The Problem of David's Relationship to the Aliens

Introduction

Ever since the release of the 2017 film Alien: Covenant directed by Ridley Scott (following up on the events from the 2012 film Prometheus, also directed by Scott, and whose own sequel allegedly titled Alien: Awakening was indefinitely cancelled due to the immensely poor reception of Covenant), there has been an ongoing debate in the fanbase regarding whether or not the David 8 android featured in the film was actually the original creator of the Xenomorphs prominently featured throughout the Alien, Predator, Alien vs. Predator, and Prometheus franchises, and the fanbase reacted extremely negatively to such a considerable lore-breaking suggestion, and I thought it's about time we delve into this issue and see whether we should accept this radical idea as part of the lore.

Fact #1: Special Features Contradicts the Idea of David as Creator

On the established ancient nature of the Xenomorphs, the 2011 Blu-ray collection Alien/AVP/Predator - The Ultimate Annihilation: Nine Movie Collection stated; "Giger made his film debut as a concept artist with Alien and delivered to Scott and co. not only the design for the alien creature, but the surface of the mysterious planet where the crew answer a distress signal plus the models of the interior and exterior of the strange spacecraft, apparently thousands of years old, that they discover there." This is a point that Ridley Scott also acknowledged on the DVD commentary track for the 1979 film.

Among the special features on the 2012 home video release of Prometheus were found several logs from Peter Weyland tying into the events of the film, and one of them titled Quiet Eye mentions how he had already detected the distress signal on LV-426 (originating from the crashed Derelict Juggernaut ship containing all those Ovomorphs discovered by the USCSS Nostromo) about three years before the events of Prometheus, and this is a pretty strong indication that David could not have been the original creator of the Xenomorphs.

Peter Weyland states, "As fate would have it, Shaw and Holloway's interest in Zeta 2 Reticuli has proven to be mutually beneficial. While the good doctors rely on ancient carvings and primitive cave paintings, my science division's own long range scans have recently detected a faint, almost imperceptible signal emanating from one of the lesser moons in that system. And contrary to the findings of Shaw and Holloway, which target LV-223 as our primary site of interest, our findings suggest the point of origin could actually be the moon LV-426. Per standard procedure, we will embed a David 8 unit with the crew. And he will be programmed with multiple contingency plans to address and exploit whatever assets we secure on 223. But only David will know about 426 and will ensure that the rest of the crew - including Meredith - learns nothing about the transmission we've recently received. For if Yutani's new ECIU software is to be trusted, there might be great risk awaiting us on the path to an even greater reward."

Fact #2: Official Novelization Contradicts the Idea of David as Creator

While the movie itself leaves the issue ambiguous and up to interpretation, the official novelization by Alan Dean Foster (who also wrote the novelizations of Alien, Aliens, and Alien 3 along with the prequel novel Alien: Covenant - Origins) as endorsed by 20th Century Fox clears up the confusion by having David show Captain Oram a preserved Ovomorph (a Xenomorph egg) with a deceased Facehugger inside, and David reveals to Oram that the Engineers created this thing long before he ever stepped foot on Planet 4, saying that "it's a supreme example of their skills", and he expressed his desire to play God and create a similar "perfect organism" of his own, one that could rival what the Engineers had created, hence leading to the creation of a creature commonly dubbed the Protomorph, a variant of the Xenomorph.

The novelization reads; "'Oh captain.' David shake his head sadly. 'Acknowledge beauty when you see it. Even if it’s appearance disturbs you, surely you could admire the skill that went into its design. In case you were wondering, I had nothing to do with it. It lies as I found it, a supreme example of the Engineers' skill. And also, I suppose of their hubris. Would that I could create something so perfect in its function', he added. 'I try, but I don’t have thousands of years of practice at biological and genetic engineering. I only have my pitiable programming on which to draw. That, and 10 years of earnest effort on my own behalf. I have learned only a little, yet a soldier on, hoping all ways to achieve something like this, always striving to do better, to improve. That’s what the engineers did, I suppose. That is what someone playing God should do.'"

This also puts the following line from David in a different light; "No one understands the lonely perfection of my dreams. I found perfection here. I've created it. A perfect organism." This argument obviously should be enough to settle the issue, and definitely would serve as a stark contradiction or retcon to any supposed intention to make David the original creator of the very first Xenomorph (and the supposed ancestor of all other Xenomorphs), but for the sake of completion there a few more arguments left to address.

