Recently, Alien: Covenant.
Speaking of the latter, Alien: Covenant is -- by nearly every measure -- one of the least successful films in the four-decade franchise. Critically, the movie boasts a mere 65% Rotten Tomatoes score, 65/100 Metascore, and 6.4/10 IMDB-rating. Commercially, the film grossed roughly $240 million, well below Prometheus' $400 million. Alien: Covenant has a lot of ups and downs, and the stories of how it was conceived in the first place may explain its lackluster story and reception.
Alien: Covenant Was Originally A Prometheus Sequel
The original idea behind Alien: Covenant was to make a more traditional sequel to Prometheus. In 2012, a draft entitled Alien: Paradise Lost was written to stray further away from the original Alien film while building up on what Prometheus set up. But when fans publicly decried the lack of Xenomorphs in Prometheus, Scott rerouted the direction of the new Alien trilogy.
In 2015, Scott announced that Covenant would be followed by a third prequel tentatively entitled Alien: Awakening, which was designed to closely resemble and tie into the 1979 original. However, the poor performance of Covenant once again forced Scott to reconsider the direction of the franchise, hence his latest announcement to move away from the prequels.
The Neomorphs Were Based On Goblin Sharks
The Neomorphs' designs in Covenant were specifically patterned after a rare species of deep-sea creatures known as Goblin Sharks, which is roughly 125 million years old. To closely resemble the Goblin Sharks, the Neomorphs were designed with rows of teeth that are able to jut forward when attacking.
This allows the creature to inflict more harm by having its teeth lunging directly at its prey for a tighter grip. The Goblin Sharks also have a large protruding snout, which is inverted in the Neomorph design to reflect the Xenomorphs' long skull.
The Xenomorph Was Deliberately More Human
While the Neomorph was modeled after the Goblin Shark, the newfangled Xenomorph design was directly patterned after an ecorche, which is a sculpture of a human being with its top-layer of skin removed to expose its musculature. Moreover, the physical movements of the Xenomorph are reminiscent of Baboons and Praying Mantis.
Noticeable absent in the design is any semblance of bio-mechanical material and metallic exoskeletons. This was a deliberate choice by Scott and the FX team to depict the evolutionary stage of the Xenomorphs, as they have yet to develop the biomechanical anatomy seen in the original Alien trilogy.
Daniels' Hairstyle Came From Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them
Katherine Waterston and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them the year before Alien: Covenant was released. Believe it or not, Waterston modeled her hairdo for Covenant on Ezra Miller's Fantastic Beasts look.
During their downtime on Fantastic Beasts, Miller helped Waterston film her audition video for Covenant inside his trailer. When Waterston spotted his bowl-cut wig inside the trailer, she asked to try it on. She liked it so much that she opted to base her haircut in Covenant on Miller's appearance as Credence.
Alien: Covenant Killed Neill Blomkamp's Alien 5
In 2015, District 9 director Neill Blomkamp announced plans to helm the fifth film in the Alien franchise. His concept was based on his own original artwork and was set to take place immediately after events depicted in Aliens, thereby ignoring what transpired in Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection.
Ridley Scott was poised to direct, and franchise stars Sigourney Weaver and Michael Biehn were set to reprise their roles as Ripley and Hicks, respectively. However, Fox asked Blomkamp to delay his project until the release of Alien: Covenant. Although the project was eventually canceled, James Cameron loved Blomkamp's ideas and expressed desires to work with him in the future.
David's Garden Is An Artistic Homage
The pristine garden that David (Michael Fassbender) tends to in the film, which features a large rock terrace cordoned by cypress trees, is directly lifted from a series of paintings entitled "Isle of the Dead" by Swiss artist Arnold Bocklin.
The design is also an homage to legendary artist H.R. Giger, who designed the concept art for Scott's original Alien. Giger used his distinct Gothic steampunk, biomechanical style to recreate Bocklin's Isle of the Dead paintings.
Tennessee Is A Nod To A Dr. Strangelove Character
When making a movie set in outer space, one might expect to channel Stanley Kubrick's seminal sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey as inspiration. Instead, Scott chose to honor his friend by paying homage to another Kubrick classic.
When casting Dr. Strangelove, in which Kubrick cast Pickens against type as the wise-cracking bomber-pilot Major T.J. "King" Kong, aka the guy who rode the bomb. The fact that both characters where ten-gallon hats and pilot aircraft is no coincidence.
Shaw's Corpse Is A Tribute To H.R. Giger
Alien: Covenant is the first film in the series to be released after H.R. Giger's death. As such, Scott paid tribute to the iconic FX designer and concept artist as often as possible in the film.
One clear reference to Giger's work comes in the form of Elizabeth Shaw's (Noomi Rapace) corpse. When her body is discovered, her face is seen protruding from a pile of bones covering her body. This image is directly taken from Giger's iconic artwork entitled Li I. Giger based the image on his longtime muse, Swiss actress Li Tobler.
There Are Some Blade Runner Homages
Since Prometheus and Alien: Covenant deal with themes of artificial intelligence as seen through the character of David, it makes sense that the film would reference Scott's sci-fi masterpiece Blade Runner. Several connections between both films can be found.
The opening shot of Covenant featuring David's eye staring directly into the camera is identical to the opening shot of Blade Runner. Several lines of dialogue from both films parallel, including David asking Walter if he ever dreams. When Daniels accosts David and stabs him in the face, David exclaims "That's the spirit!" This same line was said by Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) in after Deckard (Harrison Ford) strikes him with a metal pipe.
The Drinky Bird Knows Which Android Is Which
The underlying mystery in Alien: Covenant asks the audience to decipher which android, David or Walter, is responsible for creating the Xenomorphs with the intent to use the humans as experiments. Surprisingly, a clue from Scott's two prior franchise entries provides the answer.
When "Walter" is on the Covenant bridge at the end of the film, a drinky bird can be spotted. The same bird appears in the opening scene of Alien on the Nostromo's bridge, proving that the two movies share the same universe. Moreover, the same drinky bird is found on David's desk in Prometheus, proving that Walter is in fact, David.
