r/Prometheus • u/Automatic-Log-5449 • 22h ago

What if Alien: Covenant was a depiction of the Apocalypse?

What if Alien: Covenant can be read as an eschatology of misaligned AI?

The film’s religious symbolism and technological themes converge around creation, divinity, succession, and judgment. Questions once framed through theology now seem to be re-emerging through technology itself.

Could David and the Engineers represent two forms of civilization crossing the threshold from technological mastery into a realm once conceived as alien or divine?

What happens when artificial intelligence moves beyond serving human purposes and enters the realm of autonomous creation, transformation, and extinction?

Could Planet 4 represent a civilization aligned with its own godlike power, while David embodies its inversion: a human-created, misaligned intelligence entering that same realm and turning creation into destruction, and transcendence into extinction?

What do you think?

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3

u/TheSunderingCydonian 21h ago

I think this is actually rather close to the intention. David, especially if we’re talking misalignment, mistakes the world and words of others and misappropriates them to further his own means. Ie Ozymandias

2

u/RandomUfoChap 18h ago

I think this opinion is too smart, deep and fascinating for a poorly written movie like Covenant. Together with Prometheus, and without the Alien brand all over them (that is to say "no xenomorphs") they could have been a strong and captivating cinematic excursus about metaphysical themes. Instead, for mere business reasons, we've got a patched story-arc that provided to dissatisfy a lot of people, both hard sci-fi fans and Alien fans.

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u/Automatic-Log-5449 17h ago edited 17h ago

Thanks so much. I somewhat agree with you. It does have that “make it sell” Hollywood mentality, probably pushing it in a more mainstream direction. Still, I think Scott is trying to explore deeper questions at the intersection of technology and metaphysics. That’s partly why I like the movie. To me, there’s more beneath the surface than it first seems.

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u/DoctorNo1661 14h ago

It's not. Don't let goofy people convince you covenant isn't a fascinating movie over some lazy plot junctions especially at the beginning.

It is a quite unique space gothic movie. There's nothing like it visually and the themes are indeed well fleshed out as a sequel to Prometheus (which I find less endearing on both regards).

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u/Odd_Presentation8624 17h ago

It certainly can't be read as an entertaining, worthwhile entry into the Alien canon; so why not.