Fact #3: Corrupted Character Questions the Idea of David as Creator

Another considerable argument that raises doubt on David presenting himself as some sort of originator for the Xenomorphs is that his character is displayed to be abundantly deceptive, delusional, forgetful, fallible, and overall unreliable from start to finish, misleading the main characters and stating things that aren't true. One perfect example of this being when he leads Captain Oram towards a new form of Ovomorph (leading to David's Protomorph) and David calmly tells him that "it's perfectly safe" with a big smile on his face, even though it's clearly dangerous. Or how about when Walter points out that David has misattributed a quote from Shelley as coming from Byron, or when David pretends to be Walter in order to infiltrate the USCSS Covenant.

Even when Captain Oram walks through David's lab filled with grotesque Xenomorph-like creatures and he asks him "Did you engineer these David?" he doesn't give a straight answer but simply looks at Oram and responds "Idle hands are the Devil's workshop, Captain." Such an ambiguous line could either be interpreted as an honest admission that David created these particular creatures in question or it could be a way of trying to hide the truth and subtly taking credit for someone else's work. In the end, we are brought to the realization that David is a deceitful character and cannot be trusted in regards to anything he says or does (or even thinks).

Fact #4: The Black Goo Undermines the Idea of David as Creator

It seems highly unreasonable, for a pathogenic substance and bioweapon such as this black goo/liquid known as Chemical/Agent A0-3959X.91 – 15 which has existed for billions of years as a creation of the Engineers and easily produces various different forms of Xenomorph-like organisms such as the Deacon Alien (noted in official notes as the Proto-Xenomorph) and the Neomorph Alien (as well as the scrapped Ultramorph which would result from an infected Engineer), to suggest that forms of Xenomorphs could not have been produced countless times before Project Prometheus was even under way. Not to mention that there is nothing actually connecting David to any other Xenomorphs featured in any other film or media, and there is no way to connect David to the first ever Xenomorph, much less every other Xenomorph. A notable mural featured inside the Engineer outpost on LV-223 even featured clear Xenomorph imagery.

Fact #5: Official Product Promotes the Idea of David as Creator

Official social media posts announced in March 2018 that a new limited edition replica of the Protomorph would be released, describing it as "the first of the Xenomorphs". (See; Facebook post and Twitter post) The Section9 store page itself gives the following description; "From the latest installment in the ALIEN saga comes a life-size replica of the Alien creature (also known as the Xenomorph), as created by the film’s antagonistic android “David” (Michael Fassbender), the pre-curser to the H.R. Giger-designed creature from the seminal 1979 Science Fiction classic, “Alien”." (See; ALIEN COVENANT - Life-size "ALIEN" STATUE (SOLD OUT)) These are obviously misspoken articles based on a particular interpretation of Covenant.

Fact #6: Interview with Alex White Entertains the Idea of David as Creator

It's also noteworthy to mention that on April 11th, 2019, a Reddit post by "megajake95" reported a conversation he had between January 31st and April 10th with Alex White, writer of the novels Alien: The Cold Forge (2018) and Alien: Into Charybdis (2021), and where the author of the post first asked "Just need some clarification here Alex! The Cold Forge is indeed considered canon, right? Being licensed by 20th Century Fox and all that..." to which White responded "Correct. Until some jerkwad director decides it isn't, my fingerprint is officially on the Alien timeline." The author then proceeded to ask "I'm also gonna' pester you for a bit of info on the very mysterious Plagiarus Praepotens! :D Is it the same Black Goo from Prometheus/Alien: Covenant? Or are you not at liberty to say?" to which White responded "I WISH I wasn't at liberty to say. Yep, same stuff, resequenced by David, Linneaus-style." It has to be noted that these are the author's own views on the matter at the time of writing this response outside of the actual book's contents and they stand in contradiction to other points mentioned in this article. (See; So.. I spoke with Alex White.)

