Alien: Covenant

[Keth]

Another title change, and this one looks official.

 

“Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created in ALIEN with ALIEN: COVENANT, the second chapter in a prequel trilogy that began with PROMETHEUS — and connects directly to Scott’s 1979 seminal work of science fiction. Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world — whose sole inhabitant is the “synthetic” David (Michael Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.”

 

 

Sounds like a sorta... solid continuation, but I'm still bummed they bumped Blomkamp's Alien for this.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Axels

[Little Nemo McFly]

Kinda make sense holding off on Alien 5. I'm sure these Prequel films are gonna redefine what the 'Alien' franchise is. I'm sure Alien 5 is gonna be the conclusion.

 

I love the idea of finding David marooned on a planet. What devious deviousness will he enact when he notices a ship landing. Did Elizabeth survive the journey? Have they been marooned for decades and she's since died?

 

I like the title 'Paradise Lost', better. 'Covenant' is an agreement - a pact. Is that the theme here? Or is the movie named after the ship? Isn't a 'colony ship' like, the Enterprise in Star Trek? Is the colony ship full of peeps or is it a derelict?

 

"Questions, Mr. Wayne...questions!"

 

Edited November 17, 2015 by Little Nemo McFly

[Little Nemo McFly]

Okay - so 'Alien' is in the title 'cuz it's the beginning of a whole new Trilogy. Also, Xenomorphs, chest-bursters and face-huggers are all gonna be major players again.

 

http://www.slashfilm.com/alien-covenant-begins-a-new-alien-prequel-trilogy/

 

Within the past couple weeks, Prometheus 2officially got a new title and a synopsis detailing the sequel to the prequel to the Alien franchise from director Ridley Scott. The movie is called Alien: Covenant, and the fast track for this project ended up pushing back Neill Blomkamp’s Alien 5 to an undetermined time, and if Scott’s new plan for the Alien franchise continues, it might be a long time before we see that movie.

At a press conference in Sydney, Australia where Scott is in pre-production on Alien: Covenant, he revealed that this will actually be the first in a new trilogy that will lead us all the way back to the original Alien from 1979. More below!

THR has the details from the press conference where Scott spoke vaguely about Alien: Covenant and what we can expect from the follow-up to Prometheus:

“It’s a very complex story. Its an evolution of what I first did with

Prometheus 1

.

Prometheus 1

was borne out of my frustration that on

Alien 1

in 1979 – I only did one as I don’t normally do sequels. I was amazed that in the 3 that followed that no-one asked the question ‘why the Alien, who made it and why?’ Very basic questions. So I came up with the notion of

Prometheus 1,

which starts to indicate who might have made it and where it came from.”

As we know now,

Alien: Covenant

will follow the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world — whose sole inhabitant is the “synthetic” David (Michael Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition. And this is just the beginning as Scott revealed a whole

Alien

prequel trilogy in the works:

“So I’m now going to the next one, which is the next evolution directly connected with the first one, which was this Shaw, when he replaced Michael Fassbender in two pieces and we’ll kind of pick it up there and it will evolve. When that’s finished there’ll be another one and then another one which will gradually drive into the back entrance of the film in 1979. So in other words, why was this space jockey there and why did he have an Alien inside him? And those questions will be answered.”

Honestly, there’s a part of me that doesn’t really want to know the origins of the xenomorphs from Alien, if only due to the risk of being disappointed. That’s a risk you take with any movie, but since Prometheus was largely disappointing, I’m skeptical about Scott being able to deliver something great that satisfies longtime fans of his classic sci-fi horror film that has influenced so many filmmakers over the years.

But this movie is happening whether we’re optimistic or not, and it sounds like two more will be following it. However, since this is Ridley Scott we’re talking about, who knows how long it will take for him to get those off the ground.

In the meantime, Alien: Covenant is set to shoot at Fox Studios in Sydney for 16 weeks beginning in March of 2016 with Michael Fassbender confirmed to return and Noomi Rapace appearing briefly in Covenant (as confirmed by Scott). Scott will be using a mix of location and studio sets including “monumental forest and monumental rock [sets] and the rest will be in the studio with fairly formidable CGI.”

Here’s hoping this sequel is worth waiting for when it arrives on October 6th, 2017

 

http://www.horror-movies.ca/2015/12/ridley-scott-says-the-chestbursters-facehuggers-and-xenomorphs-will-be-back-for-alien-covenant/

 

Yeah. Well, really it’s “Alien.” They’re going to go to the planet where the engineers came from, and come across the evolving creature that they had made. Why did they make it? Why would they make such a terrifying beast? It felt bio-mechanoid, it felt like a weapon. And so the movie will explain that, and reintroduce the alien back into it.

There was always this discussion: Is Alien, the character, the beast, played out or not? We’ll have them all: egg, face-hugger, chest-burster, then the big boy. I think maybe we can go another round or two.

