The Covenant is heading for LV-426. It just isn't called that yet.

Haha, that is great! That's gotta be it :)

Sweet Jesus. That's some amazing detective work! 

Makes sense. Perhaps David needs to return to the planet that has more goo to get the ball rolling again and since he has the ship, that would explain the thousands of egg in the derelict. 

interesting code cracking, I like it

Interesting...

I think however, and we wont know for sure until Plot Details for Alien Awakening are revealed.... i do think this could be a misquote by Ridley Scott and that indeed its going to go.

Prometheus ==> Alien Covenant ==> Alien Awakening and then Alien.

I think the ADF Prequel novel will touch upon 1 or 2 of these.

1) From when Shaw collected Davids Body until they arrive at Paradise/Planet 4

2) From when they arrive at Paradise/Planet 4 and the arrival of the Covenant Ship.

I dont think they will go back to LV-426, i think they will go back to LV-223 and it will be explained why there is nothing left to obtain on LV-223 and that a Juggernaught leaving LV-223 ends up crashed on LV-426... the movie will end with the Space Jockey and also give us insight to how the company obtain knowledge to issue Special Order 937

I think the Franchise will be just as much about AI as the Alien, and i think sadly the Engineers will take the back burner..

But here is are some questions to ponder: Who is the chair of the derelict?

Is it an escaping Engineer who gets infected or knows they are infected and tries to get the ship and cargo as far away from their home world as possible? Is this part of the Engineers fighting against David 8 in some sort of intergalactic war and David 8 partially fails at his mission?

Is it David 8 himself in the chair and he infects himself to infuse the biomechanical aspects into the Xenomorph? Or, like Frankenstein, his creation turns on him and infects David 8 causing his own destruction?

Just some thoughts I've been kicking around on this idea.

BZ

I think i can come up with a Plot like this that would be similar to the direction but also change it to well.... explain a few things that will bug people as far as the Derelict Age...

In a Nut-shell..... having Davids experiments and agenda continue on LV-223 until someone puts a stop to it, by basically setting of such a Explosive Event to completely destroy all the Horrors on LV-223 but before this event happens.... a Ship either Piloted by a Synthetic... a Engineer or a Human attempts to leave LV-223 but is caught in the Shockwave that Tears a Hole in Space and Time and shoots the Juggernaught back in time and towards LV-426

This has to be the best way to end it... that can match what ever way Ridley is going, and still leave the Derelict appearing to had been there for thousands of years and the detection of the Signal prior to Prometheus.

However with Logan and Ridley, i am not sure this will happen and instead we will end up with something that just leaves Plot Holes Galore.

As per Alien movie that ship was their for thousands of years 

and going back in time looks impossible 

also alien is already there in mural 

@Bubba Zanetti

Indeed this are the Questions.... and we dont know which way it will go... well kind of but i dont want give much away ;)

All i can say is the idea around the time of Prometheus was that indeed the Space Jockey event was as follows.

*A event a few thousand years ago... within a few hundred years of the LV-223 Outbreak to be Exact... so thats a 1800-2200 year ago Ball Park.

*The Derelict was off to a undisclosed location but it did not get far... how far is far in Engineer Ship Time? who knows but i think its a link that the Derelict left LV-223

*The Pilot had become infected with his Cargo, Ridley even changed his mind to go from Egg Cargo.. to something Evolved in the Cargo Hold and infected the Space Jockey

*The Space Jockey realizing he was infected set a course to the Baron Moon of LV-426, he was attempting to Land and Quarantine the Cargo and set off a Warning to his fellow kind that the Cargo is compromised.

*During the final Decent, the Space Jockey was going through the Chest Busting Procedure but he kept hold of the controls to land the Derelict only it kind of crash landed.

*The Space Jockey was a Engineer a brother to those on LV-223

The above is the 100% Idea as of 2011-2013

Who knows if that's the case now... i dont think it is now.

I agree with bigdave 

the order of films is prometheus, covenant awakening. this is far more likely and this means it was a misquote and people went with it

fox wouldnt allow a non linear story considering all the alien franchises variables.

QueenElizabethShaw - 

that really impressed me that idea.  do you know it seems so plausible for me.   an excellent theory and we shall see how it unfolds....

some great ideas from big dave too.  i enjoyed reading about the engineers as i think we wont be seeing much of them for some time maybe if ever.

such a shame that prometheus obviously wasnt allowed to follow the path it started.

the annoying thing for me was prometheus, even though it is in the alien universe wasnt named as such and the story was being told, it wasnt pretending to be an alien film, it dropped  the "alien" tag and began to expand the universe

so it seems after "fans" moaning about the lack of aliens has had a major impact on the story of prometheus.

you want aliens? we will give you aliens.

im just so disappointed that the engineer tale looks to be a foot note at best.

i was really enjoying how things looked to be going from prometheus it just opened up endless possibilities in a mesmerising universe.