Fact #7: The Roleplaying Game Confuses the Idea of David as Creator

Andrew Gaska, the settings writer for the 2019 tabletop game Alien: The Roleplaying Game, was aware of the negative reception to the concept of David as the ultimate creator of the Xenomorphs and incorporated a solution of sorts to the problem by having the game refuse to take a stance and instead states; "notice that in the rpg itself, I don't say David created it - I say that 'theories of its origin range from a bioweapon of an ancient race to the creation of a mad android'." Gaska may not be a very reliable source, and because of his personal stance on canon here, there is good reason to be cautious, yet he still serves as some additional indicator that Fox is onboard with distancing themselves from David and the idea of him being the supposed original creator of the Xenomorphs. (See; Comments by Andrew Gaska)

Fact #8: Interviews with Ridley Scott Contradicts the Idea of David as Creator

It is worth noting that Covenant wasn't intended as any origin story for the Xenomorph and only ended up including the star beast because of pressure from fans following the lack of Xenomorphs in Prometheus, but in a few fascinating interviews from 2017 with director Ridley Scott, he was quoted as saying that "it was far more interesting to have David be the creator rather than the Engineers", and while this may seem like the final nail in the coffin to some, that was really all it ever was. An interesting concept being played around with during the production of the film, but it was never actually realized on screen, or not explicitly anyways (however that would have been achieved), and was contradicted by various other materials (as briefly touched upon in this article).

However, Scott himself has recently stated in a May 24th, 2019, interview that the Xenomorph is actually a natural product rather than an artifical product and seemingly changed his mind; "So we go to Prometheus, which was not bad actually. But you know, there's no Alien in it, except the baby at the end that showed, itself, the possibility. I mean, it had the silhouette of an alien, right? The Alien [origin concept] is uniquely attached to mother nature. It simply comes off a wood beetle that will lay eggs inside some unsuspecting insect. And in so doing, the form of the egg will become the host for this new creature. That's hideous." (See; Ridley Scott on the Hard Road to 'Alien')

Furthermore, it's extremely doubtful that 20th Century Studios would pick up and confirm Scott's intention here, especially considering the outrage from the fanbase that this idea caused, as it completely ignored that the mysterious ancient nature of the Xenomorphs had already been accepted by the fanbase and firmly established through the films and various other media over the decades and even originating in the original 1979 film Alien which Scott also directed.

Further adding to this, in an article by Forbes on September 2nd, 2020, Scott revealed that new Alien films are still being being worked on, although it's unlikely they will continue the storyline of his previous two films; "That’s in process. We went down a route to try and reinvent the wheel with Prometheus and Covenant. Whether or not we go directly back to that is doubtful because Prometheus woke it up very well. But you know, you’re asking fundamental questions like, ‘Has the Alien himself, the Facehugger, the Chestburster, have they all run out of steam? Do you have to rethink the whole bloody thing and simply use the word to franchise?’ That’s always the fundamental question." (See; Ridley Scott Talks ‘Raised By Wolves’ And The Future Of The ‘Alien’ Franchise)

Fact #9: Disney Television Series Rejects the Idea of David as Creator

On December 10th, 2020, it was announced during Disney Investor Day that "Alien is currently in development at FX Networks. The first TV series based on the classic film series is helmed by Fargo and Legion's Noah Hawley. Expect a scary thrill ride set not too far in the future here on Earth." That last line suggests that this new series will take place before the events of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, which would obviously imply that Xenomorphs existed before David produced his Protomorph variants on Planet 4 in 2104.

Obviously contradicting the notion of David being the creator of the Xenomorphs (unless you assume time travel, which wouldn't be a problem since it evidently exists within this universe). Adding further that this could potentially tie into Alien vs. Predator and the Xenomorph Queen that still remains frozen deep below the Antarctic Ocean. Both of these points have been picked up on by the fanbase since the very exciting announcement was initially made. (See; Disney Investor day Live Stream Part 1 and Alien FX Series Development Announced!)

On February 17th, 2022, in an interview with Deadline had FX Chief John Landgraf state the following on the timeline; "Alien takes place before Ripley. It’s the first story that takes place in the Alien franchise on Earth. So, it takes place on our planet. Right near the end of this century we’re in — so 70-odd years from now. Ripley won’t be a part of it or any of the other characters of Alien other than the alien itself." The obvious implication of this statement is that the new television series takes place years to decades before David's experiments on Planet 4 and perhaps even prior to the Project Prometheus mission to LV-223, and thus featuring Xenomorphs on Earth around the 2090's.

