SPOILERS: ALIEN: COVENANT - 10 Awesome Easter Eggs You May Have Missed
Alien: Covenant is now in theaters and it probably won't surprise you to learn it's packed full of amazing Easter Eggs, references, and cameos. Here are the ten biggest and hardest to find...
Alien: Covenant is undeniably disappointing when it comes to living up to both the first two movies and providing answers to the questions raised by Prometheus, but it's possible to have fun with it.
You can ready my review by clicking here, but regardless of what you or I think of the movie's quality, it's almost worth watching for the Easter Eggs alone. There are references to previous instalments, not to mention Scott's other work and even the Harry Potter franchise in a very strange and unusual manner. Throw in cameos and the surprise return of Prometheus characters and it's pretty full!
What you'll find here then is an in-depth look at Alien: Covenant's biggest and best Easter Eggs. Whether you've seen the movie or not, you're going to want to have a read through of this to see what you need to keep an eye out for and for at least some answers about the franchise's mysteries.
10. "That's The Spirit!"
Alien: Covenant's main fight scene takes place between the two androids David and Walter, but before that, we see the former briefly throw Daniels around as he explains that he intends to do some pretty horrible thing to her. In a desperate bid to protect herself, she jams a nail that hangs around her neck (a reminder of her husband following his demise at the start of the movie) into his jaw and David replies with a mocking, "That's the spirit!"
Sound familiar? In Blade Runner, Deckard and Batty had a pretty similar battle, but when the former hits the villain with a metal pipe to no avail, he's met with the same line in a similarly creepy and taunting manner. This is a fun call back to that sci-fi classic and a nice nod to the fact that Daniels is also facing someone who is pretty much invulnerable.
9. The Gruesome Fate Of Elizabeth Shaw
Elizabeth Shaw was arguably the best of a bad bunch of human characters in Prometheus, so the conflicting reports about her involvement with Alien: Covenant were frustrating to say the least. Annoyingly, this movie offers very little in the way of answers about what happened when she and David landed on the home of the Engineers or how she was able to repair him, but the android claims that she died when they crashed.
However, a little later on in the movie we learn that he killed and dissected her, likely using her genetic material to help him perfect the Xenomorphs he created. Her body is shown only briefly, but we see that it's been completely torn apart and almost left on display in a very macabre way. It's not a particularly satisfying ending for the character, but definitely a definitive one.
8. Paradise Lost
Before it was titled Alien: Covenant, you may recall that this Prometheus follow-up was known as Alien: Paradise Lost. The reason for this change likely stems from the fact that Scott decided to have this series named after the ships which appear in each instalment, but Paradise Lost definitely would have worked given some of the references here.
Taken from Milton's classic poem about Lucifer's fall from Heaven, David later references that when he asked Walter whether he would rather serve in Heaven or reign in Hell (which is obviously what Lucifer chose). Walter does the same thing when he betrays Daniels and the rest of the crew by letting David take his place in a twist you'll probably see coming from a mile off. The theme of religion is prevalent throughout Alien: Covenant, but this definitely explains why that original title was chosen.
7. Guy Pearce Returns As Peter Weyland
Guy Pearce had a small but key role in Prometheus but makes a surprise return here in the movie's opening few minutes. His uncredited cameo consists of him activating David and explains why the android despises humanity. After choosing his name because of the statue of Michaelangelo's David in Weyland's office, David questions his creator about the fact he will live on even after Peter dies, something which makes him wonder why he should be subservient to humanity.
However, a clearly uncomfortable Peter orders his android to serve him tea, an attempt to make it known that he is the one in charge. It's a strong opening and one we get a callback to later on when we see one of the Engineer's corpses posed in the exact same manner as the statue in David's makeshift laboratory.
6. The Weird Story Behind Daniels' Hair
Katherine Waterston's Daniels rocks a pretty unusual (and unflattering) hairstyle in Alien: Covenant, but there's a surprising story behind that. The actress has revealed that she auditioned for the movie while shooting Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and after seeing the wig worn by Ezra Miller - who also put her on video for this tryout - she decided to don that instead.
