WHERE TO GO NEXT?

IF the AFTERMATH and Sequels to Alien Covenant do Eventually lead to ALIEN then i Suspect the PATHS above are LIKELY.

Looking at the SET UP

David (as Walter) has Contacted the Company to Inform them of a Solar Flare Accident that has KILLED all but TWO of the Crew and that the Covenant is on its way to Origae-6

David as himself as then SENT a Encoded Message (The ADVENT) that informs the Company of who he is, about the Prometheus having No Survivors and about the WORK he has been doing in Creating the Xenomorph.  He has informed them that should they Pursue his Creation it could RULE the Galaxy.

It will take the Company 16-17 Months to Receive the Messages giving David that plus about 11-12 Months Head Start on them.

IF we see David go to Oriage-6 then it would take him 88 Months before he Arrives.  Assuming he will go there and in the Covenant.

IF the Company has Ships that are as Fast as the Covenant/Nostromo then it would take them about 11 Months to reach Planet 4.

We can Assume it would take them about 10-12 Months to reach Calpamos (LV-223/426).

IF we are looking at Planet 4 to Calpamos (LV-223/426) then they could be close maybe just Weeks Away.... as Planet 4 is in the Vicinity of the Zeta Reticuli System too.

Looking at the Drafts.....

Origae-6 is about 280LY from Earth, it takes about 7 Charge Cycles to get to there in the Draft (40LY per Cycle).  In Alien Covenant we are 9 Cycles in Total

So we can ONLY go and Assume that Origae-6 is up to 360LY away.  But then the Draft could mean that they are Currently 240LY from Earth so a Cycle is every 240LY or it could mean that Origae-6 is 240LY away?

Going by the Advent then Planet 4 seems to be NEAR the Zeta Reticuli Systems.  Each Charge of the Covenant happens every 11 Months.

Zeta 2 is just over 39LY from Earth so i think we can Safely Assume each Recharge is about 40LY and so Planet 4 and LV-223 are about the 40-45LY Ball Park from Earth.

Origae-6 likely thus 360LY away.

The Engineers are due to Return to Planet 4 prior to ALIEN and so they could Turn Up in 5-15 Years i Assume.  Their Ships should be able to Travel to LV-223 in Days i Assume, Certainly Quicker than Earth Ships.

Calpamos gets my vote.

Back on LV-223 David can transfer the Covenant crew to a juggernaut...then send the Covenant into the local star, disposing of the evidence. ( A juggernaut should be faster and creepier and his experiments shouldn't require a hydroponics bay. He will evolve them so they can do without the niceties of the Covenant. )

Engineers would easily catch and destroy the Covenant.....If David (using the maps ) found a scorpion ship or an upgraded juggernaut type...I think he might out run them ( for awhile ). Covenant having to deploy solar collectors once in awhile, makes a lame travelling vessel. I'd dump it ASAP.

I think we can Assume that LV-223 is NOT that FAR from Planet 4 and so MAYBE it takes David just Weeks to get there...... If he Informs the Company they are OFF to Origae-6 then by the Time they Receive the Message then David would be on LV-223 for like at least 15 Months.

IF we go for this PLOT... then David could maybe LAND the Covenant on the Surface to LV-223 and then have the SHIP still being Operational, the Colonist and Embryo's would still be kept in Cryo-Sleep etc.  And so he could then TAKE them like ONE at a TIME to a Outpost on LV-223 or even take what he Needs from a Outpost to the Covenant Ship on the Surface.

However with David giving them the ADVENT Message you can Assume the Company would SEND a Mission to LV-223 and Planet 4...... but David would have like 18-24 Months on LV-223 to CREATE his Horror Show.... Waiting for the Company to Arrive.

When it comes down to USING the Juggernauts..... well its a Case of HOW do you keep the Colonist in Cryo-sleep?  We know that David knows how because he did this with Dr Shaw but it would Depend on HOW MANY of the Cryo-Pods are there on the SHIP.... we see just FOUR.

IF we see David Manage to Perfect his Queen (find a WAY to Produce Many Eggs in a Efficient Manner) then he would ONLY need to Infect a Handful of Colonist, and then awaken the Rest and they would soon Fall Foul to the Eggs that his Queen can Develop.

So IF we see David go to LV-223 and Create a Horror Show then when the Company Arrive they could be in a PICKLE....

Regarding the Engineers they can Return in a Time that Suits the PLOT... so they can Return to Planet 4 after David has Created a Army on LV-223.

You have to look at the PLOT from their POV.

They would Arrive and be able to Determine that the Juggernaught had Unleashed the Pathogen and came from LV-223, they would be able to Determine a Human likeness of the Stowaways on the Juggernaught (Hologram of David and Dr Shaw) the Humanoid Remains, the Human likeness of Walter and Dr Shaws Corpse.

They would KNOW that some Humans had got to LV-223 and so they would Dispatch a Mission to LV-223 to Investigate and MAYBE go and Render LV-223 NULL and VOID.

They would WANT to go and FIND which World these Humans came from... THIS is Easy if the Earth is the ONLY Place that has Humans (where the Engineers had Seeded them) if there are MORE then they would go and Investigate Every World where Humans had been Placed.... maybe they would Determine to DESTROY all the Worlds that have Humans...

For THIS then maybe (likely) they go to LV-223 to go GET to their Juggernauts to Unleash Hell on the Worlds they will be going to to ERADICATE Mankind.

So a PLOT like what you said MonsterZero would likely lead to the Company and Engineers all arriving at LV-223 at some Point..... if David goes there he would get their BEFORE any of them.... then he has the Tools and Souls to Create his Army.

The Route to Origae-6 would be more Complicated and Eat Up the TIME-LINE because it would be the Year 2112 and so 10 Years before ALIEN. And another Problem is HOW do the Engineers now where the Covenant is going?