If Covenant was indeed intended to go to LV-426, if that actually becomes Canon I'll be giving up on the franchise entirely.

They bring in Time Travel, I can and will remove and dispose of everything ALIEN-related in my home.
Time Travel...man I am really sick of writers always using the Time Travel EZ Button to fix sloppy writing or saving their butts when they write themselves into a corner.

As for The Derelict and such...I have my own ideas that y'all will be able to read in 2 or 3 weeks time.

Ah yes I probably should have made it clear that I wasn't trying to draw attention to the part of the quote that cites the order of the films. Just providing the context for the comment about the colonization ship.

Also, I believe that this Origae-6 = LV-426 thing may be something that was planned but may eventually turn out to get scrapped as an idea. Ridley changed his mind quite a bit and significantly with Covenant. I could see him doing the same thing with future films. His recent comments allude to the idea that he left aspects of Covenant vague and open ended in the same way they did with Prometheus.

This Origae-6 discovery largely tells me that at some point, Ridley was taking seriously the idea of making the Covenant colonists into a group on their way to becoming Hadley's Hope. Whether or not there will be follow through on this I think depends on the guidance from the general public and critics.

In reading some of what he's said in the last few days, I believe now that Ridley is going to build these movies largely as a reaction to the criticisms that each new one gets. It's possible he's looking to the various reviews to guide the larger vision, and then working within the requirements of those critiques to tell the story he wants in a way that will keep people buying tickets. While this isn't ideal, you have to admit, it's the easiest way for him to continue using the films as a platform for his philosophic diatribes. As long as he keeps viewers satisfied, he can make more movies, and have whatever philosophic discussion he wants. Again, not saying it's right, but I think that is the model Ridley might be following.

Well, I will always give The Ridley benefit-of-doubt, and it's not even 'early days' yet regarding the next movie, so I'll just wait for A:C, and focus on whatever it spins up in my head for inspiration. :)

BUT my fingers are crossed against Time Travel :D

Blackwinter-witch

"BUT my fingers are crossed against Time Travel :D"

I'm right there with you on the anti-time travel vibe, but I can't say there isn't a chance Ridley won't do this. Young Ridley would never use time travel in this context. But present day Ridley (or even moreso Ridley several years from now) it's entirely possible. I'm not suggesting this is necessarily due to any change in artistic style or commercial success. 

If you listen to him lately in interviews and such he sounds a bit like his mind is failing him. Whether it's stumbling profusely over his own thoughts/words or him being asked a question then giving an answer that had little or nothing to do with the question. Something about him is less coherent these days. Either his mind is beginning down a path of degrading or he's just living it up in the twilight of his life and always drunk (in which case, cheers to Ridley Scott. I hope I'm having that much fun when I turn 80)

I always feel the whole engineers universe can turn into a mega TV-series. 

Thanks Big Dave, I was unaware of the change from the eggs being cargo to something breaking containment.

If its an escaping engineer from LV-223, that would be the most direct route, and also the most logical.

Although I love time travel Sci-Fi stories, I agree that would take this franchise in a very odd direction.

BZ

SPOILER ALERT

I just learned that at the end of Alien Covenant, the ship does in fact maintain a course to Origae-6

Excellent analysis again QueenElizabethShaw.

Great theory... but can I shoot a couple of holes in it?

First of all wouldn't it be 4116 based on the formula you're using? Alien and Encounter being separate words - much like original.

Also the LV system has already been established in Prometheus so why would it become Origae in Covenant just to go back to LV in Aliens?

Finally (and I'll address this in detail in a separate post) Ridley Scott might be 80 but he's still operating near the top of his game. Whatever you might think about the script - from a purely film making perspective AC is beautifully put together. I don't think Ridley is losing his marbles just yet. And I honestly don't think time travel will ever enter the equation here...

St4rB34st

When I originally posted this I assumed it was something Ridley and Fox purposefully cooked up for the sake of misdirection. But all honesty, who knows. One thing I do know is that last time I checked, cryptography is performed in whatever manner the cryptographer chooses, so no, I don't think it needs to be 4116. 

"orig" is half a word. "a" and "e" are the first letters of their own words. They are already a different class of symbol entirely so it would make sense for the encryption rules of each class to be different. That said, it's not like this even needs to be professional cryptography. Ridley may have just been screwing around in his basement one night.