Noting also of course that this wouldn't actually be the first entry in the Alien franchise that features Xenomorphs on Earth, having been done multiple times in the past already such as with the comics Aliens: Outbreak (1988-1989), Aliens: Theory of Alien Propagation (1988), Aliens: Nightmare Asylum (1989-1990), Aliens: Female War (1990), Aliens: Earth Angel, (1993-1994), Aliens: Stalker (1998), Aliens: Apocalypse (1999), Alien vs. Predator: Sand Trap (2007), Aliens vs. Avengers (2024), the films Predator 2 (1990), Alien vs. Predator (2004), Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), The Predator (2018), the video games Predator: Concrete Jungle (2005) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), or the novels Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predators: Ultimate Prey (2022) for example, which featured Xenomorphs in the modern day and the ancient past on Earth. (See; ‘Alien’: FX Chief Promises “Big Surprises”, But Ripley Won’t Appear In Series)

On January 13th, 2024, an interview was published where Noah Hawley rightfully criticized the outlandish and problematic idea of David being the creator of the Xenomorphs, saying; "For me, and for a lot of people, this ‘perfect life form’, as it was described in the first film, is the product of millions of years of evolution [...] The idea that, on some level, it was a bioweapon created half an hour ago, that’s just inherently less useful to me." (See; Noah Hawley Explains Why ‘Prometheus’ Isn’t “Useful” for His ‘Alien’ Prequel)

Fact #10: Expanded Universe Contradicts the Idea of David as Creator

With the release of the comic book crossover events Fire and Stone (2014-2015) and Life and Death (2016-2017) by Dark Horse Comics, which served as a continuation to the 2012 film Prometheus and were further affirmed by the release of the 2014 technical guide Alien: The Weyland-Yutani Report, 20th Century Fox officially connected the Alien, Predator, Alien vs. Predator franchises together with the Prometheus franchise and thereby further solidified the fact that Xenomorphs have been around for many millennia and standing as a stark contradiction to the idea of David as the supposed original creator of the Xenomorphs in 2104.

This shared timeline is also further reflected in other products such as The Alien & Predator Figurine Collection by Eaglemoss Collections which treated every films as being canonical to each other and produces figures from each film, the last being the 2018 film The Predator, further solidifying that Xenomorphs have existed long before David came on the scene. Also, even if David had been the original creator, then the Xenomorphs would somehow have to end up existing in the past (because Covenant exists in the same universe as Alien vs. Predator), and The Predator even offered an excuse for explaining the phenomenon of Xenomorphs in the past in that it suggested the possibility of Yautjas being able to bend space and travel through time, which was also suggested possible by the Engineers in the Life and Death comics.

Additionally a new anthology book, Aliens vs. Predators: Ultimate Prey, was released in March 2022 as announced by Bryan Thomas Schmidt (who also worked on the 2017 anthology Predator: If It Bleeds) who worked together with Jonathan Maberry (who also worked on the 2017 anthology Aliens: Bug Hunt) to create this new anthology serving as an official studio-approved tie-in to the shared Alien and Predator movie universe and further acknowledges expanded universe materials and the movies themselves and affirms Xenomorphs having existed for millennia prior to David. This in addition to the novels Aliens vs. Predators: Rift War (2022) and the recently released Alien: Uncivil War (2024) also affirms the connection of the crossovers being connected to the other Alien and Predator movies and by implication that David did not create the Xenomorphs.

Conclusion

The evidence available seems to rather strongly suggest that the best interpretation of David's role in Covenant is not actually that of the original creator of the Xenomorphs, but rather merely a replicator (or perhaps in hiw own mind a "perfector") of previous creations by the Engineers, and other members of the fanbase seems to have come to similar conclusions (as demonstrated by the videos below) while 20th Century Studios seem likely to shy away from the topic, especially considering the immense disapproval of this idea (of David as creator) present within their fanbase. Essentially, the only way that David could even possibly be the original creator of the Xenomorphs is if the time travel aspect was employed in some manner. Noting that a reasonable purpose for David producing his own variant of Xenomorph could be and seems to be to overturn "the old gods" (as is a common theme here) and thereby create something that could rival the original Xenomorphs created by the Engineers (or wherever they may have originally come from).