IF they arrive at Planet 4 while the Covenant is NOT FAR then thats Game Over for David.... IF the Covenant is on Origae-6 or NOT FAR from it then its HOW can the Engineers know where David would be?

Does David have any GOO? on the Covenant or goes back to Planet 4 for some?

Can David go and Create more Xenomorphs from just TWO FACE HUGGERS?

So then while he is on Origae-6 its HOW do we get Xenomorphs, and then a Engineer Ship arrives at Origae-6 and the AFTERMATH the Ship would then have to be Heading to LV-223 either with Numerous Eggs (but HOW) or just a Few where they can be Mass Produced on LV-223.

This would NOT leave LONG in the Time-Line before ALIEN... like what 5-9 Years?

Yeah a trip to Origae-6 just takes too long in the timeline.

The Calpamos system has yet to be fully checked ( Alien timeline ).

If Hadley's Hope survey team missed the derelict on LV-426, then there could be multiple derelicts or tombs,  pyramids, etc.. 

How many tombs on LV-223? They're out in the open and the Engineers didn't feel they need to hide them. Seems like they just came out of orbit right next to one....Did David find the closest one and failed to tell them other locations?

Calpamos probably has a asteroid belt ( a failed or destroyed planet ?) that could contain more Engineer tech. 

Planet 4 system:

Did the Engineers have stuff on the surrounding moons? I'm sure they probably left some other footprint in the system?

Four other planets in the system that need to be checked ( world building these would be fun! )and the asteroid belts. Could be cool stuff on each world.

What If: The Engineers were using the other planets in the Planet 4 system, for testing? Couple of planets with failed seeding....filled grotesque monsters / humanoids. or their unwanted junk / prisoners.

"What If: The Engineers were using the other planets in the Planet 4 system, for testing"

I would say the Engineers can Traverse Space with Ease and so would NOT have to Conduct any Tests on their Doorstep..... but saying that it would seem that LV-223/LV-426 are NOT that FAR from Planet 4.

LV-223 had about 5 Temple Complexes, we do-not know HOW MANY of them have Ships Docked or as to HOW MANY such Ships are Docked to Each Complex....  But we do have David indicate there are MANY more Ships left.

LV-426 is likely to be just a BARON MOON that the Derelict just Ended Up having to LAND ON after the Pilot becomes Infected.

The Conclusion to the Prequels i would ASSUME would see a Engineer Ship (becomes the Derelict) leaving LV-223 but then the Pilot realizes they are about to GIVE BIRTH and so they SET THE SHIP down on LV-426.

There could be a WHOLE LOT of Stuff that goes on Prior to that and Post the END of Alien Covenant, which may Require 2 Movies.... but its a Case of WHAT would these have Shown and would we be looking at it being DRAGGED OUT too much........... so YES by either.

1) David Not going to Origae-6 (No Need if his Agenda is to Create Xenomorphs to Destroy Mankind).

2) Not Following David to Origae-6 (there are Eggs are Planet 4).

You can CUT OUT quite a BIT of Unnecessary Plot/Story to get us to LV-426

I'd probably let David go to the Origae system. Let him world build the surrounding systems. I don't know how many years it would take to make a massive super colony, maybe four or five hundred? Enough time to slip him into the timeline 2430's up, ready for Alien 5....But I'm not sure even I would do that movie! Probably a comic book.

There's just so many unanswered questions in the Alien verse at the moment. 

No other sci fi franchise has this many blank spots.

Star Wars? Star Trek? The same: Trillions of humans and aliens traveling around doing stuff...always a war or crisis going on.

Alien verse?: We guess there are a billion humans on Earth doing stuff ( Humans don't like Earth....But why?!? ). Are the Engineers alive or dead? How many Xenomorphs / eggs are active? 1 or 2? hundreds? Trillions?

For me............... IF i was the ONE who OWNS the Franchise thats what i would do, i would allow David to go to Origae-6 and there would be a Continuation of his Story Arc that would NOT have to be Covered on Screen.... it could remain a Mystery.  Or eventually it could be Explored in a Movie that is DIFFERENT and does-not have to be about Xenomorphs.

Where i would TAKE the Next Movie or Movies would be to Planet 4 you can have a Very ALIENY Movie.... that then would lead to the Engineers taking the Eggs to LV-223 where they would EVOLVE and Mass Produce them..... this would then MAKE the Engineers the FINAL CREATORS of the Xenomorph as they Evolve Davids Creation which he Created from the Blue-Prints/Deacon/Neomorph and Black Goo.   So David becomes the MIDDLE MAN.

Regarding the Broader Plot then YES there is POTENTIAL... and RS had felt the ALIEN Franchise could be as BIG as Star Wars/Star Trek and by that i think he means in Terms of Worlds/Races and Conflicts.

The Earth is surely NOT the ONLY such World the Engineers have Created/Evolved and Interacted with Humanoid Life, the Earth may even NOT be the ONLY place where there are Humans (Prior to 20th Century) and DO WE EVEN COME FROM EARTH?

The Engineers Plot seemed to NOT be about them Creating Horrific Bio-Warfare this seems to be just a SUB-PLOT.

The likelihood of the Engineers being DEAD is SLIM... and RS even Confirms they are NOT all Dead....

Looking at the MAP ABOVE....... our SUN/SOLAR SYSTEM is Located within the YELLOW DOT, the Diameter of this DOT is 250LY and so the ALIEN FRANCHISE has taken Place so FAR in LESS than a 5th of this YELLOW DOT.

The Engineers have STAR MAPS to other Galaxies and so we can ASSUME they can Travel to the Furthest Reaches of our Galaxy.  So for a Race who have been going around for MANY MILLIONS of Years and Seeding Worlds then the RED CIRCLE is but just 1750LY and so thats 35+ Times Larger than we have Explored in the Franchise (Theatrically) and so you see its just a DROP in the OCEAN to what POTENTIALLY the Engineers have Explored...

