In defence of alien covenant...

Ali81: That is understandable, it was too much about David. The next one will probably be good visually but I expect nothing as far as the characters are concerned although I hope that they will be better.

Hopefully they will keep some mystery about the derelict, that would be nice.

Thoughts_Dreams I have mixed feelings about David. AC went away from where I would have liked things to go but was also the mysterious creepiness that was intriguing and was enjoyable. 

The derelict should remain a mystery. Explaining everything about it would likely invite fans arguing why and how the explanation doesn't make sense. Besides, things can never be explained enough for some.

Hopefully the movie will return to the Alien vibe in that there is a small crew, we actually see less gore and if/when characters die those deaths mean something and carry some weight- instead of someone getting clipped in the jaw by a neo tail in a quarter of a second during a fast, chaotic panic scene. Also, some scenes with very little dialog could work. Sometimes showing the environment and exploration can do all the talking by itself.

A very entertaining treatise on the movie. I think he is very good at articulating the positive view of the movie without at all investing it with far more weight and significance than is justified, put simply he does not project on to it more than is justified.

The two elephants in the room are :-

1) He dismisses Prometheus for all the reasons I to know it is weak but equally ignores why it is entirely wonderful.

2) In reverse he entirely ignores the main critique of Alien Covenant which it reduces the mythos and the story and the wonderful investment made in the mythos and Elizabeth Shaw in Prometheus.

For David to be the space jockey and Weyland-Yutani having been taken over in the intervening years by A I is a limiting view.

For the Engineers to be discovered as offering a mechanical view of creation who suffered a Paradise Lost which W-Y, taken over by a sub created mechanical construct, were trying to control and fail, but where only the greatest elements of mankind's qualities which involve the gift of christ like sacrifice can overcome would have been an astonishingly large canvas in which to place the Xenomorph making it greater and more significant than some wet dream of a robot.

To begin with the acolyte sacrifice which kickstarted, the sacrifice of the pilot and finish with Ellen Ripley sacrifice all of which entwine the notion of mechanical creation and the transcendent quality of soul would have been extra ordinary.

Ridley is taking the ALIEN series and making it the poor mans Bladerunner.            

After 4 years, I find myself liking Alien: Covenant more and more. Those that said it would grow on us over time were absolutely right.

I think the Problem for me is that the CHANGE of a PLOT to make the Sequels to Prometheus become a Prequel that will EVENTUALLY arrive to the Derelict as far as WHEN/HOW/WHY.

And more so they FELT to HOW do you have a Sequel with ONLY a single HUMAN.... so they had the NEED to give us the Covenant Colony Mission and as we are 17-18 Years prior to ALIEN then this meant a LOT had to be Sacrificed as FAR as Screen Time to the Engineers, Dr Shaw and Ultimately the Xenomorph too.

Things had to be MOVED at a Fast Pace, where Character Development had Suffered and Accelerated Xenomorph Life-Cycle was Needed.

When you look at the PLOT A-Z of the Movie then i dont think its so BAD, the David Creator does make Sense when you look at the THEMES of Prometheus.... 

But the PLOT A-Z is something that when your FORCED to try and make it near 2 Hours instead of 3 Hours then you have to CUT CORNERS, and THROW AWAY some Stuff and you cant have Detailed/Lengthy Scenes to SLOW the Pace Down.

As soon as ROSEY when to Clean her Wounds.... and we saw the Neomorph then KILL her..

The Movie went into FAST FORWARDS MODE!

If they had it that ORAM did not Chest Burst, but awoken and could NOT remember what Happened and he was Dragged Out to be Rescued....  with the 2ND Neomorph being the ONE that would KILL Crew Member Cole.

And Oram would be shown to Chest Burst on the Covenant and we had a extra 30-40 Min Running Time then i think the Movie would have been Improved a Little.

I agree, some extra screen time would have been preferable. But what's done is done. It's still a great movie.

