5 Burning Questions That Alien: Covenant’s Possible Sequel Needs To Answer

4) Why Did The Engineers Want To Destroy Mankind?

The Engineer that seeds life on earth at the beginning of Prometheus clearly uses a completely different vessel to the derelict ship we’re familiar with, so was the Engineer that seeded life on earth a part of a larger more friendly and peaceful society of Engineers? If so, is the angry one that David and Weyland wake up in the final act of Prometheus (inside a war-ship, no less) part of a more military, soldier-like society that wants to destroy us? These are narrative threads that have been left unanswered since Scott’s 2012 sci-fi opus. Alien: Covenant brushed this massive question under the rug and completely dodged it, which really frustrated the Prometheus fan inside me.

Interestingly, Prometheus scribe John Spaihts wrote an early draft of the movie entitled Alien: Engineers – a really fascinating script that was rewritten by Damon Lindelof to help shape it into its final cinematic vision. On page 57, it contains a scene where Holloway suggests that Jesus may’ve been an Engineer and was sent to earth yet was crucified. As a result, the Engineers were angry with us and charted a course for earth to eradicate us as punishment for our grave mistake. It’s an interesting, on-the-nose plot point that was later edited out, but it’s thought-provoking nonetheless. Religion and god have always been an inherent sub-theme within the Alien franchise.

Why did they want to destroy us, though? To the Engineers, perhaps we’re simply naughty children, a dangerous meddlesome species that have advanced far too quickly. Waking them up and demanding eternal life probably didn’t help, either (at least wait for him to have his morning cup of joe!). Maybe they just see us like how we see the Xenomorphs – as pests that need exterminating. Out of all the questions on this list, this one needs to be answered sharpish, especially considering it was such a central narrative concept of Prometheus.