[The NZA]

...huh

happy the mythos is continuing, hoping to enjoy it more than i did prometheus

[The NZA]

Ridley Scott Says Hard R Rating for Alien: Covenant

 

When a reporter commented on fans being interested in the horror aspect of the Alien series, Ridley Scott responded “that’s why I’m doing it. I’m going to do pretty Hard R.” He further elaborates that he wants to do a scene with the same sort of impact that Alien’s original chestburst scene had but something “much worse.”

 

[Little Nemo McFly]

Alien is so awesome. I wish Giger was around and involved. Maybe they'll bring back some stuff that was deemed 'too much' back in the day and up the creep factor. Hell YES to a hard R.

 

 

[Da Cap'n 2099]

+1 for the Critic gif

[The NZA]

 

 

 

[Visitant]

Prometheus seems to be the one thing my co-host and I can't agree on, on any level. I think it's a giant piece of shit and they just need to move forward with Blompkamf's vision and he's thinks its an enjoyable film.

 

It's ok to be wrong though.

[Keth]

Prometheus is enjoyable like Southland Tales is. Does it make any sense? Nope. But it's still somehow a fun ride.

[Little Nemo McFly]

I'm in the 'Prometheus is the shit' camp. People also loathe Tron Legacy - I think it's an awesome movie. Prometheus is one of those 'you're either gonna love it or hate it' flicks. I think Jurassic World falls into that category, also.

[Da Cap'n 2099]

Jurassic World was fun. Tron: Legacy I loved enough to buy on Blu-Ray (I'm really selective now). And Prometheus I didn't care for.

[Keth]

I like all three of these films. I am not selective

[Little Nemo McFly]

Prometheus I didn't care for.

 

[Da Cap'n 2099]

You liking it puts you in the minority, man.

 

You didn't like Curb so I can't forgive ya.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Da Cap'n 2099

[Little Nemo McFly]

I actually thought you'd dig Prometheus. Thought the premise would be up your alley. What didn't you like - where did it lose you?

 

Curb is Seinfeld wrapped in too much barb-wire...Seinfeld is more my cup o' tea. Gotta do Curb from the beginning - I just jumped in the middle of it.

 

I watch Prometheus as an indie film - without any expectations or attachments to Hollywood or franchises. I thought it was it's own strange thing w/ powerful themes...and in a weird way - broke conventions (leaving major universal questions unanswered) I thought the end result was stellar. Made me want to watch the next chapter...I want to know the answers, too!

[Mr. Hakujin]

I love Curb and Prometheus.

[Visitant]

What was wrong with Prometheus? Well, to answer that question we have to go back to the origin of the film.

 

If you kept up on the news about it at the time, it looked something like this:

 

Ridley Scott is doing a prequel movie to Alien!

Ridley Scott is working on a new movie that is not a prequel to Alien!

Ridley Scott is currently filming a movie that may or may not be a prequel to Alien!

Ridley Scott says this movie will definitely be about Alien!

Hollywood extends Ridley Scotts budget as long as this is not a prequel to Alien!

Ridley Scott says maybe the film about to come out might possibly be in some way connected to things that are Alien.

 

 

Now, why does this matter? (Hollywood does this shit all the time right?)

 

It matters because the films identity suffered because of the fucking, is it - is it not a prequel to Alien syndrome. It's apparent all through the movie he wanted it to be a full blown pre-Alien movie, but had to direct something that maybe but maybe not be a prequel to Alien because...money.

 

Here's hoping this movie makes up for it.

 

(Also, Tron Legacy was awesome)

Edited May 23, 2016 by Bindusara

[Little Nemo McFly]

Yeah, I remember the project having an identity crisis as it was being promoted / made. I didn't understand it - it felt like Ridley was hesitant to call it a tie-in / prequel to Alien - but there are clear and obvious ties to the original Alien. I never understood the...issue(?) w/ all that.

 

Prometheus feels like it's own thing - it's own little...weird sci-fi thing w/ undeniable nods to the Alien universe. It didn't feel like it was pandering to anyone - or trying to...achieve anything. Just tell a story about this chic's search for answers - and in the end, she nor the audience got any definitive...anything. I guess that's why I like it so much - it felt really...not normal(?)...maybe 'not typical - in a good way' is the best way to put it. Felt like a weird short story, oddly connected to Alien. I applaud 'non-conventional' movies like that in this shallow-ass era of Transformer bullshit that Hollywood keeps dumping out.

 

I understand people being disappointed and angry that an 'official prequel' to Alien didn't have any Xenomorphs in it or direct hard links to...LV-426 or the Nostromo - but as it's own film...totally different and bold - in that it's not standard. (shrugs) That's how I took it in, art is subjective. It looked gorgeous - it had compelling themes and I was interested all the way through. That sequel should've been lined up and ready to go - that shit ended on a hell of a cliffhanger.

 

I think the fact that the sequel(s) are gonna have 'Alien' in the title and are gonna be featuring Xenos again - I think it's going to go back to it's straight-up horror roots and give the audience what it expects. The Alien series really isn't supposed to be existential...artsy, think pieces.

