# Alien prequel: Ridley Scott and Giger **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 19, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756 "2010-12-19T22:33:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/1 "2010-12-19T22:33:04Z")
[Link](http://www.shadowlocked.com/201012191151/news/hr-giger-on-board-for-ridleys-scotts-alien-prequel.html). This could be very good. It is about time for another good, dark S.F\* movie. Slee \*Well, this is more horror in space, but there are space ships… ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/2 "2010-12-20T09:41:24Z")
Should be good, it’s a shame tht Dan O’ Bannon is no longer around to lend a hand with the project. I was always curious to find out more about the “Space Jockeys” and may finally get my wish. It’s got to be better than AvP. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/3 "2010-12-20T10:37:01Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > It’s got to be better than AvP. Yes . . . Is the “Predators created Aliens” backstory going to be canon in this prequel, or not? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/4 "2010-12-20T14:15:52Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > I was always curious to find out more about the “Space Jockeys” and may finally get my wish. Can someone brief me a bit about this reference? I feel like I know the movie well, but not from a fanboy standpoint and don’t recall hearing this reference… ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/5 "2010-12-20T14:31:07Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Can someone brief me a bit about this reference? I feel like I know the movie well, but not from a fanboy standpoint and don’t recall hearing this reference… It’s been a while since I saw the first but I think it’s a reference to either the status of Ridley and her team as kind of space truckers or spacefaring “oil rig workers” OR the mysterious alien whose ship was infected with alien eggs and where John Hurt got contaminated. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/6 "2010-12-20T14:36:16Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Yes . . . Is the “Predators created Aliens” backstory going to be canon in this prequel, or not? That would be interesting if there would be a twist of the real purpose Predators had for Aliens and perhaps they were allies in the beginning… ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/7 "2010-12-20T14:36:16Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Can someone brief me a bit about this reference? I feel like I know the movie well, but not from a fanboy standpoint and don’t recall hearing this reference… It was when they found the crashed ship with the alien pilot with the burst ribcage. One of the crewmembers says something like “Who was this space jockey?” (Because he appeared to be in pilot’s seat.) I don’t find a still from the movie, but this [fan rendering](http://www.scifi3d.com/images/wip/1280_src_ALIEN_space_jockey9.jpg) may jog your memory. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/8 "2010-12-20T15:02:39Z")
Wasn’t the dead alien at the beginning of the movie supposed to be the first alien encountered ever? If so, it’s funny they never mentioned it again, considering the ship and its pilot would be worth magnitudes more than whatever the Nostromo was hauling at the time. Of course, they had other things to worry about- like staying alive. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/9 "2010-12-20T15:08:02Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > That would be interesting if there would be a twist of the real purpose Predators had for Aliens and perhaps they were allies in the beginning… It would really be better if this prequel were set in a narrative universe where the Predators did not, so far as anyone can see, even exist. That would be nearer to the spirit of the first film – this is supposed to be **horror,** dammit, not **action!** And completely unapproachable semi-sentient Aliens who kill you to further their basic biological imperatives of survival and reproduction – monsters, IOW – are a **lot** scarier than equally dangerous, techno-civilized Predators who will hunt you for sport, if and only if you are armed and dangerous, and who appear to have some comprehensible-to-humans sense of honor. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/10 "2010-12-20T15:08:18Z")
> [@Larry\_Mudd](#): > > It was when they found the crashed ship with the alien pilot with the burst ribcage. One of the crewmembers says something like “Who was this space jockey?” (Because he appeared to be in pilot’s seat.) I don’t find a still from the movie, but this [fan rendering](http://www.scifi3d.com/images/wip/1280_src_ALIEN_space_jockey9.jpg) may jog your memory. I totally remember that scene and situation in the movie; I didn’t fully register the “space jockey” reference, or just wrote it off as a slang for pilot, which this burst-open alien was meant to be, given it was apparently in the pilot’s chair when they found it…I just hadn’t realized there was “backstory potential” out of it… ETA: Oh - and thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/11 "2010-12-20T15:11:48Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Can someone brief me a bit about this reference? I feel like I know the movie well, but not from a fanboy standpoint and don’t recall hearing this reference… I don’t think it’s named as such in the film though I’ve not watched it for a while, [but this here is the guy…](http://alienexplorations.blogspot.com/2009/02/paintings-that-inspired-space-jockey.html) ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Clanger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc348/32.png) [@Small\_Clanger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Clanger)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/12 "2010-12-20T15:21:11Z")
As for backstory potential, the xenomorph inherits characteristics from the species it grew from, IIRC a dog in the third film (which never existed) and a predator in the second AvP film (which also doesn’t exist). So presumably the eggs on the space jockey’s ship were laid by an alien queen grown from his species. I don’t know how this pans out to the ‘human’ aliens from LV-426 looking just like the ‘space jockey’ alien in Alien? 'spect they’ll just let that slide. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/13 "2010-12-20T15:26:36Z")
