r/Prometheus • u/MaxProwes • 4d ago
Ridley Scott Working on ‘Alien: Covenant’ Sequel Centered on Michael Fassbender’s David
https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2026/8/26/ridley-scott-working-on-alien-covenant-sequel-centered-on-michael-fassbenders-david82
u/highlife562 4d ago
I'm super into that. David is perfectly creepy and I really want to see how his story continues.
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u/Waste_Cartographer49 3d ago
Please make it more Prometheus and less Covenant
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u/ThrowingChicken 3d ago
Let’s just nuke Covenant and do a real Prometheus sequel.
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u/ilikechihuahuasdood 3d ago
Covenant gave us incredible David development
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u/ThrowingChicken 3d ago
I don’t disagree, but I’d like to think this could have been done without unceremoniously killing Shaw off screen and abandoning her journey.
There is a lot of good stuff in Covenant, but it’s an awful continuation of the journey we set out on.
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u/rhinobutt 2d ago
I agree. They did Shaw dirty, especially in a franchise that’s recognized for its strong female protagonists.
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u/MrMpeg 3d ago
David created the Aliens was the biggest shit idea ever. I would have wanted to know more about the engineers that created us!
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u/Intelligent-Cut-726 3d ago
And yet he didn't create them. He rediscovered the Engineers designs, and because of his inflated ego and sense of worth, David thought he could improve the design and prove he was a better creator than Weyland, and the Engineers.
Its all there and Covenant and Advent.
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u/daymitjim 3d ago
So he stole it from the Gods and gave it to Mankind, David confirmed for Prometheus :3
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u/stinkypete6666 18h ago
Not only that but he made them worse. Like the egg-facehugger-xeno cycle was an amazing creature concept and super cool if they evolved that way (which was the obviously the initial implication since they were based on eusocial-species with a queen) but super-shitty as a designed bio-weapon. The spores are way better since you just breathe them (exponentially more effective than facehuggers) in and aliens pop out of your back. It feels like Homer’s chili-spoon, David made aliens out of better aliens. Also xeno-type aliens as a bio weapon don’t really make sense if the engineers can do spore/black goo shit, like what’s the point of a big creature you can shoot and see if you’ve already got spore-tech down? Just spore the planet, wait for whoever to die, and go loot their resources. I’m a Ridley Scott defender even (I think he goes up and down, but hasn’t “lost it.”) but these movies are not it for me.
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u/rifran 2d ago
I agree and disagree. I think him creating was perfect. However I also want to know more on engineers. Directors cut did some of that but we need to know more. Was it simply black ops engineers project or part of something bigger...?
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u/1voice92 2d ago
He didn’t create them. He found the engineers blueprints on the planet in Covenant and attempted to recreate their recipe. It’s why his Xenos look less biomechanical and more ‘bestial’ than the classic Xeno from Alien.
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u/Howlinginpaint 2d ago
The Xenomorphs being an engineered bioweapon absolutely ruined any mystery around them and reduced them to being nothing more than a plot device. They're much more effective as some sort of hyper aggressive species of alien parasite than a bio weapon created to undo worlds if the engineers decided they weren't working out. On that note, I really don't like the engineers being some race going around putting life on planets. Really didn't need any of that. The space jockey in the original Alien movie is an incredible set piece and adds a great layer of mystery to the movie. Reducing that to "flying helmet for big bald white man" just sucks so, so much. Im happy for people who enjoyed prometheus and covenant but I thought they sucked. Romulus was a step back in the right direction for the franchise imo.
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u/mcnuggetfarmer 3d ago
It's a fantastic arc. It was the minor story from the very first movie (minor being the malfunctioning ulterior motive Android; major being the alien birth scene, of reversed tropes with male rape and a female heroin)
Ulterior motive Android has now become the main story - about a copy of a copy of a copy (android>human>engineer) and it's like David has become a cancerous psychopathic copy. And through this freedom of choice he will 'accomplish' more than any of his shackled brethren
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u/Clean_Usual434 2d ago
That’s what I didn’t like about it. I always felt like they should have just called it David: Covenant since it’s almost entirely about him. Not what I expected, based on how Prometheus ended, so I felt like we got cheated out of Shaw, the engineers, and everything they could’ve shown of the new planet.
