Movies

Bloody Thrills Await in First Alien: Covenant Trailer

By  · Published on December 25th, 2016

And yes, we’re giddy as hell that it looks like Ridley Scott has made a long-overdue return to horror.

The Alien franchise began with Ridley Scott’s 1979 space-set horror film, and it hasn’t looked back since. James Cameron delivered an action-heavy sequel with Aliens, David Fincher made his debut with his prison drama, Alien 3, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet disappointed fans with the slick but slight Alien: Resurrection. It was a quartet of diminishing returns, and depending on who you ask it didn’t get much better when Scott returned to the series with his prequel, Prometheus.

It’s worth noting that the prequel isn’t as bad as you think you remember.

And you now have five months to re-watch all five films in preparation for the latest installment. Scott’s back with a sequel to Prometheus (but still a prequel to his original Alien), and it looks like a terrifically bloody return to the first film’s horror genre leanings.

Enough talk. Watch the first red band trailer for Alien: Covenant. *WARNING: Heads up, as it appears to show the deaths of two or three characters.*

So, uh, looks like Scott is back in the horror movie saddle again for the first time since Alien – yes, I know Hannibal featured brain-eating, but come on – and we couldn’t be more thrilled.

The story follows a ship and crew’s exploration of a new planet, and along with the returning synthetic humanoid, David (Michael Fassbender), they also discover terror-filled eggs. We think the math leaves us a decade or so before the events of Alien, but judging by that slasher-like shower scene it looks like the intergalactic, bipedal, slack-jawed nightmares we’ve come to love are back.

If the intensity and blood-letting hold up this may turn out to be one of next year’s best horror films. The trailer opens strong with the tease of an alien creature bursting from someone’s back, and everything that follows is beautiful, dark, and promising.

The one catch is that, judging by the trailer and knowing where the story goes, there’s a risk that this return to Alien might end up being too much like Alien. A crew of non-soldiers accidentally come in contact with the new species, the synthetic among them has nefarious intentions, and at least one of them is dumb enough to stand over the slimy egg opening and get face-palmed.

It’s hard to tell if there’s a kick-ass female hero here, although the cast offers plenty of worthy options in the form of Katherine Waterston, Carmen Ejogo, and the eternally awesome Amy Seimetz. The male performers are equally compelling with Fassbender, Danny McBride, and the eternally awesome Billy Crudup joining the fun. Per IMDB, we should also expect to see the return of Noomi Rapace and Guy Pearce along with the inexplicable addition of James Franco.

Next year looks to be big for sequels to Scott’s films with both this and Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049. I’m also holding out hope for a surprise announcement regarding a sequel to Thelma & Louise.

Alien: Covenant opens May 19th, 2017.

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Rob Hunter has been writing for Film School Rejects since before you were born, which is weird seeing as he's so damn young. He's our Chief Film Critic and Associate Editor and lists 'Broadcast News' as his favorite film of all time. Feel free to say hi if you see him on Twitter @FakeRobHunter.