Like the reviewer, I'd dearly love to see the awful mess that David creates on his new world.

I think with the aftermath of Prometheus it seemed that FOX had Considered that maybe to make the Emphasis of the Prequels to NOT be about Xenomorphs or Ultimately give us the EVENTS that led to the Derelict on LV-426 was maybe a MISTAKE!

But some Fans were Perfectly Fine that we NEVER had those Answered in Prometheus and i am sure some were Looking Forwards to what does David do when he is FREE and WHAT KIND of beings they Discover and WILL we see Dr Shaw get her Answers?

The Problem that FOX had was how does Dr Shaw be able to Communicate with these Engineers or whoever, what HAPPENS to HER would depend on HOW they would React to her and David turning up, and well some Fans could NOT connect with a Android and some Fans could NOT connect with Dr Shaws Character and then its a case of are they ENOUGH and would they Connect with Engineers?

So you NEED more Humans, and also if they was going to Introduce the Xenomorph and eventually get to ALIEN then thats WHY making the PLOT and Location of Planet 4 be somewhere CLOSE was just Convenient.   But this came at the SACRIFICE of what some Prometheus Fans would EXPECT with a Sequel, while Alien Covenant also DID-NOT please the Fans of the BEAST... the Xenomorph as the Emphasis was on David and having him as Creator was WELL..... lets say  SACRILEGIOUS to the Fandom in General.

But IF they had some Decent Writers and BALLS! they could have Pulled something off that would have WORKED!  We could have had a SPIN-OFF thats SET FAR FAR AWAY!

I have Pitched this Idea a few times, it is what my Prometheus 3 idea would have been about (My Prometheus 2 was set on Earth).

so PARADISE is basically the Cradle of Creation its where MANKIND was Created, its also Considered a Place that ONLY the Worthy, Loyal and Honorable are Permitted to stay....  Hence WHY our Ancestors Adam and Eve were KICKED OUT of PARADISE.

So you have this WORLD that is what 10'000, 20'000 maybe up to 50'000 Light Years from Earth.  There is NO-WAY that Humans with our Technology would have Ventured to this PLACE by the Time we even FINISHED with ALIENS.

This WORLD has a CITY thats Basically the same as in Alien Covenant, with a Central Temple and a Courtyard with Hangers etc. We may see a LITTLE more of the Prometheus Aesthetic but it should NOT be too much Different to Planet 4. Beyond this Central Point of the City are Smaller Areas each with a Smaller Central Building, and the ENTIRE group of Towns/Villages that Connect to a CENTRAL CITY are Surrounded by some kind of WALL.

Who LIVES on this World?

We have Engineers and they could be more like the Planet 4 kind just Taller and more Pale Skinned.... This is the World that they DWELL and where they would KEEP/TAKE various Species that they have Created and are Pleased with but ONLY in Small Numbers...

Among these are HUMANS... you can have it that Humans are Seeded in more Worlds than Earth, but the Humans on Earth had became Unworthy of the Engineers attention and Knowledge and after a FAILED attempt to Destroy us, they had Abandoned the LV-223 Outpost, they had Abandoned Earth, leaving us to ROT and Destroy Ourselves!

These Engineers being so Naive that they THOUGHT without the HELP of their Knowledge then Worlds they Seed/Visit will REMAIN at the TECHNOLOGY LEVEL that they allowed (Level we are at 2000+ Years ago) and so they ASSUMED that on our OWN we would NEVER be able to Master Space Travel and are NO THREAT!

HOW DOES.... Dr Shaw speak with these beings?

EASY... During a Period of where Dr Shaw is BUILDING UP some Trust with David before she Re-attaches him, he could TEACH her a LITTLE of the Engineers Language.

But DAVID would be doing MOST of the Talking, but you then have ONE of the Elders go up to Dr Shaw and Place his Hands on her Head and be able to some how READ her Mind/Soul and see she is GOOD OF HEART... the Engineer is able to Speak with her Mind and Read it.... and he then is able to IMPLANT the Knowledge of their Language to her.

