What Alien’s Space Jockeys Were Like Before Prometheus’ Engineers

What Alien’s Space Jockeys Were Like Before Prometheus’ Engineers

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Alien’s space jockey had a different agenda than the engineers in Prometheus. Ridley Scott’s original concept was simpler than the prequel’s version.

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What Alien’s Space Jockeys Were Like Before Prometheus’ Engineers

Alien’s space jockey had a different agenda than the reimagined engineers in Prometheus. Ridley Scott’s original concept, based on the script by Dan O’Bannon, was less nuanced than the prequel’s ambitious redirection.

When Alien was released in the summer of 1979, it was the ideal antidote for sci-fi fans tired of kid-focused comic book films. The popularity of Star Wars (1977) and its various retreads had changed the landscape of cinematic science fiction, trading more adult themes for crowd-pleasing action. Though Alien was essentially a horror film set in outer space, its ship and creatures, designed by H.R. Giger, added a complex history to its iconic monster, the Xenomorph. The organic and often sensual world of the alien, only hinted at in the interior of its derelict ship, elevated the danger of the its menace. It was something new, something dangerous – and completely alien.

When the crew of the Nostromo discover a transmission they assume to be a distress signal, they are required to investigate. They land on the small moon of LV-426 where they discover the signal’s origin – a derelict spaceship. Three members of the crew, including Captain Dallas (Tom Skerritt) explore the cavernous interior, which features the fossilized remains of a giant alien being commanding what looks like a complicated gun turret. The being appears to have ensured some kind of explosion from inside its body. Another chamber within the ship is discovered by Officer Kane, which holds dozens of egg-like objects.

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Alien’s Space Jockey Differs From Prometheus’ Engineers

As the crew investigate the ship, Warrant Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is able to decipher part of the message, which she believes to be a warning. Her instincts prove correct when Kane is attacked by an organism that springs from one of the eggs. The being, often referred to as a “facehugger”, attaches itself to his face with tentacled arms that grasp it tightly. Given the information in the film, it appears that the dead pilot of the derelict ship was using the eggs as a bio-weapon of some kind. Perhaps using the gun turret to shoot them into the atmosphere of different planets. Scott has mentioned in several interviews that this was his interpretation of the space jockey. A being killed by his own dangerous artillery – with a warning beacon set off in response.

When Scott returned to the Alien universe with the Prometheus prequel, these concepts were altered somewhat. The jockey creature was now from a race referred to as “engineers” in this expanded universe. Though depicted as larger than humans, their size was much smaller than the giant jockey first seen in Alien. The engineers are also inferred as the creators of mankind, possessing a dark liquid that enables them to generate new life. The eggs that were assumed to be bio-weapons are introduced in different forms, with their evolution separate from the engineers’ tinkering. The android David (Michael Fassbender) taking the evolution of the black oil to the next level in Alien: Covenant.

While Scott has yet to finish what eventually became a trilogy of prequels, so far the narrative has not come close to the intriguing bio war hinted at in Alien. In fact, much of the evolution of the xenomorph has been through the intervention of the earth astronauts – a disappointing turn given the anticipation of fans through the years. Whether or not the third prequel, which Scott still wants to make, attempts to answer specific questions raised in Alien is anyone’s guess. The franchise, which is now owned by Disney, might be getting a rumored reboot before the space jockey tale can be completed. Until then, fans have the original classic to re-watch and make their own theories on the true space jockey origin.

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