The Alien: Covenant Engineers - A New Theory

The Origins of the Engineers

One of the most shocking moments in the Alien franchise was David killing the Engineers in Alien: Covenant, but a theory suggests the creatures might not have been Engineers at all. The Alien prequel, Prometheus, introduced the Engineers into the franchise, a race of technologically advanced beings who are implied to have created the human race from their own DNA. After dealing with a lone Engineer in Prometheus, the android David weaponized black goo stored inside the Engineer pilot's ship to massacre the entire population of Engineers in Alien: Covenant. However, a theory has another explanation for how David killed so many when his former crew mates struggled with just one.

David looking down as he eradicates the Engineers in Alien: Covenant

Ridley Scott's Alien prequel series was set to answer burning questions about the origins of the legendary Xenomorphs, first introduced aboard the Nostromo during 1979's Alien. Despite receiving mixed responses, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant did expand on the backstory of both the Xenomorphs. The prequels also expanded on the Alien franchise's trademark fear surrounding android characters, since Michael Fassbender's David is a menacing figure in both projects. The introduction of the Engineers suggested a new creation myth for humanity, as well as the perfect connection between the human characters and the alien threat. However, there are still many gaps in the Alien lore after Covenant, and one Engineers theory may fill them.

Michael Fassbender as David receiving surgery in Alien Covenant's Prologue

The Theory of Different Species

Subtle Differences Between The Two Movies Suggest An Entirely New Species

An angry Engineer screaming in Alien Covenant

The theory, posed by reece1495 on Reddit, suggests that the Engineers David kills in Alien: Covenant weren't Engineers at all, but in another one of the supreme race's experiments. It's never actually stated what species Alien: Covenant's Engineers, a.k.a. 'Space Jockeys,' actually are, as David kills them all with the black goo in a very brief scene. However, many subtle details point to the Engineers in Covenant being different from the species introduced in 2012's Prometheus. The theory poses that the beings David killed in Alien: Covenant could be an Engineer experiment that turned out right, where humanity failed.

Alien Romulus director Fede Alvarez superimposed over an images of a screaming Xenomorph Queen

Despite being incredibly similar in appearance to the Engineers, there are many differences between the powerful race seen in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant's non-Xenomorph aliens. Prometheus demonstrated some of the huge technological advancements that the Engineers had made, including their streamlined vessels, high-tech armor, and mysterious maps of the universe which David becomes engrossed in \\u2014 not to mention their ability to weaponize the Alien franchise's black goo. The aliens in Covenant, however, were dressed in cloth garments and living in basic temples, not resembling the Engineers' high-tech equipment.

The Engineers looking intensely in Prometheus

The Motive Behind the Massacre

The Engineers Aren't Compatible With David's Vision Of The Universe

While Alien: Covenant doesn't explain why David killed the Engineers, the theory and comments from director Ridley Scott help to provide an explanation. As an android himself, David was obsessed with the origins of humanity, his place in the universe as an artificially created being, and subsequently goes insane thanks to his existential crisis. If the beings he killed weren't Engineers his murderous actions would make a lot of sense. The creations of the Engineers, such as humanity and the unknown species in Alien: Covenant, enjoy a freedom that androids like David don't (even to the point that David isn't sure if he has free will).

Finding yet another race of artificially created beings that enjoy a freedom he doesn't could have simply pushed David over the edge. David also became fixated on creating his own life, as seen in Alien: Covenant, though he has no sense of kinship with the Engineers despite taking up their favorite pastimes. Speaking to Empire, Ridley Scott revealed that David's feelings towards the Engineers are far from friendly. '[David] hates [the Engineers].' Scott explained, 'He has no respect for Engineers and no respect for human beings.'

David's goal of creating life is partially fixed in the belief that he can improve on both the efforts of the Engineers and Humanity, it seems. The android also feels hostile toward both, and would quite happily remove them from the universe. Whether the beings David killed in Alien: Covenant were Engineers or simply their creations, it's clear that David killed them because doubt over his own existence has metamorphized into an intense and violent God-complex. David blames Humanity, and by extension, the Engineers, for his tortured existence, and his attempts at creating life are likely partially driven by his desire to begin the universe anew without them \\u2014 as is his open hostility and violence.

Engineer's body breaking down at the start of Prometheus