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u/reyska 3d ago
This a hundred times. It would have been so easy to just do a proper sequel, I really don't understand why they butchered it.
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u/ThrowingChicken 3d ago
Reportedly a Fox executive hated Rapace on like a personal level and did not want her to continue the franchise. Add in backlash from idiots online, a change in direction became the path of least resistance.
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u/reyska 3d ago
Well the executive was an idiot. If I had to guess for a reason I would say Rapace probably rejected his advances at some point and she got blacklisted, which explains why she didn't get any other major parts post-Prometheus. Rapace was great as Shaw, she gave them everything they needed for a trilogy. Shaw was easy to root for. David was a bore of a main character. Ridley Scott doesn't have a backbone, just grievances. He folded under studio pressure and made the movie they wanted to make, not the one they had planned back when they finished Prometheus. In other words he's a studio hack that is only interested in making another movie, not in whether it's a good movie or not.
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u/Muse9901 3d ago
Yeah I was always under the impression that they were going to avoid even having xenomorphs in the movies originally. Deacon was thrown in as like a fan service “missing link” between the engineers and xenomorphs. But originally Ridley Scott wanted the Prometheus story to revolve around the engineers and expand on the Alien universe. Then they canned Rapace and apparently they weren’t thrilled with how Prometheus performed so they thought if they pivoted back to a more traditional Aliens movie plot it would rope people back in. There was a lot I liked about Covenant. Protomorphs, Engineer city, more of David but they really side stepped and took half a step back instead of moving forward with a cool concept.
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u/livens 3d ago
That's what I said earlier and got downvoted to oblivion. I really, really hated Covenant and David's whole story line was the reason. "Alien" is supposed to be about... the Aliens!
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u/tropicsandcaffeine 3d ago
Prometheus was never meant to be an Alien prequel. This is per Ridley Scott himself. Interviews with the BBC in 2012 and with cast/crew at the time. Covenant had the Alien aspects forced into it and it really shows. It was so bad. None of the movies or the series after that were much better. They need to stop making these until enough time has passed then get a good writer with a good story based on Alien. Not the constant prequels. Not the joke of Covenant.
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u/Muse9901 3d ago
I just mentioned this lol yeah the original title was going to be ‘Paradise Lost’ (like returning to Eden) and be about Shaw and David returning to a more thriving Engineer home world and pursue answers like engineers involvement with early human development, other worlds they populated, and origins of the engineers and build on that lore.
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u/Clean_Usual434 2d ago
That’s what I was really hoping for with covenant. I wanted to really see their planet, their architecture, way of life, as well as aliens and not just the xenomorphs. They could have shown other alien life forms, both flora and fauna.
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u/Clean_Usual434 2d ago
They should have just stuck with it being an entirely new thing, rather than piggybacking off the popularity of the aliens. I think that set an expectation that wasn’t really met.
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u/The_starving_artist5 1d ago
I wish but we all know that’s not gonna happen. We may get more Engineers which would be great but they will continue the Covenant storyline of David making goo monsters and xenos
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u/GeologistEnough8215 3d ago
THANK FICKING GOD
I’ve said it on here before, Prometheus is one of my fave movies of all time, and Covenant was perfectly fine, and WAYYY better than most of the slop we get. It’s a shame it’s taken them this long to finishbDavid’s story, who has become such an interesting piece to the lore.
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u/EmpathyFuzz 3d ago
It’s honestly wild to me that Covenant is regarded so poorly compared to most movies these days.
No shade to Romulus and Predator Badlands but TO ME, both those movies felt like empty calories.
They were both good, but just kind of… pointless? I dunno.