Wait, that giant “space jockey” had a burst chest. Not an Alien, then – an alien, but not an Alien – just one of the species Aliens/Xenomorphs use as temporary incubation-hosts in their reproduction cycle. The implication is that the Aliens have been around so long that they have evolved to use **sentient, spacefaring species** as their hosts. It’s their way of spreading throughout the universe. Now **that’s** Cosmic Horror! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/14 "2010-12-20T15:29:54Z")
This could be VERY cool. Scott and Giger working together again? Be still my heart. Here are some other images from the original movie; the DVD commentary said they used kids in spacesuits for the long shots, to make the SJ look even bigger: [http://filmpopper.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Alien-Space-Jockey.jpg](http://filmpopper.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Alien-Space-Jockey.jpg) [![](http://starsmedia.ign.com/stars/image/article/843/843439/space-jockey-alien-1_1199468813_640w.jpg) ](http://starsmedia.ign.com/stars/image/article/843/843439/space-jockey-alien-1_1199468813_640w.jpg) [![](https://wolfpack-scifi.org/images/spacejockey.jpg) ](https://wolfpack-scifi.org/images/spacejockey.jpg) [![](https://64.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ksifg71RFF1qa1o5zo1_500.jpg) ](https://64.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ksifg71RFF1qa1o5zo1_500.jpg) The SJ’s broken-out ribs, foreshadowing Kane’s fate: [http://application.denofgeek.com/images/m/alien/chestburster\_space\_jockey.jpg](http://application.denofgeek.com/images/m/alien/chestburster_space_jockey.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/15 "2010-12-20T15:36:10Z")
Incidentally, there’s long been speculation that the xenomorphs were either a bioweapon of the SJ that just got out of control, or an infestation by a previously-unknown species that overwhelmed the SJ, or something else entirely. Hope we’ll have that question answered. If it were up to me, the very last shot of the prequel would be the dead SJ on its “throne,” still and alone, awaiting the arrival of the _Nostromo_ landing party eons later… ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/16 "2010-12-20T15:42:04Z")
Was that timing ever determined? ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/17 "2010-12-20T16:09:56Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Incidentally, there’s long been speculation that the xenomorphs were either a bioweapon of the SJ that just got out of control, or an infestation by a previously-unknown species that overwhelmed the SJ, or something else entirely. Hope we’ll have that question answered. If it were up to me, the very last shot of the prequel would be the dead SJ on its “throne,” still and alone, awaiting the arrival of the _Nostromo_ landing party eons later… Yeah, that would be great. Funny the Space Jokey reminds me a lot of European SF comic books of the seventies, like Moebius. **Son of a Rich** mentionned how in the first it _seems_ like both Space Jockey and the Facehuggers are the first alien species encountered, but this is far from clear, it stays very ambiguous (on the other hand, if it is, Mother’s persistence in trying to get a sample, whatever the cost, is perfectly rational). But, in AlienS, it seems like humanity has encountered other aliens (maybe during the timespan between the two movies, or maybe it was already the case during the first movie). I think I remember the Colonial Marines not being particularily startled when getting infos on the Aliens by Ripley. Which would be surprising if they werent already familiar with alien species (at least non sentient ones). On the other hand, Ripley and the crew in the first were more shocked by the behavior of the alien that by the fact they’ve encountered the very first alien species. So, yeah, the first is ambiguous, the second far less. Still, the status is not clear, which is great for a prequel. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/18 "2010-12-20T16:29:23Z")
Remember that Ripley was in stasis for 57 years between the first and second movie. Even if the _Nostromo_ was the first to encounter any aliens, a lot could have happened in the next nearly-six-decades to make the Colonial Marines somewhat blase about “just another bug hunt.” ISTR (vaguely) from the Alan Dean Foster novelization of _Alien_, that no alien lifeforms other than very small, simple organisms had been encountered by humanity before Ripley’s crew had its Close Encounter of A Particularly Unpleasant Kind. ---
**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/19 "2010-12-20T16:33:24Z")
Are the producers of the new film going to be able to get a time machine to go back and get a young Sigourney Weaver to star in it? ---
**Author:** ![Unpronounceable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9de0a6/32.png) [@Unpronounceable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unpronounceable)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756/20 "2010-12-20T17:51:13Z")
> [@Small\_Clanger](#): > > As for backstory potential, the xenomorph inherits characteristics from the species it grew from, IIRC a dog in the third film (which never existed) and a predator in the second AvP film (which also doesn’t exist). > > So presumably the eggs on the space jockey’s ship were laid by an alien queen grown from his species. > > I don’t know how this pans out to the ‘human’ aliens from LV-426 looking just like the ‘space jockey’ alien in Alien? 'spect they’ll just let that slide. Huh? It’s what they burst _from_ that determines the way they look, not which version laid the egg. Thus the human-bursters are all the standard xenomorphs, the dog-burster was different, the predator-burster had the different mouth-bits, and we have no idea whatsoever of what the space-jockey version looked like. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-prequel-ridley-scott-and-giger/564756.md?page=2)