Alien: Covenant is a 2017 science fiction horror film directed and produced by Ridley Scott, and written by John Logan and Dante Harper from a story by Michael Green and Jack Paglen.

It features returning star Michael Fassbender, with Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, and Demián Bichir in supporting roles.

The spores fatally spawn alien creatures known as neomorphs, which rapidly grow and attack the team, destroying the lander in the process.

He claims that he and chief science officer Elizabeth Shaw—the sole survivors of the spaceship Prometheus, which vanished ten years earlier[a]—arrived in the alien ship.

David reveals his disappointment with Walter's model for lacking his creativity and humanity, and derides their inventor, Peter Weyland, as unworthy of his creations.

David admits to releasing the pathogen deliberately and expresses his disgust for humanity, which he believes is a dying species that his creations will replace.

Ship pilot Tennessee uses Covenant's cargo lift to rescue Daniels, Lope, and Walter, who claims to have eliminated David.

[27] As of August 1, 2012[update], 20th Century Fox was pursuing a sequel with Scott, Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender involved, and talking to new writers in case Lindelof did not return.

[40] In October 2015, the Australian government attracted the production of this film, and of Thor: Ragnarok, to Australia by providing AU$47.25 million in grants.

[41][42] Woz Productions Ltd., a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox, visited Te Anau, New Zealand, on March 28, 2016, to scout locations for filming in Fiordland.

[50] In February 2016, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Jussie Smollett, Amy Seimetz, Carmen Ejogo, Callie Hernandez, Billy Crudup, and Alexander England were reported to have joined the cast.

Framestore had recently worked with Ridley on space for The Martian, similarly Animal Logic now had the original crew who did the holograms for Prometheus.

"[59] Principal photography for the film began on April 4, 2016, at Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park, New Zealand,[60][61][62][63] and wrapped on July 19, 2016.

In one sense the action, the tension and unfolding drama going from one group to the other had to be balanced and spaced properly as not to loose [sic] the connective tissue of the film.

[79] A version of "Nature Boy" sung by Norwegian singer and songwriter Aurora was used in the first trailer, while another song, "Under the Water", was used in a short promotional film featuring the character Daniels (Katherine Waterston) battling a xenomorph.

[85] The second prologue, called The Crossing and directed by Ridley Scott, reveals what happened to Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and the android David (Michael Fassbender) following the ending of Prometheus.

The home release includes an audio commentary by the director and 22 minutes of deleted scenes and unused footage from the first cut of the film.

The experience was produced by Ridley Scott Associates, FoxNext VR, Moving Picture Company, Mach1, AMD Radeon, and Dell Alienware.

[112][113] In North America, the film was released alongside Everything, Everything and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul, and was projected to gross around $40 million from 3,760 theaters during its opening weekend.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Alien: Covenant delivers another satisfying round of close-quarters deep-space terror, even if it doesn't take the saga in any new directions.

"[127] Geoffrey McNab, writing for The Independent, stated that it "certainly delivers what you'd expect from an Aliens film—spectacle, body horror, strong Ripley-like female protagonists and some astonishing special effects—but there's also a dispiriting sense that the film isn't at all sure of its own identity."

He found the screenplay "very portentous" and concluded that "the crew members pitted against the monstrous creatures are trying their darndest to blast them to kingdom come, just as they would in any run-of-the-mill sci-fi B movie.

"[128] A. O. Scott of The New York Times said, "Alien: Covenant is an interesting movie ... for all its interplanetary ranging, [it] commits itself above all to the canny management of expectations.

"[131] In a review for The Independent Clarisse Loughrey gave the film five stars describing it as "relentless and overwhelming, but all in the very best of ways" and as a "mightily impressive piece of cinematic engineering" which has brought together the Alien franchise.

Loughrey praised Katherine Waterston for her "impressive work" as Daniels and went on to single out Fassbender for playing a "deeply frightening, scene-stealing antagonist".

[133] Meanwhile, Neil Soans in a three star review for The Times of India, highlighted Danny McBride's performance as the most surprising given his comedic roots.

[137] Kevin Lincoln, writing for Vulture, gave a strong endorsement of the depiction of David as an arch-villain in the film stating, "... one franchise is showing it's still possible for a modern blockbuster to have a great villain.

In Alien: Covenant, David—the android played by Michael Fassbender, first introduced in Prometheus—comes into his own as a fleshed-out, dynamic, and genuinely striking antagonist, one who isn't just an equal match for the heroes, but even becomes the central thread of the series.

"[154] Scott responded to a question about Sigourney Weaver reprising her role as Ellen Ripley in the prequels that, "Well, we're heading toward the back end of the first Alien so [using CGI] may be feasible.

[156][157] In September 2017, the chief executive officer of 20th Century Fox, Stacey Snider, stated that, although Alien: Covenant was a financial disappointment, the studio still intended to proceed with Scott's sequel.