FROM this Point you dont NEED any Subtitles, we hear Dr Shaw and the Engineers and other Humans etc all Speak English just for our Convenience.

The ELDER attempts to Read David but he CANT... he then Discovers what David is and is Concerned as he NOT ONLY cant Read his Mind/Intentions but also KNOWS of the RISK of Sub-Creating a Superior Form or Service Race as THEY had done that  with the LV-223 Engineers, but some of them BEGAN to see themselves as Superior to the ELDERS and their Creations... these LV-223 Engineers were Tasked with Certain Tasks, they was also GIVEN the TASK of Taking the Black Goo to RESET WORLDS.... but those on LV-223 had decided to CREATE something with it instead... they INTENDED to USE this Horror to RULE the Galaxy but they was STOPPED and they had 3 Ships they had intended to USE to Begin their Conquest, ONE had been Destroyed... ONE had made it to a World and Afflicted Horrors on it, this World is Abandoned and the FINAL SHIP had Crashed Near the PLACE they had Created such a thing.

Dr Shaw informs them of LV-223 and they said the PLACE should be Secure as they left some Guardians on that Moon... and they have since Abandoned that Outpost but use others for Genetically Evolving Species but they decided to NO-LONGER do this.  And they just take down Chosen Humanoids to NEW Worlds to Begin Colonization instead of Sacrificing them for their DNA to Evolve Worlds, they FELT they had Achieved as GOOD a Perfection with their Creations and that those they had Created more PERFECT proved to be Problematic.

We get to a Point that the Elders find out about David and what he had done, and DECIDE that he is to be Imprisoned while they Decide what to do, they have a MEETING and Decide to Destroy him.

One of the ELDERS goes to him and says he sees PERFECTION in David and that he had Engineered the LV-223 Engineers but his BROTHERS had decided to UNDO them apart from a Few Loyal Super Engineers..... this Elder thinks the Council has Gone Soft.... and he Frees David, and David asks about the HORROR that they Created on LV-223 the Elder says he can SHOW HOW they achieved this but ONLY if David would RID the World of those Weak/Feeble Engineers.  This Elder says he was Youngest of the Council he had a TWIN who they had Punished for using the Creation Tool in a way they Council had NOT Sanctioned.   He says the Elders had been on the Verge of Immortality at a COST and they Turned their Back on it..... and that HE could NOT go and KILL the LEADER... but if their Council was DESTROYED at the Hands of David then this Younger Elder would RULE and then he would SHOW to David as to HOW they can Rebuild a Superior Engineer Species.

A Group of Engineers take David away, and David goes to get Dr Shaw, we have a Fight Break Out....  Dr Shaw refuses to go with David so he Kidnaps her and makes his way to the Juggernaught and Unleashes Hell on the World.

They meet up with another Ship that has the Renegade Engineers and the Young Elder informs David about in order to Create the Horror they NEED a Human Female but David is NOT so keen to Sacrifice Dr Shaw.

There is more to it than this but this is kind of the NUTS/BOLTS we see Horrors Unleashed on Paradise, the Sequel we would see David go to a Place with the Renegade Engineers, but he Double Crosses them... begins to Create his OWN Horrors... Sparing Dr Shaw and saying with her he can Create a New Humanity that are Superior... but she Rejects, and she is KILLED he attempts to Create a New Horror but it has Problems... but he knows he is CLOSE. He takes his Ship to ONE of the Worlds the Engineers have Humans and David wishes to Destroy them and Subject/Use them to Create his OWN kind of Humanoid.  Another Engineer Ship arrives to what is LEFT of Paradise, and Discovers a few Survivors, they Leave to Find where David and the Renegades have gone, they are Sworn to Destroy him and the Renegades and Prevent them from Destroying all they had Created,  One Elder asks what about the other THREAT?