So YES its LIKELY there are MANY WORLDS in the Galaxy where there would be Engineers and their Creations.

"How many Xenomorphs / eggs are active?"

This is a Question that has somewhat Changed with the Prequels... but WHEN we GET to those Eggs on the Derelict and WHEN they GOT on the Ship, then we can ASK....

Was the Derelict the ONLY one that was Loaded with Eggs?

Eggs:

The whole alien verse breaks after the destruction of the Nostromo.  The company, the computers ( MUTHURS ), synth builders, friends and family would have wanted to know what happened to it and the crew ( not to mention the cargo ). Special order 937 and the death of agent Ash would have tipped them off that this needs to be investigated thoroughly and it would have been child's play to follow the events that lead to the destruction.

So I think there's a movie or two in the months after the Nostromo's demise.

Well there are MANY such Questions like this.....

1) WHY has the Company NOT Investigated LV-426 after the Failed Special Order 937 and Destruction of the Nostromo?

2) WHY had the Company NOT gone to Investigate LV-223 after the Disappearance of the Prometheus?

3) WHY had the Company NOT gone to Investigate LV-223 after the Advent Message from David?

4) WHY had the Company NOT gone to Investigate Planet 4 after the Advent Message from David?

5) WHAT had led to Special Order 937 as the Company maybe Knew about what was on LV-426 and its likely to have came about as a Aftermath of WHAT they do after they Investigate in response to Davids Advent Message!

In ALIENS DC we see the Jordans go and ENTER the Derelict via a HOLE in its HULL and this HOLE looks like the Result of a Explosion to me.  So this could be USED as a SET UP for a Mission where the Company had gone back to the Derelict and in the END had Attempted to BLOW IT UP from the Inside.

But in Context to the TOPIC it was to LOOK at what do we DO NEXT after the Events of ALIEN COVENANT which will LEAD to the Derelict on LV-426

Ridley Scott had Indicated we are 2-3 Movies away from ALIEN and that the NEXT ONE would NOT be about Xenomorphs, it would be about where David is going and WHAT KIND of a WORLD he would Create/Build.

It would also be about A.I but its to Remember that he sees the Replicants as A.I and so that means he seems A.I as a Intelligent Life that is Artificially Created and so NOT NECESSARILY ROBOTS.

But he also Indicates we will ARRIVE at the Back Door to ALIEN at the Conclusion and we WILL KNOW who is in that PILOT CHAIR and WHY/WHEN the Derelict had LANDED on LV-426.  But also that the Xenomorph in Alien Covenant has some EVOLVING to do YET and that we have NOT YET reached the Bio-Mechanical Aesthetic.

This seems to Indicate the Next Movie would FOLLOW where David is going and IF this is Oriage-6 in the Covenant then by the TIME he Arrives we have ONLY just 10 Years until the Nostromo Arrives.

So as Discussed before...... i think that AVOIDING where David is going would be the BEST ROUTE to Connect to ALIEN.

There are EGGS on Planet 4 and its LIKELY the Company would SEND someone to Planet 4 and also RS had said the Engineers would eventually RETURN to FIND their our KIND on Planet 4 have been Slaughtered.

There can be WAYS to take care of PLOT HOLES......

Like WHY does the Company NOT go to LV-223 instead of LV-426?

SIMPLE:  At the Conclusion we have it that SOMEONE has Destroyed LV-223 but the Destruction has TORN a Temporary Hole in SPACE/TIME and the DERELICT has Managed to Escape LV-223 but the Resulting Tear in the Fabric of Space has SENT the Derelict back THOUSANDS of YEARS..... and then the Space Jockey begins to Realize what his FATE is and SETS a Course to Quarantine the Cargo on LV-426

Great points.

I think all of them can be answered...but probably not in the theater, more likely comic books or novels. *sad face*...But If these questions are answered, it'll make me ( and a bunch of fans ) feel a whole lot better about the alien verse.

"....ONLY just 10 Years until the Nostromo Arrives..."

I think they'll just do some sort of instantaneous travel trope ( wormhole, space rift, SUPER juggernaut, etc..) to get David back to LV-426( if they go that route ).

I can see the the writers of Alien:Covenant continuing to Origae-6. They botched the David/Shaw/Home of the Engineers/Prometheus 2 plot line so badly, that they will continue to pile on their mistakes!  They'll just 'hand wave' David and his monsters to where they need them.         ( Mistake 1 :The odds that the Covenant just happened to be flying near Planet 4 with it's recharging sails deployed and a one in a billion star event just happened to occur, so they had to fix their sails, so they just happened to pick up a signal....is laughable. The Covenant could always be looking for suitable planets and David killing the Engineers also dropped Planet 4's cloaking shield allowing Shaw's signal and Planet 4 light curve to reach the Covenant. Simple)

"I think they'll just do some sort of instantaneous travel trope "

I think this Causes a Problem though......  UNLESS its HOW i had mentioned when the Destruction of LV-223 would Cause a Temporary Rift in Space Time.

Then you KILL TWO BIRDS with just the ONE STONE ;)

The Plot Hole/Loose End about WHY after ALIEN they NEVER went to LV-223 would be Taken Care of, and the Derelict is then FLUNG into the PAST via a ONE OFF EVENT and so this Takes Care of the Derelict looking like its been on LV-426 for a LONG TIME.

"Mistake 1 :The odds that the Covenant just happened to be flying near Planet 4"

They have to make Choices to give us something for Plot Convenience and WELL this is NOT as BAD as the Mystery of the Eggs on the Sulaco in Alien 3 and the Ability to CLONE someone to then be Carrying a Xenomorph Queen from Alien Resurrection.

They Needed some Humans who would NOT be a Platoon of Marines, and they also Needed to come up with a WAY they would END UP where David was.

"David killing the Engineers also dropped Planet 4's cloaking shield"

I think thats a Decent Explanation, but i think we have to Remember that David had Bombarded the Engineers 10 Years Prior and so the Company would have surely Detected the Planet like WAY before the Covenant Mission had SET OFF.

