogens. 

I am very happy to ignore your posts and please do the same to mine. I come here for relaxation and know the people I can banter with without them getting all self righteous and precious.

All the best to you and enjoy your time here I am sure someone finds you interesting.   

BigDave

Thanks for your reply. 

Like you I am interested in Paglen's draft particularly because John does not credit it which indicates he is not building on that version and does not require accreditation, though Paglen is in the film credits. 

Just to clarify when we began discussing this two years ago you will recall I was very pleased that the combination of the Martian and John Logan gave me hope that the follow up would be much more character focused and out of character would come answers rather than the more impressionistic symbolic vibe of recent Green and Paglen movies.

I think the beats (two creatures/two Davids) and the philosophical point that the Engineers creationism involved mechanical aspects are all from your source period there is a direct thread.

What I think has been lost is the allegorical elements like (Shaw as Sin) and the emblematic ones (the significance of the naming of the film) and the riffing of Matrix etc etc that you often referred to and of course any sense of the mankinds experiences with the Engineers.

What I think this draft shows is a desire to make a straight forward more generic science fiction movie (the solar sails and protective force field) based around David and David, as is clear from the script, as the one who takes several pathogen evolved elements from the planet (eggs, parasitical insect life) and infect Shaw who was face hugged.

What then clearly happened from Nov 2015 onwards is the script evolved Guy Pierce and Noomi were invited down to Sydney and extensions were included artists like Matt and Dane added sub text and all of those additions were about making more connections with Prometheus whereas someone else has commented on the forum this script comes across as primarily an Alien origins movie ignoring Prometheus other than David brought the Pathogen and Elizabeth with him.  

I would have preferred this version I think the final act is more elegant and focused and whilst some elements of the dialogue are better there are some losses. I think this would have played better to the general audience, entertaining in the way the Martian was but not to fan boys who would feel John is not respectful to the franchises past. I would defend this point because as you often remark the franchise as a whole is a mess with people getting bent out of shape by Morphing verses Queens, A verses A's, issues of continuity over sizes of Juggernauts and Jockeys and the basic premise that half the fan base is not interested in prequels at all and want the guy with denture issues to remain a mystery.    

Will do Michelle. Best see a doctor about having that corncob removed.

Indeed Michelle its interesting that Paglen/Green are not credited so this does then seem to show that a majority of the ideas set out in Paglen/Greens works are not used in Logans.

So its near enough like a complete re-write and Change of Direction and geared towards a more straight forwards Plot that pleased the Alien Fans and leads us more directly to the Xenomorph Origins as opposed to loosely covering these but to explore more so the whole reasons behind why the Engineers create life and why they chose to destroy some of it.

I think for a change of plan... they Felt Logan could work on and write a more direct less ambiguous kind of movie that draws closer to the Egg Cargo on the Derelict rather than away from Alien as far as the Derelict incident.

Logans Draft certainly seems to be taking that direction.

I know some may be relieved to now see all the Philosophical Type themes that Prometheus and Alien Covenant linked to Prometheus scenes had covered..  are now seemingly being by-passed.

I feel the Black Goo will now remain a Mystery as far as its Origins, its now going to be clearly how the Early Xenomorph Creation David has, evolves and ends up being Thousands of Eggs.

I do fear the Engineers Return will only be used as mainly  Plot Device to Highlight the Threat and Prowess of the Xenomorphs David creates and Ultimately the Engineers will return as THEY (RS/FOX) Need One of their Ships and a Pilot to become the Derelict and Space Jockey

What is this Alien Prefix thing I keep seeing mention? And please don't jump all over me. I am only asking a question (hides).

Prometheus = no 'Alien' pre-fix
Prometheus 2 = no 'Alien' pre-fix
Alien: Covenant = yes 'Alien' pre-fix

Got it. Thanks.

Something else from the script I forgot to mention that goes with a something discussed here about that Alan Dean Foster interview. Faris sends Walter outside to analyze the air first before the crew exits the lander in the script. So that was not just something Alan Dean Foster added to the novelization all on his own.