EARTH, they say they will DEAL with Earth Once they have Ridden the Scourge that is David and the Renegade Engineers and their Horrors.

We would see David go and Create something SIMILAR to the Xenomorph and by seeing HOW we would get CLUES to HOW the Original came to be.  Now there was about 3 Variants of this kind of Idea that Differ to Degree... but it SHOWS you can go FAR FAR AWAY from Earth, and have HUMANS and get Past the Language Barrier.

But whats DONE is DONE....

The Problem NOW is that we have Painted ourselves into a Corner...

You would think that David would USE the Colonist to MASS PRODUCE the Xenomorph, but then he has to FIND a way to Deploy them.... The Covenant would be EASY PICKINGS for a Engineer Ship or Human Military.  There would be LITTLE Reason to go to Origae-6 he would be better off going to LV-223 and to take some Humans with him... then USE that Ship to go somewhere to Conduct his Experiments.

The Problem is that some Fans would NOT want to see a Emphasis again on David, and you would NEED to see some Humans and also they would NOT want to see David have anything more to do with the Xenomorph, and Reveal that NOPE he could NOT have Created it.

What LITTLE we know about the Sequel was that it would NOT be about Xenomorphs it would be about WHERE it is that David goes NEXT and WHAT KIND of WORLD he would Create....  Daniels had asked to who she THOUGHT was Walter about WHAT KIND OF WORLD can they Build.... he said "if we are KIND it will be a KIND World" and so i DONT think we are on a Path where David is purely going to Create Horrors... but Creation is the THEME.

I suspect it will Follow the THEME of Creation, and David had showed he can PERFECT the Horror the Engineers had attempted on LV-223 and i SUSPECT that NOW that David wants to Create his LAMBS and will EVOLVE the Embryos into a NEW Humanoid Species.

But i dont think we will EVER find out what was NEXT.

There was to be 3/4 Incoming Players/Parties with the Engineers the ONLY one he had Confirmed... i would say they are ONE and i would say THREE/FOUR have to be Similar and so that would be HUMANS... and NUMBER TWO?  Maybe that would be the Civilization that David would ATTEMPT to Create?

A couple of things we know about David, for sure, as he was being very candid with Walter just prior to attacking him:

1. He thinks he's already created perfection, in the form of his engineered creature.
2. He can't allow humanity to grasp for resurrection.

So it's clearly foremost in his mind that he wants to wipe out humans. A good way of achieving that would be through a xenomorph army. If I was as twisted as he, I'd
- put Daniels' body to some nefarious use, so she can't blab
- Land the colonists on Origae-6
- Let the colony grow
- Infect the colony
- Send out lies over the ether to attract other ships from Earth
- Let the visitors spread the infection throughout the galaxy

Of course, we know things don't quite work out that way, and an Engineer ship (complete with pilot) gets infected. Perhaps David gets up to his evil tricks, but an Engineer ship lands on Origae-6...

Certainly we got the Impression that David felt that Mankind and the Engineers did-not deserve to Live.  He seemed VERY interested in his Creation, even thinking they could RULE the Galaxy.

So when he saw that the Covenant had Thousands of Good Souls, then INDEED they could be USED as Hosts for his Army of Xenomorphs. 

However if this was his PLAN then i am not sure he would even NEED to have a Colony Set-up.  The ONLY point in having a Colony looking like its SET-UP would be to BAIT more Humans to arrive as they would see what seems to be a Colony Set Up, as it would look STRANGE if say Origae-6 just had the Covenant landed down with NO SIGNS of any Colony Set-up that would appear Suspicious.

The Xenomorph as a Weapon is FLAWED due to HOW it requires a HOST, so Deployment would be Difficult we also dont know HOW-LONG a Xenomorph would Survive for, and IF they Lived for a LONG TIME the Problem is having say Thousands of Them on Origae-6 and then Safely getting them onto a SHIP to Transport.  However Transporting Eggs may be Easier... but then its Deploying them close to where Humans would get Infected.