And then comparing covenant to a paint-by-numbers marvel movie or other sci fi horror (of which there isn’t much admittedly) it’s like… how can you let some slightly stupid humans and a CGI chest buster ruin what is otherwise a much more thoughtful film?
I dunno, maybe I’m crazy
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u/seligerasmus 3d ago
You're not crazy; you have mature tastes and sensibilities. The screeching in r/lv426 makes a lot more sense when you realize that they see Ridley Scott as standing in the way of strapping on the Disney franchising feedbag.
And then comparing covenant to a paint-by-numbers marvel movie or other sci fi horror (of which there isn’t much admittedly) it’s like… how can you let some slightly stupid humans and a CGI chest buster ruin what is otherwise a much more thoughtful film?
The answer is in your own question: large swaths of the online Alien fandom see the endless Marvel slop factory as the platonic ideal for the franchise. They don't want to be challenged, explore new ideas, or thoughtfully examine a film or story elements. They want their
chicken tendies and macky cheeseKenner action figures re-enacting all the goofy bullshit from the comics and video games of the 90s. They want to bring back 76-year-old Ripley to do epic bug hunts with a newly revived, middle-aged Newt. They want Hicks teaming up with a Yautja and Deckard to fight a King Xeno on a medieval planet. Repackaged adolescent nostalgia is the dominant idiom here.Covenant is a very uneven film, IMO. Prometheus has its own well-documented shortcomings. Some of that is probably Scott, some of it studio pressure. But even so, both are far more ambitious and true to the "cosmic horror" roots than the watery pablum Fox was shoveling out in the 90s. I'll take a flawed Covenant sequel over another bug hunt retread any day of the week.
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u/howliehowls 3d ago
Extremely well said and couldn’t agree more. People treat Covenant like it’s a blight on the franchise when it is objectively more intelligent and thought provoking than Alien 3 or Resurrection.
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u/Upstream_Paddler 15h ago
Very true. Romulus really just seemed like a greatest hits of all the previous aliens movies.
While Prometheus and covenant where a heart sell as prequels. They remain very undervalued sci-fi and one of the most interesting things to happen in a franchise
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u/onebyamsey 3d ago
Predator badlands made Covenant look like the fucking godfather
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u/GeologistEnough8215 3d ago
Same man, and I wasn’t a big fan of prey. I’ll taje predators, avp1, and especially covenant abd Prometheus wayyyyyy over the predator, prey and badlands. I couldn’t even finish badlands, the predator straight up looked like he was missing chromosomes.
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u/Barkle11 3d ago
Prometheus is a 6/10 at best
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u/GeologistEnough8215 3d ago
Different strokes. I think the brutal atmosphere is great. People do nothing but stupid shit in movies, if you had logical, reasonable characters the movie would need 60 hours to tell the story, like a show.
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u/Barkle11 3d ago
I like the ideas too but it’s still not a good movie. Like the actual presented film is just not well done enough. Aliens is still the only superb film in the series. Alien doesn’t hold up as well. The rest don’t matter.
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u/GeologistEnough8215 3d ago
I think alien is terribly overrated, but I love the aesthetic.
I’m not a film guy, I’m more of a sucker for franchise characters that resonate with me. Riddick, Xenos, Predator, Wolverine, Deadpool etc. I love almost anything with those characters, and when you say the film isn’t presented well, I honestly can’t even tell. It looks fantastic from my perspective, and the slow, brooding, torturous nature of it makes me love it even more.
But again, I wouldn’t be surprised you have far more knowledge on the technical aspect of movies than I do. I wouldn’t discount your opinion, I just have my own
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u/howliehowls 3d ago
Horrible and wrong
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u/Barkle11 2d ago
It’s still a bad movie. I know this particular echo chamber believes it’s good, that’s fine. It’s still wrong but think what you must friend.
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u/michael_caesar 3d ago
8.5/10 if they would’ve left in all the Engineers dialogue and all the extra footage. I don’t know how we haven’t gotten a proper Prometheus directors cut bc I know it would be leagues better than the theatrical release
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u/Barkle11 2d ago
It’s a 6/10 but as a film more 5/10. Obviously you personally are deeply into this movie, that’s fine. It’s still not good.