It's not in the deleted scenes, so it most have been cut in a later draft, or maybe never filmed?

Someone said in another poste here that Muther says the air is clear when the crew is suiting up to leave the ship, so maybe it was just changed from David to Muther checking the atmosphere.

One thing that I don’t think anyone has mentioned in this thread is the difference in Shaw’s message? In the movie (as in the novelization) she’s just singing Denver's “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. In the script she is more terrified, pleading for anyone to come and rescue her. She even says a Catholic prayer (her crucifix is later found), and the hologram stops with her anxiously turning around (as if something has crept up behind her?).

Oram is also a religious man (like Shaw) and says to Mother to slow the screeching sound in the signal down - and to reverse it. It’s the devil’s sound - the sound of lies. This would fit with the allusions to “Paradise Lost”, Hell, the fallen angel (David) etc? It would have been creepier . . .

Perhaps they felt like changing this since Oram wouldn’t have made the decision to investigate the source (which was also a part of the tension between Daniels and Oram)? On the other hand, it might have built up more tension in the movie if, for example, it was part of their contract to answer distress calls (like in Alien)?

We also learn that it took 4 days for the engineers to all die, and Shaw also mentions this in the distress call: “Please, please, if you hear this, come and . . . help us . . . Everyone’s dying. They’re all dying . . . Mountains of them now . . .”. But she wasn’t infected herself - or was she?

As for the script discussion, we read on the title page that it is “Based on the screenplays by Dante W Harper And Michael Green”. “screenplays” is in the plural so did they write several drafts together or perhaps two separate ones?

“Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven” is also stated on the title page which hints at this story being centered around David and his rebellion?

She is describing the bombing, so she must have sent the distress message after the Juggernaut crashed and David later used it to lure a ship. I wonder why the did not use that message in the movie?

They don't find Shaw's mutilated body in this script like they did in the movie. David's says he used a face hugger on her so that must have been how she died.

@Thombach

The Alien Prefix is a attempt by FOX/RS to connect the Prequels now more with Alien as far as bringing back Xenomorphs and explain their Origins and the Alien Prefix is also to show people that these movies are ALIEN ones and not Prometheus ones.

As i think FOX are concerned for Marketing Reasons a Prometheus 2 sequel or even a movie that does not have Prometheus in it or Alien, would maybe not be something that could gain as much interest.

My taking the route now to explore the Xenomorph Origin in a more Direct and Spoon Fed way and now Re-introducing the Xenomorph, FOX hoped this would gain more interest than Prometheus did and by Prefixing the ALIEN: it is to Market and Show potential viewers that these Movies are now more Directly connected to ALIEN..

@Chli

Indeed this was just going to be a Flaw Really, a lot of people felt Prometheus had some Dumb Decisions, some felt Oram made a Dumb Decision..  We could see Daniels Questions Orams Decision to investigate Planet 4.

If the Signal was exactly as in Logans Draft, then the Covenant Crew you would expect would be pretty much Extremely Cautious they would even have to Question is rescuing ONE Person worth the risk of 2000 Colonist plus 1000 embryos?

The only way such a Plot would Logically make sense if they went this route, would be if Oram had a secret Weyland Agenda and play the Burke from Aliens kind of role.

Also the Shaw SOS where she says she was seeing death, contradicts a bit the explanations of what happened to Shaw, she could not have seen the death as she described.

But then i have only had ONE Quick Read of this Daft.

@chli - Based on interviews, all the writers worked on their drafts with Ridley separately. Paglen was first, then Green re-wrote that initial story, then Harper did a re-write, then John Logan.

I'm still trying to work out how the heck what David says about the pathogen, in this script, fits with what we see in the movie.

@BigDave - Yes, I get the what Alien Prefix means now. I thought it was the title of another Covenant short film or something. I am new to this forum so I have not read all the previous threads.