As we near Alien: Covenant's May 12th/19th release dates, a few outlets have been given permission to share their accounts of set visits they partook in last year. One of these outlets were Joblo.com and below is a breakdown of their experience on the set of Alien: Covenant. I will warn you, some of the information provided may be considered spoiler material.
Ridley added Aliens to appease the fans
“They want Aliens, I’ll give them f*cking Aliens”, Ridley Scott said apparently while on the set of Alien: Covenant. A major gripe from a polarized fan base were the apparent lack of Aliens in the Alien prequel Prometheus. Scott took that criticism to heart and decided to unleash a plethora of new monsters upon us for the sequel.
Alien: Covenant will be rated R
As if there was any doubt... It's confirmed Covenant will in fact receive a heavy R rating. Apparently Scott wanted the gore to be as realistic as possible, he wanted true shock value and from everyone's accounts, it sounds like we're going to get just that.
Alien 5 is still on the table, the series needed a rulebook
Yep, that's right! 20th Century Fox and Ridley Scott had film researchers create a 10-page rulebook for the Alien series.
Alien: Covenant is mostly practical effects
Favoring old-school filming techniques, Ridley Scott has kept most of Alien: Covenant practical, using CGI only to enhance existing work. He doesn't like CG blood either and opted for a number of old-school blood gushing techniques as well.
Shaw's presence in Alien: Covenant
Noomi Rapace's involvement in Alien: Covenant was meant to be kept secret but after her involvement leaked, Fox had to admit she would be in the film. However, we are assured her role will be quite a surprise... From the set visit:
One piece of art that I kept going back to was a Giger-esque drawing of Shaw’s head (Noomi Rapace) surrounded by bio-mechanical tubes, as if she was mutating into something (I thought the first Xenomorph from ALIEN perhaps?). I was surprised they would let such a picture out there for us to see – so keep that in mind, it may be sly misdirection on the Studio’s part.
Paradise may have housed a HUMAN race who worshiped Engineers
More and more evidence continues to surface suggesting that Paradise is actually another planet that was once populated by Humans but was destroyed following displeasure of their Gods (the Engineers). The set visit accounts a number of Engineer style monuments, as well as a sacrificial area, paired with a ceremonial blade.
Here's a quote from their set visit where they describe some of the Engineer structure as well as what Alien designs they witnessed:
THE WAR ROOM: Think an area filled to the brim with miniture models of some of the sets they built (like the impressive exterior of the Engineers Cathedral) production designs (Daniels futuristic looking apartment that reminded me of Blade Runner), storyboards, pictures to draw from creatively (locations in Jerusalem, Egypt and Mexico) and varied art pieces that were either created for the film or that inspired some of its imagery. The scenic paintings by Giovanni Segantini and Luigi Rossi for example did not go unnoticed. Through my many hours in this room, I quickly realized that A- Most of the sets were actually built (minimum CGI and green screen) and B- They tried to shoot on location as much as possible when it came to their exteriors. That is one thing that I love about a Ridley Scott film – he likes to shoot "in camera" as much as possible. Lots of Old School filmmaking here!
Following their visit of the War Room, they were taken to the Creature shop, where they saw a variety of Alien designs...
In terms of new breeds: I spied an alien with a face shaped like a butt-hole (looked like a “creation”), an Engineer without his skin (I am assuming this is an Engineer that was dissected for study) and the alien that surfaced at the end of Prometheus (aka The Deacon). I can’t wait to see the latter in further action! I get a Raptor from Jurassic Park vibe from it! Again, the intent here is to do everything practically with only SOME CG enhancements! Sold!
THE SPACE JOCKEY’S PILOT CHAMBER: This was easily my favorite location to witness in person – and was ALONE worth the long trip! Like many of you, I grew up with ALIEN, and the Space Jockey pilot room (where all the ALIEN eggs were) marked me! I went full fanboy when that location was re-visited in PROMETHEUS, so you can imagine how it felt to actually be there! My visit of said room couldn’t have been better staged. I was sent into a smoke filled hallway/big tube. I slowly walked up, the walls were of course “ALIEN-esque” in consistency and I got a serious case of the heebies. It’s one thing to see the location on film; it’s another thing to actually be IN IT! I kept hearing that tracking signal “BLEEPING” from ALIENS in my head for some reason – the beast is getting closer…lol! At the end of the hallway, I came upon two lines of ENGINEER statues on both sides (a piece of set from Prometheus), I walked between them, the hallway opened up to… THE SPACE JOCKEY pilot chamber.
THE CATHEDRAL SET: This vast set consisted of a main room with GIANT stairs on the right hand side that led to an upper section. In the MAIN area we had HUGE ENGINEER head statues lined up one next to the other. The top half of their heads were missing (above ridge of the nose) as they will be completed in Post Production (VFX). The way I perceived it, these heads were representations of The Elder Engineers. In front of them rocky melons we had faux rock chairs and what came off as a stone made sacrificial table (with a dagger on it).
Not sure if humans sacrificed virgins to the Engineers or not – but they sure had the right set up for that kind of party! Time will tell! Once I took all that in, I leaped onto the giant stairs and ran up (good little work-out there). I then went to the end of the rocky walkway and found a bunch of dead Engineer corpses on the ground. They looked burned up. I heard there’s a Pompeii like scene that happens in the film. I am assuming its via flashback, one that will see the Engineers go up in flame. I deduce that what I witnessed was the aftermath. Poor basterds…
THE HYPERSLEEP CHAMBER: On my way down the corridor, I fell upon the “HYPERSLEEP CHAMBER” set. The pace was disheveled, trash and clothes were on the ground. I eventually learned that Shaw locked herself in there, she used the area as a refuge. Refuge from whom? Not sure. But my money is on her and David not getting along too well, especially in light of his new “creator” ambitions.
Finally, they did get to witness a scene from Alien: Covenant. Here is what they saw:
Basically crew members of the Covenant walk into the Hypersleep chamber that I mentioned above. It's dark and their flash light beams illuminate the area. They stop, one crew member picks up Shaw's helmet, looks at it and then drops it. They walk off. That was that on that!
Expect more set visit reports to surface over the coming weeks. You can read this full set visit over on Joblo.com!
The Alien: Romulus sequel is currently in development and cameras are set to roll by October, 2025! Be sure to bookmark the Alien: Romulus 2 Info Page for an up-to-date account of all available information, production updates and important details!
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