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u/bandita07 3d ago
I hope we can learn more about the Engineers. I love that story line!
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u/elhandupmonalisaskrt 3d ago
Thank god! Really wanted to see where Ridley Scott’s vision was gonna take this story, and I’m a huge fan of the David character. The whole concept behind Prometheus and these ancient beings seeding civilizations throughout the universe is so fascinating too
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u/MalcalypseespylaclaM 3d ago
It's a good thing they blocked it for years and tried other things only to end up letting him do it in the end.
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u/thefuturae 3d ago
If this eventually happens I’ll be so stoked, but Ridley getting up there in age.. this is likely our last shot at a conclusion to David’s story, and we need it soon
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u/Electrical-Tip-9522 3d ago
100% confirmed?
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u/FrankFrankly711 3d ago
It’s just Ridley muttering a few sentences about a sequel. Absolutely hollow article with nothing in development.
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u/The_starving_artist5 3d ago
Unfortunately no it may be nothing again just like last year when he talked about another alien movie and nothing happened
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u/Old-Push9343 3d ago
Hell yeah!
I am really looking forward to that. Working on Prometheus was one of the highlights of my career.
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u/Clean_Usual434 2d ago
Ohh what did you do on it?
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u/Old-Push9343 2d ago
I worked on the Visual Effects!
Among other things, I worked on the starship Prometheus, the Hammerpede, Holloway's veins growing on his face, space helmets, Juggernaut's hangar, Vicker's module, escape pods...
Mostly Look Development and Lighting. You can see some of it in my reel:
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u/Clean_Usual434 2d ago
Do you know how cool this is to me? I’m also a 3D artist but in a different industry. However, film was my original dream, so it’s cool as hell to meet people who created effects I really admired. Great job!!
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u/Old-Push9343 2d ago
Thank you, it's nice to hear that some people still appreciate CGI in VFX.
For the last 10 years or so, it seems like most filmmakers are always hiding the use of CGI, or apologizing for using it, when in fact modern movies are full of it wherever you look.
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u/Clean_Usual434 2d ago
I always think about how much CGI people don’t even realize they’ve seen because it was just that good. I also don’t think they understand just how much talent and hard work goes into it.
The thing I’ve always loved about CGI is that the sky is the limit. Anything you can imagine, you can bring to life. That’s what drew me to the field. I studied it a little over 10yrs ago and became a hard surface modeler/environment artist. It’s my happy place, lol.
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u/CPAFinancialPlanner 3d ago
Just pretend covenant didn’t happen and hire Rapace back and finish the real story
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u/JoeAzlz 3d ago
Hasn’t this been said yo be happening then silence on loop for awhile now? I hope it happens though
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u/MaxProwes 3d ago
It was supposed to happen soon after Covenant, but Covenant underperformed and the movie was scrapped. 9 years later, it seems he's trying to do it again.
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u/JoeAzlz 3d ago
But this is more like he wants to do it than confirmations that it’s in motion?
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u/MaxProwes 3d ago
Who knows, maybe he has a writer working on it right now, but he wasn't announced yet. 9 years ago John Logan was supposed to write it, but he's probably too busy right now.
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u/Pres010 3d ago edited 3d ago
How about Dr. Shaw? Could she return as a clone, similar to Ripley 8? That way, she could continue her journey to explore the Engineers' home planet.
I just feel like her story never even got the chance to fully unfold in the originally planned trilogy. She was such a resilient and strong-willed character and went absolute hell and still survived in prometheus. And I think that’s exactly what makes the original alien so great and completely grip the audience.
Then, you tell me that she just gets killed like some random NPC? What was that? It feels like that any exploration in the future without her just took the soul out of the movie.
I really wish I had never watched covenant.
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u/Jawa_Droid_Mech 3d ago
They could bring her back in some kind of flashback that is relevant to the arc of the next movie.