I think regarding were we WAS to GO NEXT....

Ridley Scott seemed to indicate we would go with David to Origae-6 where its LIKELY that he would be on Origae-6 for some TIME, before other Human Ships/Missions arrive and then the Engineers.

It seemed that the NEXT MOVIE would NOT have been about the Xenomorph but this does-not mean that we would NOT see any, just they may PLAY a Smaller Role if at all.  The Interesting thing is that RS had said the PLOT/STORY was being Written and Underway....

He indicated it would be about A.I and Creation and What KIND of World that David would Create, and to me i think this means he would Artificially Engineer those Human Embryo's into something ELSE.... but they WONT be Xenomorphs.

But i dont think a LOT of People would want to WATCH a Movie about David and WHAT he has Planned for the Colony/Colonist that will NOT be about Xenomorphs.

But latter we saw RS seem to Change his Mind because he said it has to be about HIM but you have to EVOLVE HIM..... he then said you have to LOOK at Different Ways of Procreation and so i would ASSUME that RS was talking about the Xenomorph.

The Advent seems to Indicate that David has a Objective to PERFECT HIS QUEEN and so it would be Interesting to Discover as to WHAT this is.... because i DONT think that RS would give us the Cameron's Queen and i think he would also go and Explore the Egg Morph Route.

If he Creates a Hybrid that can INFECT say Organic Matter to then have them Mutate into Eggs then this could be a Convenient Way to Turn those Colonist into EGGS......

"...10 Years Prior and so the Company would have surely Detected the Planet like WAY before the Covenant Mission..."

Light from Planet 4 would only be a quarter of the way to the telescopes in orbit around Earth....It'll be the 2040's before the light hits the Earth.

The small detectors / telescopes on the Covenant, aren't really set up for long distances ( they already know where they are headed ) and more or less, act as a cataloging of systems that the Covenant passes. ( Would be my guess)

 AND I don't like the plot convenience of recharging the Covenant! The Nostromo / Prometheus had no such nonsense. 

"But i dont think a LOT of People would want to WATCH a Movie about David and WHAT he has Planned for the Colony/Colonist that will NOT be about Xenomorphs"

100% agree.

If they skip a David story. What's the logical next prequel movie?

"The Nostromo / Prometheus had no such nonsense."

They kind of did..... Prometheus it was the STAR MAPS that Dr Shaw and Holloway had Uncovered and with ALIEN it was Special Order 937

But i think the POINT you are making is that the Solar Flare/Neutrino Burst had got them to have to REPAIR the Solar Sails and this then Allowed for the Dr Shaw Signal to be Picked Up....

Some of the Plot was NOT that well thought out but we have such Problems with ALIENS, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection.  We have to Accept that the Engineers had some kind of Cloaking Technology that was able to HIDE the Planet, and the Neutrino Burst some how allowed for Dr Shaws Message to be Carried and Picked Up by the Covenant.

They had to have the Covenant be close (Few Weeks) away from Planet 4 and come up with a Reason to HOW they would then Investigate this World instead of to Continue to Origae-6, maybe they could have came up with a Better Idea.

And so by Following David to Origae-6 they have another such PROBLEM... like HOW would the Engineers know to GO there in search of David.

The Engineers could Check their Holographic Recordings and they would then Determine that TWO HUMANS had been on the Ship that Bombarded Planet 4 and so they would LOOK to Punish maybe ALL HUMANS.... then we have to ASK as to was the Earth the ONLY Place they are aware that Humans inhabit?

They would LIKELY come across Walter (what STATE is he in) and they could LIKELY think it was HIM who had Bombarded the Engineers.  The Most Logical way the Engineers would Determine they have to go to Origae-6 to catch the CULPRIT would be IF there was some way that Walter could Communicate with the Engineers and INFORM them of WHO had Destroyed the Cities inhabitants and WHERE it is that David is going.

By BYPASSING where David goes you AVOID the Need for any of that... you have the Company Send a Mission  to Planet 4...... then some Engineers Turn Up....   At the END we have them take a Interest in those Eggs on Planet 4 and take them to LV-223 to MASS PRODUCE.

I'm wondering about the fan backlash from bypassing David, it's like bypassing / ending Shaw's storyline...."were stuck...so...NEW CHARACTERS!"

Bypassing David is also ending Daniels and Tee...like Shaw. 

I don't think the Engineers are going to allow Daniels and the Covenant to return home or travel on?

I think the Engineers would quickly decide Earth is the problem. It's the location of the ant hill and they are going to deal with more colonists and synths soon.

That Raises some Good Points....

What we can Establish is that Planet 4 is within a Years Travel from Earth for at LEAST a Number of Earth Ships, if we say its within a 50/75LY Radius from Planet 4 then the Question is HOW MANY of Mankinds Ships are in Space and within that Radius by the Time the Engineers Return?

And so it would be HOW would the Engineers Determine which is the Covenant and also DEPENDING on WHEN the Engineers Return the Covenant would LIKELY be 40LY per Year Further Away.

You could say they would JUST have a WAY to Scan Worlds and Detect Humanoid Life, but the Problem here is AGAIN.... depending on WHEN the Engineers will come back its HOW are they going to TELL the Covenant Colony from any OTHER such Colonies and Outposts that Mankind is Based on within say 100-150LY?

A LAZY WORK AROUND is that Planet 4 has some kind of Observatory that Detected the Covenant Ship and has a IMAGE of it, as well as maybe a Specific Signature so it can THEN go and PIN POINT the Ship.

I am going to DOUBT they would have given us a PLOT where the Engineers or even the Company would Intercept the Covenant before it has reached Origae-6.

Another way around all of this is as YOU had Pointed Out..... we have David take the Covenant Ship to LV-223.

Regarding the RESTART with New Characters.... i agree thats a Problem....

