An extended prologue for Alien: Covenant resolves a key cliffhanger from Prometheus: What happened to Dr Elizabeth Shaw?
Last we saw Dr Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and the body-less, homicidal android David (Michael Fassbender) in Prometheus, they'd absconded with one of the Engineer's ships and set off to meet their creators.
This new prologue — released in celebration of Alien Day — reveals that Dr Shaw showed mercy on David despite all of his murderous tendencies and helped re-attach his head to his body. Perhaps not a wise move?
"After we made contact with the Engineers, the Prometheus was destroyed. All hands were lost, but I escaped with Elizabeth in one of their ships," David explained. "I was badly injured in our mission. She put me back together. I never experienced such compassion."
The two seemed hunky dory, at least temporarily, as they debated whether it was actually wise to journey to the home planet of the Engineers (especially after the horror they'd just faced).
"What if they are no better than us?" Dr Shaw wonders, with David assuring her: "So long as they're no worse."
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Soon, David is isolated again as he puts Dr Shaw in a hyper-sleep chamber for the rest of their journey. As the ship finally arrives on the Engineers' glorious home world, the two face their judgment day.
We'll have to wait for Alien: Covenant to find out just how the Engineers receive their visitors, but we'd predict they'll be less than friendly. Remember how murder-y the Space Jockey in Prometheus was?
This extended resolution from Prometheus seems to be only a preamble to Alien: Covenant's actual story, where Daniels (Katherine Waterston) and her crew of terraformers find David once again headless and alone.
Safe to assume Dr Shaw won't be around for long, then?
We'll find out when Alien: Covenant makes contact in the UK on May 12 and in the US on May 19. Watch a previous trailer below:
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