A Engineer Ship would Certainly have to come into PLAY and so i dont think David would take the Covenant Directly to LV-223/LV-426 and i think it would be a MASSIVE COINCIDENCE if Origae-6 was a Engineer World or had a Engineer Ship.

So it would be LIKELY and Ridley Scott indicated as such that a ENGINEER SHIP would arrive at where David is going (have to Assume Origae-6) its a Question of HOW would they know WHERE to Find Him?

Regarding Daniels then maybe YES he has Plans for her to become his Queen of Sorts...

HOWEVER............ looking into what Ridley Scott had said at the Time after Alien Covenant he had indicated the MOVIE would NOT be about Xenomorphs, he said it would be about A.I and what KIND of a World would David Create!

He had said this a Few Times and the One Time he went on to talk about A.I and said that the Replicants from Blade Runner are A.I and so in that CONTEXT it appears that Ridley Scott is NOT looking at A.I as being ROBOTS... well Synthetic but that A.I can be Biological, and so what he is LIKELY looking at is A.I as merely a Intelligent Being/Species that are Artificially Created or Engineered.

And so it seems Implied we would be mainly looking at WHAT it is that David would WANT to Create Next. It will NOT be about Xenomorphs, and it will be some kind of Artificial Creation (so NOT a Natural Creation).  And so to me WHAT stands out is those Embryo's and i think that David may ATTEMPT to use them to Create Something or Engineer them to Evolve them into something that is NOT a Human but is NOT a Xenomorph.

I notice that What Culture give AV the distinction of having the worst CGI effects in a sci-fi movie. I have to take issue with that, because the big boy looks ok for the most part. It was a brave move of Ridley to feature the monster in daylight.

The got the worst part wrong. That was when the beast decided to slip down from one deck to another. It made the dorsal projections look kind of flimsy.

Well the CGI for me was NOT that Bad.... it looked Sub-Par with the Xenomorph on the Covenant in some SHOTS (some of them Dropped) and the Neomorph when we saw it OPEN its Mouth to Bite Roseys Head Off.

"1. He thinks he's already created perfection, in the form of his engineered creature.
2. He can't allow humanity to grasp for resurrection.

So it's clearly foremost in his mind that he wants to wipe out humans. A good way of achieving that would be through a xenomorph army."

I think Hox i will address this Comment as INDEED you are Correct, but what is a Problem is the ADVENT Message....

For David to have this Agenda then he would be FOOLISH to even Contact the Company at all, apart from the END of AC when as Walter he informs them about the Loss of All but TWO Crew due to the Solar Storm Incident and that they are Continuing with the Journey to Origae-6.

The BEST Place that David could Continue with his Experiments to MASS PRODUCE the Xenomorph would be to STAY on Planet 4..... but IF he was to LAND the Covenant on Planet 4 its UNLIKELY the Ship would be able to LEAVE and we have to ASSUME any Engineer Ships are STRANDED... so thats a NO-GO.  Also maybe the Company can Track where the Covenant is and so if they Detect down the LINE it has remained near Planet 4 they may SEND OUT a Ship to Investigate.

so for David the BEST OPTION is to go to LV-223 where he can Experiment and MASS PRODUCE the Xenomorph, the ONLY Problem he would have is IF the Company detect the Covenant has moved to the Zeta 2 System, they could SEND OUT a Ship to Intercept.  Unless David disables any Transponder and makes NO FURTHER Communications, but maybe the Company after a WHILE may find it Suspicious that the Covenant has Disappeared off the RADAR.

Maybe David knows the Companies Science Department and Military would become Curious to what David has Created?  The Advent Message would BAIT them to go to Planet 4 likely, where IF they survive any Neomorphs, and if they survive the Xenomorphs and attempt to take Samples back, then SHOULD they get to Earth then it could be BIG TROUBLE.