A Consequence of making Alien Covenant a Prequel to ALIEN and to Introduce the Xenomorph is that a Majority of People would EXPECT that the Sequel would have EVEN MORE of them..... i am NOT SURE as to how many FANS would want to SIT through a Movie that has Little/Nothing to do with the Xenomorph, before we then Move to another Movie that MAY then give us more Xenomorphs and the LV-426 Incident.

And so to have a Movie that Revolves around David, then some Fans may be WANTING to know WHAT kind of Horrors he has in Store for the Covenant Colonist.  While some Fans (Quite a Lot) are TOTALLY against the David being Involved in the Xenomorph Creation Plot.....

Fans are likely to WANT to see a Sequel that has more ALIENY Content than even we saw with Alien Covenant.  IF they are to see David go off and SET UP the Colony while Pretending to be Walter, and then IF we see David go and TRY and Create something that is NOT the Xenomorph then i am NOT sure that Fans in General would be interested.... it would be WHAT HAS THAT GOT TO DO WITH ALIEN?

The Problem with such a PLOT as above... is HOW does Daniels come into Play?   As she knows its DAVID on the Covenant...... so she could be a Problem for HIM and IF she SUFFERS some Fate and David goes to Tennessee that she Died in Cryo-Sleep then i think HE would become Suspicious.

The Characters of Daniels and Tennessean also NEVER really SOLD to a lot of Fans.... and so ONLY what becomes of David/Walter seem to Stand Out.

If we are SET to have another 2-3 Movies before ALIEN then its WHO would Survive to Carry On?

And so we have some Problems as FAR as what to do NEXT......

Ridley Scott seemed to Indicate that we would be seeing WHAT it is that David would want to Create Next and it would NOT be about Xenomorphs.  But that we would see Returning Engineers who would also TURN UP as well as 2-3 other Players.... and so HOW does this Pan Out?

What Role does the Xenomorph Play if ANY?  How do you FIT it into a Movie or would the PLOT take TWO and then its can you Engage the Fans through the First if we are NOT going to have Xenomorphs?

The NEXT MOVIE has to Depend on these Factors...

1) Where does David intend to go NEXT and what would be his Agenda?

2) What is the Companies Response to the ADVENT Message and would they Send out Ships and to WHERE?

3) When do the Engineers Return and WHAT would be their Response?

With (2) + (3) we can have a Good Guess at what they would do... but with DAVID, well that Really is Interesting as WHAT is his Agenda and Plans as these are WHAT would Determine as to WHERE we go NEXT and WHAT we are in STORE for.

And well with the CONCLUSION then IF its to NOT go and Conflict with the Franchise and Especially as of ALIENS and on-wards....

We have to ASK....

a) What becomes of Planet 4?

b) What becomes of LV-223?

c) What becomes of Origae-6?

d) What becomes of David?

e) What becomes of the Engineers?

Start Alien: Covenant 2 with An Engineer walking off a scorpion ship and casually tossing David's severed head at Walters feet. Also the Covenant is in a cargo bay aboard the ship ( upside down or on it side) better yet...have the Covenant in 2 pieces with hundreds hypersleep chambers strewn about the deck.

I like this because the Covenant is no match for any military vessel and highly unlikely to out run anything ( setting sails and all! ) And I don't think it would be an incredible action sequence that anyone would miss. An unarmed Engineer made quick work of David before.

So a switch from crazy David to psychotic Engineers on Planet 4? And would the Engineers really do experiments on the Covenant crew?! 

Make the military Engineers ( in their massive weapon suits ) dim witted and slow.

Maybe the Engineers are also controlled by A.I.? 

Synthetic Engineers? Maybe they are the bio-humanoid link?

Okay ...How about this: The Engineers did transcend. This would explain why there are so few of them. This would be better than trying to explain the disappearance of a trillion Engineers. Small Engineer tribes are trying to rebuild their once great society by seeding worlds ...just like their brethren a billion years earlier. 

I'm starting to think Planet 4 should be the next movie. Plenty of spores littered around, far more dangerous then LV-223, We haven't scene what the weather is like...could have a snow storm scene. 

There is a LOT of Mystery surrounding the Engineers still.

1) Do those Engineers who were on Planet 4 know about Mankind on Earth?

2) Do those Engineers who were on Planet 4 know about LV-223 and the Horrific Experiments that were being Conducted on LV-223?

3) Are the Returning Engineers to Planet 4 aware of Points 1+2?

"Synthetic Engineers? Maybe they are the bio-humanoid link?"

I am drawn to the LV-223 and Sacrificial Engineer being either

a) A Enhanced Sub-Creation of the Engineers!

b) A Group of Engineer who had Enhanced/Evolved themselves!

"This would explain why there are so few of them"

This becomes the Problem when they had to SHOE-HORN in that Planet 4 was CLOSE to Earth...... a Years Travel for the Covenant..... thats NOTHING for Engineer Technology we have to ASSUME.

*Where had the Engineers Originated from?

*How many Worlds had they Seeded/Evolved and Visited?

*How many of these Worlds have they Destroyed/Reset?

*How many Worlds have the Engineers themselves Inhabited/Still Inhabit?

Because its STRANGE for a Race who are Many Millions of Years Old who had the Agenda to be Creators....... Genetic Space Gardeners if you would.....  Then i would FIND it UNLIKELY that they ONLY have LV-223 and Planet 4 and a Handful of other Worlds......

Surely we cant have it that a LARGE % of the Engineers had their Dealings/Affairs and Lived within like 50LY of Earth!

The Most Logical Answer would have to be that the Engineers had ABANDONED the Destruction of Mankind, they had Believed that without the Engineers Help, Knowledge and Interaction then Mankind would be MERELY just Cavemen!

And so in their Arrogance they Proved to be Naive as they NEVER thought that Mankind would SURELY be able to Evolve at a Technological Level to EVER be able to Traverse into Space!

