More Giger, No Ripley.

So it looks like Alien: Covenant is shaping up to be the film that fans were anticipating Prometheus to be. It looks like they've ejected into space the elements in Prometheus that were so disappointing: the dopy Shaw and her "religious quest", scientists" behaving very stupidly, Damon Lindelof's dumb script. It was an utter shame to see awesome actors like Guy Pearce and Charlize Theron wasted because their parts were so badly written, only the equally awesome Fassbender had a decent part written for him and David stole the movie, also great actors like Idris Elba, Rafe Spall and Sean Harris' characters were total dicks with ridiculous motivations, just a bad script! (and I have read Spaight's version as well, most of the stupid stuff was Lindelof's).

I can understand the frustrations of Alien fans when Ridley Scott announces an Alien prequel then unleashes Prometheus. It now looks like Fox or Ridley Scott has taken heed of fan's disappointment with Prometheus and are going the full Alien route with Covenant. It seems the Black Goo has mutated and now infects people by floating into their ears!, we've got eggs and what appear to be "Classic" aliens, facehuggers, explosions and tense scenes, I really think this movie will be a great ride, I think the casting of James Franco, Danny McBride and Damian Bachir which seems to worry people a bit will turn out to be a genius move! (Alien: Covenant is really a sequel to This Is the End!). What does worry me is the rumour that two of the characters will turn out to be Ripley's parents! This is stupid and unneccesary, Ripley has her place in the franchise sure, but cramming her in feels superfluous, do we find out that Ripley was "Destined" to battle the aliens all along? Ridiculous!

One other thing that does concern me a bit after watching the trailer is a suspicious lack of HR Giger. His unique design aesthetic was one of the elements that made Alien the success it was, not just the alien, but the Space Jockey, derelict ship and planetscape as well, his "biomechanoid" universe was unique and groundbreaking in SF cinema, there hadn't been anything like it before Alien. I felt that this contribution was marginalised and underused in Prometheus (the Juggernaught, pyramid and a few old Alien mural designs), in the Furious Gods doco, every time the design team came up with something that homaged Giger, Ridley Scott rejected it (the "Gigeresque" CG Fifield mutation was way more disturbing and horrific than the bad make up design they used in the film). The Juggernaught being merely mechanical instead of biomechanical.

I just felt it was such a wasted opportunity that we didn't get to see an "Epic" 21st century interpretation of Giger's biomechanoid universe. My imagination had conjured up all sorts of mindblowing biomechanoid alien/human hybrids, planets and cities, that I suppose it was inevitable that I was going to be disappointed with Prometheus.

My biggest disappointment with Prometheus were the Engineers. The Space Jockeys are just albino human steroid abusers in a suit? I understand that it would be very difficult to portray a truly "Alien" society on film, they couldn't really figure out how to do the Space Jockey so went with the "Star Trek" route of the "Aliens" being human. I like the fan theories that the Engineers are a sterile slave/clone race made from human DNA, a faction that has escaped and intend to use their "Masters" technology to wipe out their inferior human forebears (but that doesn't seem to fit with the opening scene of Prometheus).

Do you think Ridley Scott has it planned out how the next movie will "Lead" into Alien and tie up all the loose ends? Or is it as I suspect he's just making it up as he goes along? (all the chopping and changing of "Prometheus 2", "Classic" aliens are back in, the title changes etc. seem to point to the fact that he doesn't really have a clue how to tie it all together). Alien: Covenant may not be the movie I've been waiting to see for so many years after Aliens but it sure as hell looks like a big improvement on Prometheus, so I am quietly optimistic.
I realise the Alien: Covenant trailer is just a teaser, they aren't going to tip their hand too soon, so if we see facehuggers and aliens, "Backburtsers" etc. in the teaser, what do you think Ridley hasn't shown us yet? There must be something suitably epic and mindblowing in store, it can't just be running away from aliens. Do you think we may get some suitably "Epic" 21st century Gigeresque biomechanismo?(I really hope that idiot Shaw has met some suitably hideous, "Gigeresque" fate!) Are the engineers the real "Bad Guys" or do you think we may see their "Furious Gods"? Paradise seems like a suitable world for colonisation on the surface but what lies beneath? Space Jockeys? What are peoples expectations aside from David and the "Black Goo"? Do we really have to find out exactly how, why, when and where the aliens came from? Am I the only Giger fan who felt "ripped off" by Prometheus, and hopes for a bigger Giger presence in Alien: Covenant?