They Company may also investigate LV-223 where again they may NOT SURVIVE but if they did and brought back the Pathogen then a Outbreak could Happen and cause Havoc or Chaos from any Experiments the Company Conduct.

By the TIME the company get the ADVENT Message the Covenant would have a HEAD START towards Origae-6 and it could be that by the TIME that David has Landed on Origae-6 he could have 2-3 Years before anyone else ARRIVES.

This maybe could give him TIME to Produce a Army of Xenomorphs, but then its HOW does he get these to Conquer the Galaxy?

Would he BARTER with the Company saying they are Secure and Arrange them to be taken on Ships to Earth?   If he wishes to HIJACK those Ships himself they he would NOT be able to do so on his OWN.

He would likely have to Program/Influence more Synthetics, or Create some NEW Species from those Embryos and have THEM believe he is their Creator/Father and GOD and WARN them that others will come ONE DAY to Destroy them, so that DAVID can then get the AID of them to Help Hijack any Human Ships and LOAD the Deadly Cargo.

But as we are going to ALIEN then the Engineers will RETURN and somehow ONE of their Ships will have those EGGS on it and END-UP on LV-426.

Do they OBTAIN the Eggs from Planet 4 but there are NOT Thousands but they could take them to LV-223 to MASS-PRODUCE.

Do they OBTAIN them from Origae-6 but then its HOW do they know thats where David would be?

The MOST LAZY kind of Plot Convenience would be that Origae-6 is a World the Engineers either Visit or have a Outpost and so this World has Engineer Ships in a Hanger... this would be SUPER LAZY Writing though.

What better way for David to pique the interest of the Company than by telling them of the incredible advances he's been making in genetic engineering. The Advent message does give a clear warning (to the Company) that David wants his creations to rule the Galaxy. That would be like a red rag to a bull to the Company's bio-weapons division and would surely lure them to him. This is a big deal. The Company knows where he's going, with a large retinue of colonists, and they know he's intent on letting loose his creations. We, the viewers, know he wants to use Daniels to create an Alien Queen, but he says it rather cryptically, and the Company wouldn't know exactly what this means.

I think hubris would let the Company down. Despite developments being a big deal, they would be over-confident of containing the situation (a repeated theme) and send an ill-equipped fleet to sort David out. This could well be exactly what David wants: to take advantage of such a fleet, who would beat a hasty retreat, thus spreading the infection.

Of course, we know that at some point an Engineer ship complete with Engineer pilot and thousands of eggs comes to the fray. There are plenty of different ways that could come about. One possibility I entertain is that the Juggernaut ships are in a sense "alive", a form of bio-mechanical engineering, and in communication with their Engineer handlers. Thus, an Engineer outpost could easily be primed to come looking for its hijacked ship. Engineers finding Origae-6 seething with new engineered lifeforms, unfortunate colonists, a megalomaniac robot, and hopelessly out-of-depth Company die-hards could make for an incredible mix. The Engineer vigilantes would be overwhelmed and make a futile attempt at escape, ending up on LV-426.

Many other possibilities, of course.

Certainly i think as FAR as David goes, he must have some Confidence that he can Create a Horde of his WOLVES and that he feels that Mankind would NOT be able to Control them ONCE they are UNLEASHED....  I think that it would make sense if the Company Investigate LV-223 and Planet 4 but YES they would know that David is going to Origae-6 and they would LIKELY send a Ship to Intercept him there.

The ONLY Problem for David is that his WOLF would need to be Transported and Contained, if the Company would take say a Handful of Eggs and they GOT out of Control then the Ship would become a Drifting Space Hulk but if this is on a Auto-Pilot then the Cargo would eventually Reach the Core Systems.