Other Engineers would likely RETURN to Planet 4 at Certain Intervals and the Last Time they came back to Planet 4, they either NEVER BOTHERED to Check on Earth as they ASSUMED we would NOT EVOLVE and so they LEFT us to ROT or Destroy Ourselves.....   or they had Checked on us Hundreds of Years ago and had NO CONCERNS about HOW FAR we had Evolved.

The Problem we have is SURELY the Engineers who RETURN would LIKELY go and SEND a Message to other Engineers in the Galaxy... .. Unless again those who Return are Arrogant and Naive and they Believe that there is NO NEED to Contact HQ etc, as they can DEAL WITH IT on their Own....

And we have to ASSUME those Engineers will MEET their DEMISE.....

 "The Engineers have unceremoniously dumped the Covenants wreckage in a field just outside the city. A few Engineers are examining the remnants, one tears a hypersleep chamber from it moorings, removes it's occupant and proceeds to rip the head from it's body. Walter is powerless to stop the violence. He watches from afar. Lucky to be alive. The Engineers soon move off and Walter enters the hulk looking for survivors. He spots Daniels sleep chamber, it is upside down, five meters above his head, he creates his own hand holds and climbs to release her...." 

"...Message to other Engineers in the Galaxy."

I'm just not sure how many Engineers it would take to get justice. Seems like one Engineer was threatening Earth ( Prometheus )?

It'd be cool if the help came from LV-223! And a certain derelict crashed because of it!

The Pickle we are in comes down IMO to Panic..... a Panic to THINK that the Fans want to see the Xenomorph.... and then to come up with a MOVIE that will Begin to take us to ALIEN and then HOW/WHERE do Humans come into Play?

I have said a NUMBER of Times and Made Topics on the Matter... that what they should have DONE was to Make...... TWO Sequels to Prometheus!

1) The First being a Mission to LV-223 maybe a Yutani Mission, but Regardless we have Humans going to LV-223 to Investigate the Disappearance of the Prometheus.  What we have is a more Military Group and then they UNCOVER a Number of Horrors..... we can have it where we see something that is Different to the Xenomorph and Deacon but still Familiar.  You can then have a Number of Clues or some Dialog to make the Connection to the Xenomorph and LV-426.

You then have IN-PART gone and Answered more about the Xenomorph and LV-426 and Provided a more ACTION/HORROR kind of Movie.

YOU can then CLOSE the DOOR to ALIEN.

2) With the Above Movie out of the WAY, then David and Dr Shaw and their Journey does-not have to be Shackled to ALIEN or give any Answers, well it does-not have to be about Xenomorphs.

David and Dr Shaw can ARRIVE at a Engineer World it does-not have to be Paradise, we could have David say he has taken Dr Shaw to a Closer World for her Answers..... or this World could be Paradise?

This World could be THOUSANDS or TENS of THOUSANDS of Light Years Away... WHY it could even be in another GALAXY.....

You could have it that this World we see Engineers (not in Great Number) and Various Humanoid Species which Include Humans who are all Living in Harmony.

This Allows us to see more about the Creation Plot and WHAT kinds of Creation the Engineers would Create (i think its NOT to Create Horrors).  We can maybe GET some of the Answers that Dr Shaw had Wanted....

But Ultimately it would be David who will have the Greatest Effect on the PLOT... how would the Engineers view HIM?  If they seem somewhat to Accept Dr Shaw then would David become Jealous?

If the Engineers are Concerned with David.... maybe they would Consider they have to GET RID of him, and then HOW would David go and React?  He Surely would want to SURVIVE at ANY COST!

The Engineers could become Concerned that Humans had Managed to get to LV-223 and also USE their Technology (via David) and maybe the Engineers would Conclude they would have to DESTROY the Earth.... and then HOW would Dr Shaw react to that?  Would she want to PREVENT this?

If there are Humans and other Species on this World who Follow the Engineers Ways/Religion and Rituals.....  How would those beings view Dr Shaw and her FAITH and would the Engineers become Concerned of that Influence? 

If the Engineers either become Concerned with Dr Shaw and Ponder to KILL her, or to Destroy Mankind and Dr Shaw wants to STOP THEM.... then MAYBE we could see David go on to HELP....   or does he have a Sinister Agenda?

What of the Horror?  What of the Xenomorphs?

Well you could have David go and UNLEASH HELL to Protect Dr Shaw, and then he could have a Sinister Agenda to CREATE his OWN Horror!

I just DONT think the Writers had much of a IDEA or that Ridley Scott, and FOX and Powers that be (Giler and Hill inc) maybe were NOT that Happy with WHAT was being Proposed....

But then Powers that Be.... had decided to make a Movie about the Xenomorph and its Origins and that the Prometheus Sequel would become Part of a Literal Prequel Series that would Arrive at ALIEN down the Line...

And ALAS.... Alien Covenant was BORN...

Well ....what if the Deacon is the creature who chest burst the Space Jockey? That would tie the series together? The Deacon produces egg morphs or something like.

The Space Jockey could have special suit armor ( seemless technology war armor ...something that needs to be extra tough).

"It'd be cool if the help came from LV-223! And a certain derelict crashed because of it!"

I would SAFELY ASSUME that the Engineer we saw in Prometheus was the LAST/ONLY one on LV-223.

We dont know what SHIPS the Engineers would Return with, i am NOT sure that their Main Agenda is to USE HORRORS like on LV-223 like all the Time... it seems that to CREATE and Evolve Civilizations is what they Mainly are Focused on.

But SURELY they would NOT be Happy at Discovering as to WHAT had Happened on Planet 4 and they would SURELY be looking to see HOW they can Prevent this Happening again.....

LV-223 is NOT that FAR away and so maybe they would go THERE and Prepare the SHIPS to Destroy maybe just Mankind on Earth... but maybe they would Target other Worlds they had Seeded to be on the SAFE SIDE?