"I had a bob for Fantastic Beasts and I was still shooting that when I got this job. When I got (this job), I saw a wig with Ezra's hairdo one night and said, 'Can I just try that on for a second?', and took a bunch of pictures and convinced Ridley to let me do it for the film." It's a look which works for the character and just goes to show that there's sometimes a lot more thought put into things like this than it just being a random decision or the idea of one of many concept artists.
5. Alien Vision
If you're a fan of the Predator franchise, you'll know that we've got to see the action from their perspective many times in the past. While the Xenomorphs may have crossed paths with them in the critically panned Alien vs. Predator movies, Alien: Covenant offers up a look at things from their point of view for the first time ever as we follow one of the monstrous aliens stalks the corridors hunting down Daniels and Tenessee.
This may be a nod to the Predator movies or just something Scott decided he wanted to explore for the first time, but it's an interesting visual especially as it differs so much to the Predator vision we've grown used to. This is a little odd as the Xenomorphs appear to have no eyes, but the clear way they see things helps add tension to this sequence and is something it would be good to see more of.
4. James Franco's Cameo
When it was revealed that James Franco had landed a secret role in Alien: Covenant, it's fair to say that we were all excited about what the Spider-Man and 11.22.63 star would bring to the table. As it turns out, it's nothing. Of course, we found out a while ago during the movie's viral marketing that he had been cast as the Captain of the Covenant, but the fact he was killed off within seconds of appearing is shocking, to say the least.
You can barely even tell it's Franco when his Hypersleep Chamber bursts into flames and roasts him and the penny only actually drops when Daniels watches a video of her video leaving her a message. That adds pretty much nothing to her story arc, but his death does at least explain why the crew ends up on the planet David is now calling home where he has created the Xenomorphs.
3. Ridley Scott's Favourite Easter Egg
Ridley Scott has mentioned that he's come up with an Easter Egg which runs through a number of his movies, and that is believed to be a warning signal which has indeed shown up in at least three of them. "I've used something that's shown in Alien, Blade Runner, Prometheus," the filmmaker confirms. "It's an emergency signal on the screens, which is fundamentally a screen with a big orange cross. It's in Covenant. It's in Prometheus. It's in Blade Runner. It's on the take-off when it lifts off the ground."
It's a hard to spot Easter Egg, but one which connects these worlds in a pretty significant manner and it will be fun to see if it's used again in whatever follows Alien: Covenant and even the upcoming Blade Runner 2049. Either way, Scott has said this is his favourite, so it's a good one to look out for.
2. David And Walter
The prevailing fan theory is that the androids in the Alien franchise have been named alphabetically (Ash, Bishop, Call, David). However, Alien: Covenant pretty much throws that out of the window by having Michal Fassbender's updated model here being called Walter. So, what's up with the names? Well, in the case of these two it boils down to the fact that they've been named after the franchise's producers. David is a tribute to David Giler, while Walter is named for Walter Hill.
Talking of tributes, there are plenty of nods to the work of H.R. Giger when we visit David's makeshift laboratory as the walls are adorned with imagery which will instantly remind you of the artist's work not just for the Alien franchise, but his entire library. Even the way Shaw's body is displayed should make you think back to his artwork.
1. The Drinking Bird
If this little nicknack looks familiar, there's a very good reason for that. Since first appearing in Alien way back in 1979, they've become a staple of the franchise. There's one in Aliens, one in the workprint version of Alien 3, and even one in Alien: Isolation. Prometheus didn't include a drinking bird, but Scott - or a sneaky set designer who also happens to be a bit of a fanboy - decided to include it here.
This isn't the only callback to Alien, though. The computer aboard the Covenant is called Mother or MU/TH/UR. Despite the fact that this movie is set forty years before the original, both computers share the same name, a sign perhaps that it could be the same system that was aboard the Nostromo. Whether or not that has any significance remains to be seen, but it's probably quite unlikely.
Which of these was your favourite Alien: Covenant Easter Egg? Have we missed any others worth talking about? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below.