Should a SHIP go and arrive at Origae-6 and Encounter the Xenomorph and be AWARE of WHY it is that David had created them, the Survivors could ESCAPE and maybe Organize a Mission to NUKE the Place.... but you have the Potential that some may think... HANG ON... just take more Precautions because we would really GAIN a LOT from having a Specimen...

Regarding the ENGINEERS and Origae-6 then i think thats more Problematic, i just cant ACCEPT they would know where David is going, what we know is that its LIKELY that Origae-6 is 7-8X Further away from Planet 4 than Earth is and so within a Radius of 7-8 Years Travel for most Earth ships, then within that ZONE there would be NOTHING to make the Covenant Stand out as Culprit.

Unless Planet 4 has some kind of Scanner/Detector that was able to detect a Certain Frequency, Warp Signature thats UNIQUE to the Covenant Ship.  Or if the Engineers are NOT that FAR away when the Covenant leaves and can detect a Ship leaving Planet 4 and are able to TRACK IT... but surely they would INTERCEPT the Covenant like WAY before it gets to Origae-6.

The more LIKELY way has to be that either.

1) The Covenant Crew have left behind something that would indicate where in Space that Origae-6 is like a Chart that was in a Back Pack (or by some Miracle Survived the Lander Explosion)

2) After David had met the Crew, (there are MANY hours they was on Planet 4 where we NEVER saw every single Moment). So maybe they Told David where they was going and he went away and Drew a Map or Marked it someway that the Engineers could maybe Find?

3) The Engineers encounter WALTER and somehow they can Discover where David is going from HIM?

I think that Number 3 is the more likely Route they would take.

However you could have the Company Send a Mission to Planet 4, if you have received the ADVENT you would Research what the Prometheus Mission was about and you would MAYBE have a Android on the Mission who would learn the same things that David did during his Journey to LV-223 so that WHEN the Engineers turn up then this ANDROID is able to Communicate with the Engineers and INFORM them of where David had gone.

We'll have to disagree about the capabilities of the Juggernaut! This is SF after all. I can't think of one good reason why a hijacked, intelligent, bio-mechanical, alien spacecraft could not communicate autonomously to its owners! I could easily see one or more being drawn to Origae-6.

I think that YES they could Detect and Connect with their OWN kind of Ship absolutely.  I think we can ASSUME that by the Time any Engineers would return to Planet 4 then David would be LONG GONE... and so if they could SCAN the Local Space so say within 200LY from Planet 4 then they would surely Detect a Number of Earth Ships within say that Range but i cant see HOW they would PIN POINT the Covenant.

Unless as i was saying the Engineers are on their way lets say they are 2 Years away and Detect a ALIEN Ship on their Scanners that is NEAR to Planet 4 and so they then GO TO intercept and Track that Ship (which would be the Covenant) i would assume they would INTERCEPT the Covenant like WAY before it got to Oriage-6

Apart from that it would be IF on Planet 4 they had anything that would DETECT and TRACK the Covenant and which Direction it was going (maybe even have a Visual on the Ship so they can TELL which Ship it is), but again i FIND IT like Difficult to Accept that the such a System would DETECT the Covenant heading in a Certain Direction and then Determine Exactly where it would be going.  Unless the System Detects the Ship leaving the Area of Planet 4 and can LOCK ON and Track its Entire Journey?

We maybe Cant Rule that out...

I think we have to Bare in Mind that the Covenant will arrive at Origae-6 in the Year 2112, after another 88 Months i think we can SAFELY ASSUME the Engineers Ships can get to Origae-6 in FAR LESS TIME.  And so that means that Unless they Arrive at Planet 4 when David is Nearly at Origae-6 or has been on Oriage-6 already then the Engineers would Intercept David before he gets there.

This all depends on IF they have a SYSTEM that detects and tracks any Ships that come Close and to HOW FAR they can Track the Ships and then IF these Systems are still Active.  Maybe the Scorpion Ship could have done this but that was taken OUT.

However IF we see David take a Engineer Ship from Planet 4 then YES the Engineers will know its EVERY MOVE.