I think the Engineers would be UPSET and ANGRY.... but i think we have to Wonder as to WHAT they would make of David's Workshop and his Creation (Eggs) and also WHAT would they make of Walter?

Have they seen a None-Organic Synthetic Before? Well Certainly a Robot of Sorts?

As far as DAVID goes..... i would either IGNORE to where he Goes/What he does! (leave that a Mystery or for Future).  We do-not NEED to have David to get Eggs... there are like 6-8 Left (maybe more) on Planet 4

Or as Discussed we have the Covenant Land on LV-223 and the Engineers and other Humans will TURN UP at a Later Date after David has been on LV-223 for 1-2 Years.......

"what if the Deacon is the creature who chest burst the Space Jockey"

I think with Alien Covenant and showing that David is the ONE who Begins to Create the Xenomorph i think its UNLIKELY that the Space Jockey would be Infected by a Deacon that then Produces the Eggs.

But YES the Space Jockey is Chest Busted by something.... and we have to ASSUME its in the Cargo Hold/Egg Chamber.... some have in the Past gone to Speculate the Space Jockey gets Infected on LV-223 and then WHAT EVER has Chest Busted has MADE its WAY into the Cargo Hold to then Lay/Create the Eggs.

The Egg Morph is Interesting as i THINK that we could USE this to get to the Thousands of Eggs, if we have it that either.

1) David is able to Infect the Colonist (even their Bodies Dead/Alive) and they become/Morph into Eggs.

2) As above but its the Engineers who do this....

3) David or the Engineers will Create a Organism that can Egg Morph the Colonist.

These would be a way to EXPLAIN THE EGGS...

There is ONE MISSING PIECE of the JIGSAW!

The Xenomorph from Alien Covenant is NOT YET the Bio-Mechanical Fiend that we see in ALIEN, and RS has said it has NOT YET achieved that YET and it will have to EVOLVE before we get to ALIEN.....

The more Mechanical/Synthetic Element will have to come into PLAY... and maybe a Synthetic will PLAY that ROLE.... the Xenomorph in Alien could be a Alien Covenant Protomorph/Synthetic Hybrid.

Okay..then... the Deacon is a queen hybrid and when it reaches maturity begins laying eggs aboard the LV-223 juggernauts and these eggs produce deacons NOT xenomorphs ( that's David's bag ). ? It only makes sense that the Deacon is special...coming from a crazy mix of a male human, an INFERTILE female Trilobite Engineer mash up!

Or the Deacon uses the bodies ( Vickers, Janek, etc..) found in the wreckage to egg morph the cargo. ( still not xenomorphs but Deacons )

Like you said, Space Jockey died from something other than a Xeno burst., so the Deacon makes a good choice.

A female Engineer could have been the pilot and the Deacons eggs do interact with the hosts sex and female burst produce queens? ?

Either way the derelict origins are messed up. David HAD to plant the eggs to produce a xeno type aboard the Nostromo.

Though we should clarify that David type xenos start life as miniature versions and Deacon types as hammerpeade  snakes.

The Nostromo Kane burster was clearly snake like and not Planet 4 type ( fully formed but a small )

"Like you said, Space Jockey died from something other than a Xeno burst., so the Deacon makes a good choice"

The Space Jockeys Fate has always been a Mystery but Ridley Scott had Explained it, he had Basically Confirmed that after the OUTBREAK on LV-223 some 2000 Years ago; that something had EVOLVED in the Cargo Hold and Infected the Pilot.  Therefore he had Envisioned at the Time of Prometheus that something had Evolved in the Cargo Hold over a Few Hundred Years which became those EGGS.

HOWEVER..... all BETS are OFF at the Moment as it is OPEN to Different Answers but ONE THING seems Certain.... the is NO Derelict on LV-426 as of the END of Alien Covenant and the Space Jockey will become INFECTED by a XENOMORPH but by a Xenomorph thats a EVOLUTION of what we saw in Alien Covenant.

Regarding the Deacon..... well the ONE that we saw at the END of Prometheus we have to Remember a Few things..

1) It is a Infant and so it will LIKELY go on to Grow 3-4X its Size and it may LOOK more Menacing as it Gets to Adult Stage.

2) It is a Hybrid and the Trilobite was some kind of Hybrid Face Hugger that had a LOT of Human/Mammal DNA.   And so THIS may be Passed onto the Deacon and so maybe the Deacon would Procreate like a Mammal?

So the Deacon i think would maybe NOT go and Produce Eggs, maybe it can Procreate without Sex, maybe it does-not Require a Host?   And so maybe it can Give Birth to Live Young every Few Hours or Days and these would GROWN to become more Deacons?

But YES we could also Explore other WAYS it could Procreate....  The Egg Morph or Similar, or maybe it Infects a Host that would Mutate into a Deacon/Human Hybrid?

What BECAME of the Deacon would Depend on the Following...

a) How Long does the Deacon Live for?

b) How does a Deacon Procreate? Can it Procreate?

c) Does this Require anything like a Host? or Genetic Material?

d) Can the Deacon become Infected with the Black Goo?

e) Can the Hammerpedes Infect a Deacon?

The Hammerpedes are another Topic for Discussion as its LIKELY that there are More on LV-223 and so the Questions i ASK about the Deacon can APPLY to the Hammerpedes too.

LV-223 as of the Year 2094 had a Deacon wandering around and at LEAST 1-2 Hammerpedes.

The Female Engineer is Interesting as we have to ASK the same of a Female Human, does a Infected via Black Goo or Face Hugger etc have the same Result if its MALE/FEMALE or can they Produce something Different?

"...NO Derelict on LV-426 as of the END of Alien Covenant.."

Just another reason not to write a Origae-6 movie. There would have to be more plot conveniences to shake a stick at if David finds another Engineer outpost on or around the Origae system, then finding another juggernaut( they are the used cars of the galaxy ) to load up with his eggs. Yeesh.

I could deal with Planet 4 having many juggernauts or maybe a manufacturing factory where you can grow your own. One that could fit a 13 foot mutated monster /David in a seamless chair.

"What BECAME of the Deacon "

A good reason to have a LV-223 movie where a rescue ship is sent to find out what happened to the Prometheus. Half the rescue ships crew gets eaten by the Deacon and David arrives in time to kill the rest. 

I barely see the A.I. / W Y disregarding the Nostromo disappearance......But really don't see Peter Weyland and his daughter brushed aside.

Indeed it would just be another Coincidence if Origae-6 was a Engineer Outpost, so what we have been Theatrically to LV-426 (Twice) and there is a Engineer Ship, we been to LV-223 where we have Engineer Ships, and then Planet 4 with Engineer Ships.... to go and have Oriage-6 as another Place with Engineer Ships would just be TOO MUCH of a Coincidence...

As of Alien Covenant we are 88 Months from before David will Arrive at Origae-6 if this is where he GOES..... so he would Arrive about the First Week of April 2112 some 10 Years and Two Months or so before the Nostromo Arrive on LV-426.  There is Quite a BIT to Cover in those 10 Years before we get to WHEN the Nostromo will Arrive.

It would be LIKELY that the $&£% Hits the Fan (Engineers Arrive) between say 2114-2116 and so then we are LEFT with the Derelict being on LV-426 for what?  5-7 Years say?

So IF they made a Sequel/Continuation then i think they either have to

a) Take the Covenant Ship to LV-223 (take 4-8 Weeks Tops)

b) Simply do-not have WHAT it is that David does NEXT have any Effect on LV-426 and so the Events that Lead to LV-426 will come from Planet 4 (Eggs) to LV-223 (Mass Produce/Evolve).

"I barely see the A.I. / W Y disregarding the Nostromo disappearance......But really don't see Peter Weyland and his daughter brushed aside"

Certainly..... its Interesting as to WHAT becomes of Weyland Industries in the Years Following the Prometheus Mission, we know the Company will Merge with Yutani at some Point over the Next 3-8 Years and with Yutani being BIG on Software and Communications, in the Background Information its Indicated that the Prometheus has some Yutani Tech!

And so you would ASSUME that either Weyland or Yutani or the Merged Company would have GONE to LV-223 before the Covenant Mission and in doing so as Planet 4 must be Located within say 10LY of LV-223 then we had to ASK as to HOW they Never Detected Planet 4?

It all came down to the PLOT CHANGE.... and Plot Conveniences Needed...

IF the Sequel to Prometheus was to Literally Connect to ALIEN via 2-3 Movies and with a 28 Year Period to WHEN the Nostromo would Arrive on LV-426, then for the SET UP you would NEED to have Human Characters and so by Virtue of having David go to a Engineer World.... then this WORLD could NOT be Placed like TOO FAR away so that Humans in the Years 2100-2105 could Reach within a Short Time.

For Example if David went to a World say 1600LY Away then the Nostromo would have taken 33+ Years to get there and so WHAT are the Chances that W-Y Ships that are 10+ Years Older would Arrive like PRIOR to ALIEN... Thus Planet 4 had to be Located more Closer.

So for ME.... the BIG MISTAKE they had Made.... was to have a Literal Prequel and bring back the Xenomorph.

Ridley Scott wanted to GO where David and Dr Shaw would go and to STEER AWAY from ALIEN and Xenomorphs.... but then the Powers that BE had Decided to make a Literal Prequel Route.... and introduce the Xenomorph and its Origins and as RS wanted to KEEP it so David was a Important Character.... then Sacrifices had to be made....

NOPE!

They should have Sacrificed Davids Journey (well put this on HOLD)....

And they should have GONE BACK to LV-223.

What about David????  well they Send Down another David Model but ONE who is more like a Walter....  This David could Establish some Connection with the Systems in the Life-Boat to get some Information... maybe he would Detect some of the Interests and Stuff that David had been up to?

IF they then go to the Outpost that Weyland had Met his Demise, then WHAT would the other David be like when he sees his Creator is their DEAD!

Prometheus had CLUES to ALIEN its just they was NOT like SPOON FED... its Pretty Obvious that the Xenomorph was Connected to LV-223 in someway, and that a Engineer Ship at some Point must have LEFT this Place with those Eggs or maybe it was Arriving with those Eggs?

There were at LEAST 4 of those Complexes on LV-223.

Do we ASSUME that Each of the Complexes had Exactly the Same kind of Experiments?  Did all of those Complexes have the Exact same Black Goo and Effects?

Ridley Scott had Indicated that the Derelict was on LV-223 at some Point and that the Derelict had Ended Up on LV-426  within a Few Hundred Years of the Outbreak and that SOMETHING had Evolved in the Cargo Hold.

And so then you can ASK.... was the Derelict the ONLY other Ship that had something Happen/Evolve in the Cargo Hold?  If something had Evolved from the Experiments/Black Goo to give RISE to those Eggs, then there could be Similar on LV-223.

You could have something SIMILAR but Different to the Xenomorph where you would see a Connection but you would STILL NOT have it Spoon Fed but where the Conclusion is Easy to see.

So SAY they Encounter something like above in another Complex on LV-223 or in the Cargo Hold or even a Underground Egg Silo etc...... and IF there are Enough Clues to HOW the Engineers had Obtained/Created these NEW Xenomorphs... then you can LOGICALLY had Concluded that the Xenomorph in ALIEN had a Similar Origins.

The FANS get some Answers, they get a more ALIENY MOVIE.... then the DOOR to ALIEN can be Closed!  But you OPEN the Franchise to more Xenomorph Variants.

THEN............... Ridley Scott would be FREE to go where David and Dr Shaw are Heading and NOT have to be Shackled Down to ALIEN or the Xenomorph and to then OPEN UP a Expanded Universe Spin Off.

But ALAS....