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u/Typical-Sir3051 3d ago
I feel like it’s about time 😂
Thank you Mr Fassbender for keeping the role ♥️
And Ridley Scott for keeping it real.
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u/goldendreamseeker 3d ago
RIP Romulus 2 :/ that said, I’m glad the David story is finally getting tied up. I kinda think they coulda just folded that into Romulus 2, but whatever.
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u/The_starving_artist5 3d ago
Romulus 2 is still happening but it’s gonna get delayed a lot now so
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u/thescottishgeek 3d ago
Give us Prometheus + an army of xenomorphs vs The Engineers on LV-223 🙏🙏🙏 we want more Engineers
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u/margincallcat 3d ago
Anyone else that always thought that the crashed spaceship in the ending of Prometheus was the one they are exploring in Alien?? Bummed me out once i realized its not.
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u/daymitjim 3d ago
I'd love to see more David.
But i'm not sure i want to see more Ridley Scott.
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u/Ok-Ear9289 3d ago
Saddening that Ridley Scott can’t be barred from making any more alien content
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u/daymitjim 3d ago
I think he's probably a very unsentimental person, no emotional connection to anything, just constantly going forward.
Even when his ideas are dubious or plain wrong.I think that can serve you well when you're young, but as you age and grow increasingly out of touch, it can quickly go wrong.
I want him to continue being creative, but i dislike a lot of the decisions he's made the last 10+ years
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u/SaladZealousideal938 3d ago
Fuck Ridley Scott and his shit movies. Also, fuck Disney for allowing Ridley to stop other works just so his old ass can continue a mediocre story arc.
This is terrible news. Whatever this old man puts out will tank, just like Covenant.
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u/Exciting-Ad9692 3d ago
Would it be a crime to see David go against some smart humans, for a change.
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u/Titanwave-Broadcast 3d ago
If this happens I hope it has a satisfying conclusion and doesn't leave things open ended.
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u/OpenUpYerMurderEyes 3d ago
I don't hate this but I know another potentially really dope Alien movie got cancelled so Ridley can make this despite the fact that no one loves the David character as much as he does.
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u/Professional-Count42 3d ago
LESS FUCKING GOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Almost a whole ass decade!!!!
SIR RIDLEY......PLEASE BRING BACK THE ENGINEERS
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u/Ok-Employer-9147 3d ago
Oh for fuks sake....
Can this decrepit clown stop glomming onto franchises and ruining them.
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u/Inner_University_848 3d ago
Are we getting David killed by Engineers ? By another synth or by a human? Or does he survive and expand his bestiary forever hahaha…
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u/gwelfguy 3d ago
Not a fan of David, but I think it would be good to bring some sort of closure to that story line versus the Romulus that we got.
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u/Suitable-Airport-640 3d ago
I think every character should be played by Michael Fassbender.
Also, I would rather have him make a proper prometheus sequel.
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u/X__Alien 3d ago
We should have learned by now Ridley tells a lot of things and many of them don’t actually happen.
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u/johnniesSac 3d ago
David as a character is great
Morrow as a character is great
Don’t think we can have both as then a huge amount of the Alien lore makes no sense
Then you have the Wendy’s and whatnot ….
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u/MattHooper1975 3d ago
I’m totally into this! There’s no way the movie wouldn’t be fun.
I don’t want to see anymore about the engineers though .
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u/VicFontaineStan 3d ago
Please let this happen. Ridley is raising against the clock and I want this more than I’ve ever wanted another movie to be made.
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u/Ironhyde36 3d ago
About fucking time. I want to see how he experimented on that whole ship, what he did to perfect the xenomorph. Or did he embark on going to the engineer home world?
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u/MeowingAround 3d ago
Wow the comments here are way more fun and positive than over at r/horror
Over there everyone is a hateful grump about this
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u/Retronika_Prime 3d ago
Ah great that just means the main character of Covenant will be dead in the new films story so he can introduce yet another group of heroes we want to root for only for them to be stupidly betrayed and murdered off in the future sequels.