Ridley Scott had indicated the SET-UP he had said...

*That David is OFF to the Planet (we have to ASSUME thats Origae-6)

*There will be incoming 3/4 Parties coming to Investigate.

*One of these Parties are the Engineers who Return every now and again and they Discover what has Happened to Planet 4 and they will be AFTER the Culprit.

Ridley Scott had further said that the Next Movie would NOT be about Xenomorphs it would be about A.I and WHAT KIND of a World would David Create?

This indicates to me that David would arrive to Origae-6 where he could USE this Place to Create but where he MAY-NOT be just Creating Xenomorphs. When talking about A.I he said that Replicants are A.I and so he is seeing that A.I can be Organic.

The Engineers will turn up in the 3rd Act, but there are another 2/3 Parties which means AT LEAST another TWO Parties where another could be SIMILAR or a Part of one of the other Factions.  Is ONE of these David and the Covenant? or does he mean that another 3/4 will Arrive?

The Engineers are ONE if they have Walter with them i guess thats 1/2 of them, but we cant be sure as to WHEN/HOW they determine where to GO but we know that they will ARRIVE at Oriage-6 at some point after First going to Planet 4.

It is LIKELY that another ONE of the Parties has to be a Weyland-Yutani ship that is Military/Science that is going to Origae-6 in DIRECT response to the Advent.

So we have Engineers and a W-Y Ship, i think they WONT arrive until David has been on Origae-6 for 1-3 Years where he is Creating whatever kind of World he wants.  There is another PARTY that i would assume is another HUMAN SHIP and maybe ONE that has NO IDEA about David or the Advent and so would assume they would be arriving at  Origae-6 where the Covenant Mission has started to SET-UP their Colony.

Then it would seem another PARTY has to be SOMEONE or a Group that is Connected and/or maybe Traveling with ONE of the other THREE Parties.

Seems a LOT to Cram into a Single Movie and its LIKELY the Derelict comes into Play either from the Returning Engineers, or from LV-223 after the Engineers have FIRST been to Oriage-6

I assume that the FINAL Connection will be that

a) Engineer Ship leaves Origae-6 with the Eggs and is going to LV-223 but ONLY gets as far as LV-426.

b) A Engineer Ship arrives at LV-223 having been to Origae-6, and has some Eggs/Specimens that they then MASS PRODUCE on LV-223 and a Ship leaves LV-223 with those EGGS but only gets as far as LV-426

So i think we Certainly  would have NEEDED like TWO Movies.

Again this is ONLY going by what the SET-UP is and what RS had indicated about the Direction of the Prequels, this does-not mean this is HOW we could see it Continued.  Just seems this is likely what RS had intended.

Yes. Sorry, I had a brain fart. It's an Earth ship on its way to Origae-6, so of course no fellow juggernaut would have a ready means of tracking that.

Ha Ha we all have Brain Farts now and again ;)

Really makes you WONDER to HOW they would have Continued as i cant see them having the Movie set on the Covenant for much, i would assume David would get to Origae-6 and Masquerade as Walter and have some kind of Colony Set Up then i think its BYE to the Few Colonist and then i suspect he would have PLANS for those Embryos.

The Engineers must come to Planet 4 but who knows if or how much we will see of that before they Determine where David has gone and they will be on their way to Origae-6

I would assume at least ONE Human Ship arrives to Origae-6 before the Engineers and who knows WHEN the other Human Ship arrives.

It will be interesting to see HOW all those Factions would Interact, i am sure it would be Carnage...  This does seem like a LOT to FIT into ONE Movie, and then we have to get to Thousands of Eggs and them ENDING up on a Engineer Ship and then END UP on LV-426

So yeah i can see it Needing at least TWO more Movies with that kind of Plot/Set-up...   who knows HOW FAR they had got with it as RS had said it was being Written but then the DISNEY talks began.