Summary
Michael Fassbender’s David 8 was intended to become the new villain of the series, but what became of him followingAlien: Covenant? Ridley Scott’s return to theAlienmovie franchisewas a big deal when it was announced, though his two prequels proved divisive among audiences and critics. Perhaps the studio should have sensed trouble when the iconic filmmaker kept declaring in interviews that the Xenomorph was “cooked,” and the saga needed a replaced monster. To the filmmaker, A.I. is a far scarier threat, soScott wanted to replace the Xenomorph with Michael Fassbender’s David.
Introduced as the android assistant to his “father” Weyland (Guy Pearce) inPrometheus, David was shown to have a seething contempt for the people he was programmed to serve. The ending ofPrometheussaw Noomi Rapace’s Shaw and David fly off in search of the Engineers and their homeworld - though the next entry revealed that David killed both themandShaw.Alien: Covenant’sendingwould set up another entry where David would become the ultimate threat, but after the film’s reception, the series was instead soft rebooted with Fede Álvarez’sAlien: Romulus.
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Alien: Romulus
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The big reveal inCovenant’sfinal scene is that Fassbender’s kindly Walter was been killed offscreen and replaced by David, who intends to continue crafting his “perfect” lifeform now he’s no longer stranded on the Engineer homeworld. To do this end,David needs lots of human specimens, which he has in abundance thanks to the Covenant spaceship containing thousands of crew members in cryosleep.
The way David’s Xenomorph creations were destroyed by the sequel’s heroes made it clear they weren’t quite “perfect” yet, so he’ll need to run more tests.Alien: Covenant’stitular ship also has many years left to reach its destination planet Origae-6, so the android will have lots of free time on his hands.The 2017 film is unique in that it received two short film sequels that expanded on David’s intentionsbeyondCovenant’sending.
Adventwas included on home video releases ofCovenantand saw David sending a transmission to Weyland-Yutani discussing his experiments and plans to create a new species. He also hints thatKatherine Waterston’s Daniels could become his Alien Queen.David’s Lab: Last Signs of Lifethen arrived in 2019 and acted as anAdventsequel, with a team from Weyland-Yutani discovering David’s abandoned lab and after being awed by his work, a luckless researcher gets attacked by a Facehugger.
David’s Philosophies Continued With Other Androids
It makes sense that David would develop a God complex
The comic series keeps David’s fate a mystery, but it appears his teachings and thoughts on mankind and synthetics have spread throughout the universe.
A direct sequel toCovenantnever happened (at least, not yet), but that doesn’t mean David has been erased from canon.David even got namedropped in the MarvelAliencomics series by two synthetic characterswho survived a Xenomorph encounter. One of them mentions reading the philosophic musings of David, who seemingly became a messiah of sorts to his kind following the century that has passed since the events ofAlien: Covenant.
The comic series keeps David’s fate a mystery, but it appears his teachings and thoughts on both mankind and synthetics have spread throughout the universe. Assuming the events ofCovenantare still canon within theAlienfranchise, it appears David himself was behind the events of the original 1979 film also, having set Weyland-Yutani on the trail of the Xenomorphs in the first place.
Michael Fassbender’sCovenantcharacters David and Walter were named afterAlienproducers David Giler and Walter Hill.
It’s little surprise that the android’s thoughts on the free will of A.I. may have struck a cord - even if he was proposing annihilation for the entire human race too. His words may have inspired both Ash (Ian Holm) and Call (Winona Ryder) too, with both having mixed views on the human race. Somefan theories propose that David transformed into the Space JockeyfromAlien, having used the Engineer’s “Black Goo” on himself; unfortunately, it’s unknown what Scott actually had in mind for David’s ending.
Ridley Scott’s Canceled Alien: Covenant Sequel Would’ve Continued David’s Story
David 8 vs The Engineers is a pitch that sells itself
While promotingAlien: Covenant, Scott was very enthusiastic about the franchise’s future. The third prequel was rumored to be calledAlien: Awakening, and would feature David continuing his Dr Moreau-style experiments whilst being hunted by vengeful Engineers.Scott was also suggesting there could betwomore outings before his prequel series connected back toAlien, leading into Ripley’s (Sigourney Weaver) story. However,Covenantreceived mixed reviews (though it’s rated “Fresh” onRotten Tomatoesat 65%) and tepid box office, stopping Scott’s plan dead in its tracks.
Alien Complete Timeline Explained
From Prometheus to Alien: Romulus to the movies with Ellen Ripley, the complete Alien franchise timeline spans hundreds of years of xenomorphs.
Instead,Alien: Romuluswill reset the series, and will be a survival horror exercise that intends to make the Xenomorph scary again. This is the best move, though it’s a shame David 8’s arc won’t get paid off. Regardless of the faults of Scott’s prequels, Fassbender’s David is a fascinating character, and it would have been great to see the rogue synthetic’s story play out to completion afterAlien: Covenant’sepic cliffhanger.
Alien: Covenant
Cast
Alien: Covenant, directed by Ridley Scott, follows the crew of the colony ship Covenant as they discover an uncharted planet. Initially seeming like a paradise, the planet soon reveals dark secrets. Katherine Waterston, Michael Fassbender, and Billy Crudup lead the cast in this science fiction horror film, which serves as a direct sequel to Prometheus and continues to explore the origins of the Alien species.