Let me to add some extra info...

More clear ... impossible.

Sorry, no offense intended but this reminds me of the "Nostradamus-Community". XD Shoving and pushing letters and numbers til they fit. 

Texerakto

BRAVO! You have symphonies in you brother.

Tiwaz

When I first did this it actually started reminded me of those Illuminati theorists that claim divination through Kabalistic numerology.

In regards to your assessment, I wholeheartedly agree, lol. When I made this, I did set out to prove that Origae-6 was somehow a reference to LV-426. So it is easily a contrivance and nothing more.

I think Michelle Johnston has been championing something much more compelling which is the Helmsman/Charioteer/Waggoner connection.

LV-426 and the gas giant it orbits occupy the Zeta II Reticuli system. It's 39 light years away. It took the Prometheus roughly 2 years to reach it. It would only take the Nostromo 10 months to reach Earth from Z II R, and it's a tugboat. The Covenant would certainly not take 8+ years to get there from Earth. Nor is it likely that David is heading back to Zeta II Reticuli, as the transmission he sends at the end wouldn't make any sense in that case. He wants more humans to come looking for the Covenant so he can lay another trap. The trap's not going to work if they're looking in the wrong place.

Plus, it's extremely unlikely that Weyland-Yutani would have renamed the system "Origae" and sent colonists to it, knowing they already lost an extremely expensive asset in that system.

dmx1138

"LV-426 and the gas giant it orbits occupy the Zeta II Reticuli system. It's 39 light years away. It took the Prometheus roughly 2 years to reach it. It would only take the Nostromo 10 months to reach Earth from Z II R, and it's a tugboat. The Covenant would certainly not take 8+ years to get there from Earth."

I do appreciate you breaking down that travel time for each ship, but it actually only has made me realize that I don't think Ridley cares about detail on that level. There's little to gather from comparing the numbers which tells me he never thought it through (unless I'm just missing the pattern here).

"Nor is it likely that David is heading back to Zeta II Reticuli, as the transmission he sends at the end wouldn't make any sense in that case."

My proposal is that Origae-6 is IN Zeta II and Ridley just isn't paying attention to the details of travel time. It's something he can easily explain away by claiming 'different ships, different travel capabilities'. Would it make sense? No. Does he care? Doubt it.

"He wants more humans to come looking for the Covenant so he can lay another trap. The trap's not going to work if they're looking in the wrong place."

Where in Covenant did we get an indication he was trying to lure more humans to him? If anything it seemed like he was reporting back to let them know, in spite of casualties, the mission is still on course, and there is no need to send help. He didn't say this outright of course, but he also said nothing about requesting assistance, and it was assumed that once the colonists arrived at their destination, they'd be on their own for decades perhaps, as they are establishing an outpost for the future of long distance space travel.

"Plus, it's extremely unlikely that Weyland-Yutani would have renamed the system "Origae" and sent colonists to it, knowing they already lost an extremely expensive asset in that system."

The renaming may be Ridley's doing as a quick cover to hide from the audience that the planet is actually LV-426. He admittedly "cheats" at time to produce the effect he desires. All WY knows is that the Prometheus disappeared. They wouldn't have a reason to believe an entire sector of space is inherently dangerous. For all they know, there was a malfunction on the ship during it's journey and it exploded on the way there. I'll take it a step further though and say MAYBE they heard Shaw's warning message. If anything, they'd probably want to recover whatever they could from the Prometheus expedition and would benefit from establishing an outpost in the same vicinity. This would allow them to use the colony as an outpost to send people a safe yet convenient distance from 223 so that they can travel to and fro, collecting samples of the pathogen, and salvaging the technology.

All that being said, I do admit Origae-6 very well may not be LV-426. But as I said in a previous post, Michelle Johnston has been pointing out that the translation for Origae is Helmsman/Charioteer/Waggoner which could easily be an easter egg indicating that it is the location of the Space Jockey.

Despite David communication at the end of Covenant, he probably isn’t taking the colonists to Origae-6. Why to risk landing to humans well known planet without any population; he long time studied the engineers and their colonies.

Presumably, it's called "Origae (or Aurigae) 6" because it's a star in the constellation Auriga ("The Charioteer"). Auriga is nowhere near Reticulum.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auriga_(constellation)

http://www.alien-covenant.com/topic/44870

In Aliens, the original screenplay had the Sulaco reaching LV 426 (later called Acheron) in three weeks.  I guess travel really improved in 77 years since Covenant lol.

https://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/55875/how-long-did-it-take-the-space-marines-in-aliens-to-reach-planet-lv-426