Spoilersahead for folks who haven’t seenPrometheusor want to seeAlien: Covenantcold.
As part of the Alien Day celebration, 20th Century Fox has released “The Crossing”, a new, official prologue toRidley Scott’sAlien: Covenantthat not only reveals the fates of Elizabeth Shaw and the android David after the events ofPrometheus, but also starsNoomi RapaceandMichael Fassbenderin their former roles. That’s a pretty big deal considering that this sequence is not expected to be part of the finished film, though itdoesanswer part of the question of what Shaw and David have been up to on their spacefaring journey.
But perhaps it reveals too much. Some recent images released by Empire revealed some curious scenes which we assumed were fromAlien: Covenant, but at least one of them was actually from this new short film. We’ll break it down after you’ve had a chance to view it, but let me just say that Ilovethis particular brand of marketing, one that doesn’t show off sequences from the film over and over again so that they’re stale by the time you get to the theater.
StarringMichael Fassbender,Katherine Waterston,Billy Crudup,Danny McBride,Demián Bichir,Carmen Ejogo,Amy Seimetz,Jussie Smollett,Callie Hernandez,Nathaniel Dean,Alexander England, andBenjamin Rigby,Alien: Covenantopens May 19th.
Check out theAlien: Covenantprologue “The Crossing” below:
The Crossing, an official prologue short to Alien: Covenant, reveals what happened to crew members Dr. Elizabeth Shaw and the synthetic David after the events of Prometheus. Set aboard an abandoned Engineer vessel, Dr. Shaw repairs David as they continue their search for humanity’s creators.
Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created, with ALIEN: COVENANT, a new chapter in his groundbreaking ALIEN franchise. The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.
As David himself explains, only he and Shaw survived thePrometheusexpedition. They managed to take one of the Engineer’s ships and, while headed to the alien creators' home planet, Shaw fixed David up, reattaching his severed head to his body. Since there are 30 years that take place betweenPrometheusandAlien: Covenant, it’s safe to say that this journey took quite some time, which is at least part of the reason David puts Shaw in hypersleep.
However, while David was left to his own devices, he began studying the Engineers' culture and history … which led him to make some very rash decisions. Not only has he literally been poking around in various xenomorph specimens, he appears to be the one who rains down biological terror on the Engineers' home planet as he drops urns full of “black goo” upon the masses, likely transforming the planet into the hostile world it is when the folks aboard the “Covenant” arrive. Pretty spoilery for a prologue video, especially one with finished effects, major movie stars, and a major story point. Methinks this was a scene fromAlien: Covenantthat was cut and repackaged as a prologue, which works just the same, but raises some intriguing questions.
There’s also this newly released teaser that expands on David’s meddling with the Engineer’s bioweapons and technology. Keep an eye out for more fromAlien: Covenant, who are launching something special on May 1st:
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For more onAlien: Covenant, be sure to check out some of our most recent write-ups below:
