What is perhaps the most divisiveAlienmovie actually introduces the franchise’s most important character since Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley, but it unfortunately ends up wasting her. The firstAlienmovie was directed by Ridley Scott and was released in 1979. After the first film in the series, Weaver’s Ripley became such a popular character that she was featured in three moreAlienmovies. However, 1992’sAlien 3and 1997’sAlien: Resurrectiondid not receive particularly good reviews, which led to the franchise being stagnant for many years, other than the crossoverAlien vs. Predatormovies.
15 years afterAlien: Resurrection, Scott returned to the franchise withPrometheus. After seeing that early scenes inPrometheuswere set on Earth, I immediately knew it would be a drastically different entry in theAlienfranchise. In fact,Prometheusis one of the most divisiveAlienmovies. While some fans admire the film for explaining some of themysteries of theAlienseries, others believe thatPrometheusmade the franchise less interesting by revealing too much. Regardless of what you believe, it is undeniable thatPrometheusestablishes Elizabeth Shaw as one of the most important characters in the franchise.
Elizabeth Shaw Died Horribly Offscreen Between Prometheus And Alien: Covenant
Elizabeth Shaw Is Not One Of The Main Characters In Prometheus' Sequel
In the film, the Prometheus' expedition gets funded by Peter Weyland after Elizabeth and her partner, Charlie, spent years compiling drawings of the Engineers from all over Earth. Believing that the Engineers created the human race, Elizabeth and Charlie are desperate to meet their creators. However, at theend ofPrometheus, it is revealed thatthe group of Engineers they found were actually on course to wipe out humanity. The Last Engineer tries to kill Elizabeth but is eventually killed by the Trilobite, which gives her a chance to escape.
The Alien Franchise’s 5 Main Protagonists, Ranked Worst To Best
The Alien franchise has been through several protagonists across its multiple sequels and prequels, but certain characters left more of an impression.
After being the sole human survivor of the events ofPrometheus,Elizabeth Shaw sets off with David, an advanced android, to find the true home of the Engineers. The ending ofPrometheusperfectly sets up a sequel, which eventually took the form ofAlien: Covenant. However,Alien: Covenantwas not the sequel that fans were expecting, since Elizabeth Shaw actually dies between the events of the two films.
Elizabeth Shaw’s Death Was Very Disappointing After Prometheus' Ending
Prometheuswonderfully develops Shaw as an interesting character, and I would have loved to watch a film about her and David’s journey to the home planet of the Engineers. However, the best fans got was an online prologue that was posted just before the release ofAlien: Covenantin the spring of 2017. The online prologue shows Elizabeth repairing David, who is destroyed at the end ofPrometheus. David talks about how kind Elizabeth is, before eventually putting her in cryosleep.The prologue mysteriously ends with David finally arriving at the Engineers' home planet, but Elizabeth is not present.
Alien: Covenantreveals that upon his arrival, David actually destroys the Engineers' home planet, wiping them all out. At some point between the events ofPrometheusandAlien: Covenant, David decides that androids are superior to both humans and the Engineers. In addition to wiping out all the Engineers,Alien: Covenantreveals that David also killed Elizabeth and performed experiments on her. While David is also an intriguing character, Elizabeth dying between the two films is extremely disappointing since she was the franchise’s best character since Ripley.
Prometheus Needed A Sequel About David And Shaw Looking For The Engineers’ Home
An Additional Sequel To Prometheus Could Have Further Developed Elizabeth Shaw
After establishing herself as a fantastic protagonist inPrometheus, Elizabeth receives an underwhelming death between the two movies. Given the need forAlien: Covenantto release a prologue before it came out, I don’t think it’s unfair to say that it feels like there’s a movie that’s missing betweenPrometheusandCovenant.This movie could have followed Elizabeth and David as they searched for the Engineers' home planet, and explored their relationship more closely before the events ofAlien: Covenantunfolded.
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Alien: Romulus (2024)
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I actually don’t think the way Elizabeth dies is a bad story decision. Her fate could still be the same, but it could’ve been executed much better by taking place during an actual movie, rather than betweenPrometheusandAlien: Covenant.By killing Elizabeth between the two movies, it seems like Scott simply didn’t care about her at all, which is a shame since she is a standout inPrometheusand one of the best characters in theAlienfranchise.