[The NZA]

yeah, i feel like i said it in that movie's thread, but: was talking with donny about this one, and had to agree with her that Prometheus is a fine example of a movie i liked less the more i thought about it.

 

it was very clearly an Alien movie - even if it only wanted to show us a xenomorph by the end - but rather than build on the mythology, felt like it just wanted to add convoluted & unnecessary things, and then say "we'll explain them more next time." Worse yet, you had a lot of the right pieces - when the scientists were exploring the eggs/hive, or the inevitable android heel turn..those scenes totally felt like what i came for!

 

couple that with the high-tier lineup we had - a great performance by Fassbender, and solid stuff from Theron & Idris - there was a lot about it that should've been really great, but it didn't come together, and in that way it's more frustrating for me than a legit fucking mess like say, BvS.

[Little Nemo McFly]

 

Yeah - I can totally see that side. I dunno - I guess Prometheus is better recommended for people who have never seen any of the Alien films - they'd probably enjoy more as just a straight up sci-fi flick. (Not a wise selling point to a new chapter in a massively huge sci-fi franchise) I really can see how it can be just utterly disappointing.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Little Nemo McFly

[Little Nemo McFly]

http://screenrant.co...ace-prometheus/

 

Noomi Rapace's character is, after all, gonna be in Alien: Covenant.

 

 

]Director Ridley Scott’s 2012 film Prometheus remains a divisive entry among devoted Alien franchise fans. Even so, the quasi-prequel/spinoff to Scott’s 1979 sci-fi/horror classic Alien was successful enough to warrant a sequel, with plans for an eventual trilogy in motion now too. The followup, titled Alien: Covenant, takes place ten years after the events of Prometheus and revolves around the crew of the spaceship Covenant, as it finds its way to a world believed to have once been a paradise. However, that planet is now a desolate wasteland, whose sole inhabitant is the android or “synthetic” known as David (Michael Fassbender).[/color]

 

David, you might recall, has his head ripped off his body during Prometheus by one of the Engineers – the alien race responsible for creating humanity – and eventually wound up traveling with the sole human survivor of the Prometheus mission, Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), into space in search of the Engineers’ home. A set photo has now been released, confirming that David's head is back on his body in Alien: Covenant – but as there’s no mention of Elizabeth in the official Covenant synopsis, it’s been unclear whether she’s doing as well as David by the time the Covenant crew arrives on the Engineers’ planet… or if Rapace is in the movie at all.

 

Deadline reports that Rapace is in Australia – where Scott is currently in the midst of production on Covenant - and that she will be on the movie’s set for more than a single week; though, Deadline's

article is otherwise vague about exactly

how long Rapace will be on set, making it difficult to gauge just how significant her role here will be. Scott previously indicated

that Rapace either wouldn’t be returning for Covenant or, rather, that she wouldn’t be serving as one of the film’s lead characters.

 

I say, hell yeah! Flashback, 'found footage', whatever - ya gotta acknowledge and wrap up that Prometheus thread. Glad they're not just 'starting over' w/ David - and some vague reference to Prometheus. Having both Elizabeth and David in there...however brief it may be, pleases me greatly.

 

Edited June 28, 2016 by Little Nemo McFly

[The NZA]

i love this franchise so much, i wanna stay optimistic...but Ridley's been more misses than hits for me in this millennia, so between this & blade runner 2 it's hard to stay positive

[Little Nemo McFly]

 

 

 

 

 

 

LOL!

 

Yeah, Blade Runner 2...I'm actually interested in seeing another story set in that universe. It could be cool. I dunno, I dig these loose-sequel / spin-off stuff set in the same universe...they're not hard sequels / prequels - but, I can totally see a creators' side in being infatuated w/ a universe they've created and not just wanting to do 'another one'. (Dunno if ya knew - FUN FACT: Alien n' Blade Runner share the same universe.) Doesn't mean these spin-offs are any good - but the artist's attempt interests me. (shrugs) At the moment, I can't think of any spin-off film...of a movie-series. Maybe that's why the concept is so interesting to me.

 

As far as this flick - I'm totally onboard w/ this - I got faith. It's a planned trilogy - dude's in for the long-haul. I'm simply assuming whatever he's got in mind - it's gotta be worth his time. That trailer - fer shur - is really gonna give fans / movie-goers a 'taste o' the pudding' and it could potentially ring the 'order up' bell that 'Alien' is back. If the internet just gives off one giant collective 'm'eh' - it's sunk...RIP. I got faith though, that they're going to try their best to correct-course and avoid that. LOL - man, I fucking hope Alien ain't dead.

 

"Trust me...(grunts)...this is building up to something...you just gotta - yaaaaaargh!!!"

[Visitant]

I dig these loose-sequel / spin-off stuff set in the same universe...they're not hard sequels / prequels

 

I have been screaming for way too long that you don't need Ripley to have a good Aliens story. They rely way too much on her.

 

See: Aliens - Nightmare Asylum

 

 

...ok to be fair Ripley does make an appearance in this trilogy. Poor example. But she's not the main character.