It’s no secret that Alien: Covenant underwent some creative tinkering all throughout development. Shortly after the release of Prometheus in 2012, Ridley Scott’s prequel-sequel initially entered development bearing the title Alien: Paradise – if Damon Lindelof is to be believed, that arc has been folded into the as-yet-untitled third film in Scott’s prequel saga – when John Logan, Dante Harper, Michael Green, and Jack Paglen all contributed to the story in some shape or form.
That left Ridley Scott with plenty of material to work from, and it’s small wonder why the filmmaker wound up cutting a full 20 minutes from the theatrical version of Alien: Covenant. The finer details of those deleted scenes remain a mystery for now, but it seems Alien-Covenant – the website, not the movie – has unearthed details pertaining to a nail-biting encounter between the Xenomorph and the ghoul-like Neomorph that was reportedly left on the floor of the editing room.
In short, the scrapped sequence allowed Ridley Scott to remind fans that, for all of the viciousness of the Neomorph and its pale-white claws, the Xenomorph is still considered the galaxy’s alpha predator – not unlike the grand finale of Jurassic World that pit the man-made Indominus Rex against the old-school T-Rex, then.
Per Alien-Covenant:
According to our sources, the scene was originally going to play out when Daniels, Walter/David and Lope are running towards the lander, which Tennessee boarded to rescue the surviving Covenant crew. The Neomorph was going to be the one chasing Daniels and Lope and during that chase scene the Xenomorph would have revealed itself, attacking the Neomorph and asserting itself as the dominant Alien lifeform.
The scene was meant to convey just how much larger and nastier the Xenomorph was compared to the already aggressive Neomorph.
Alien: Covenant slithered into theaters almost one month ago to relatively mixed reviews. The critical consensus deemed Ridley Scott’s prequel-sequel to be a thrilling, if forgettable entry into a franchise that is arguably beginning to overstay its welcome. Nevertheless, the director is pushing full steam ahead on Covenant‘s sequel, and expects to be back behind the lens within the next 12-13 months.