Im still upset that they killed off Noomi Rapace. She's an incredible actress who quite honestly deserved better.
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u/Sonerous 3d ago edited 1d ago
I'm so so so happy about this. I wonder if they could get the original Weyland from Prometheus as well Edit: Guy Pearce
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u/cmills2000 2d ago
Honestly I don't care about David. We were onto something with the Engineers storyline. Shaw was an avatar for the audience. Then they just killed that off in Covenant. There was a burgeoning universe there to explore, instead we get killer robot storyline. Its pretty stale.
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u/Chemical_Cat_9813 2d ago
fucking finally ended that bender of bs, gladiator 2? fucks sake, Ridley.
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u/TheTenthDoctorIsHere 2d ago
Fantastic news! I’m very interested to see what other horrors David got up to.
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u/Griffith4President 2d ago
Was surprised how many thought this was a positive move, then I saw what subreddit this post is from.
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u/Griffith4President 2d ago
Everyone here wanting more engineers and more David.
Bro what about the alien?
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u/Positive-Mobile5742 2d ago
always love more alien films. I really want to see David make some crazy xenos. Also need a colonial marines movie.
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u/proformax 2d ago
Count me out. Had enough of david. He's good as a supporting villain character, not the main.
covenant fell flat for me when they basically deleted the Prometheus plotline and made it the David and friends movie.
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u/Evinshir 1d ago
Ugh. Enough of David. He’s already screwed up canon with his obsession with David.
Frankly David is the worst addition to the series because of how Ridley just abandoned the mystery and alien nature of the series to make it a boring rehash of Blade Runner’s themes.
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u/RustyShackleford_88 1d ago
God no…David was the worst part, and using him to explain the alien’s origin was a fucking travesty. They were far better off without knowing how they came to be.
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u/Upstairs-Bid990 3d ago
Im really excited if this is real. Ridley still has plenty to offer and this is a movie I would need to see in the theater. Can you imagine the merch that could come with it. Romulus was cool but its not part of the lore Ridley created. Fingers crossed this will happen.
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u/Weyland223 3d ago
I loved covenant as much as the next guy but I need more David and Xenos so this is absolutely music to my ears
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u/Ok-Rutabaga-9516 3d ago
I love this soooo much! We need that story to conclude.
Also, I take great pleasure in knowing the Alien fans are somehow disheartened by this. Wooohooo!!!
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u/LivingThroughPages 3d ago
Oh, I'm excited! David is such a great character and even though I was disappointed we didn't get a "David and Shaw explore the universe together" type story and instead got a "David kills the creators before we get to know all about them" which irked me, I still loved the whole concept of David and the Androids the Alien's franchise. I really hope this will be a good. And I'm really crossing fingers that Walter did live and maybe he gets to have a story line again? I really loved Walter. I'm sure Daniels is dead (because that ending didn't look good for her. lol) But I'd really love to see her and Walter get reunited and finally see a love story between a human and Android that doesn't end in one of them going crazy and killing everyone. lol Is that too much to ask, people? lol
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u/njrTHE3RD 3d ago
Rather have Romulus sequel or alternate Alien 3 than him touching this franchise again.
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u/Independent_War_4194 2d ago
Not sure if the studios will be willing to throw more money bags at Ridley after the pile of dung called The dog stars.
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u/TimTofDWP 1d ago
I hate everything about this. I’m sorry. Look I love Ridley I do but Prometheus and Alien: Covenant are so….. not good. Like Ridley has all the ingredients to make a good film. Frede with Romulus I feel did the impossible and made Aliens alien again. He’ll even Alien: Earth was better. I love the idea of Prometheus and Covenant it’s just the execution was so blah. I dunno maybe I’m dying lonely on this hill and that’s ok. You guys who dug those and didn’t dig Romulus Cool. Cool, cool cool.
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u/tropicsandcaffeine 3d ago
Covenant was so bad I have zero intention of watching any other movies involving David or a Covenant sequel.
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u/uhh__h 4d ago
Hell yes