[3] Every subsequent installment in the Alien film series directed by Scott features at least one synthetic (android) character designated to maintain order aboard their respective space ship.

In 2017, Scott explained that the synthetics featured in the Alien films he directed are designed to subvert their robotic nature and to impeccably mimic humans.

[5] In between the time Scott released Alien in 1979 and returned to the franchise with Prometheus in 2012, he directed another notable science fiction film concerning artificial intelligence, Blade Runner, in 1982.

[6] In order to maintain control, the replicants' human creators install false memories that detail entire lives that give them a sense of identity.

[7] Blade Runner, an influential film, has prompted a slew of philosophical questions concerning artificial intelligence and whether or not an android could truly be considered alive.

[9] Due to David identifying himself as a living entity—similar to the replicants—film critics in 2012 would come not to only question if Prometheus was a direct prequel to Alien, but if the film had a relation to Blade Runner.

In Blade Runner, the method for identifying the physically identical replicants is by administering the fictional Voight-Kampff test, which detects disparities in emotional responses.

[14] Writer Jon Spaihts created David as a shipboard android in the first draft of his screenplay for the prequel Alien: Engineers, as an exploration of the theme of creations and being in the presence of one's makers.

Therefore, the character's treacherous actions in the films, such as infecting the archaeologist Charlie Holloway with an alien mutagen, would be from a desire to create a new evolutionary generation of his own.

The contrast between David and the other androids was developed further in Alien: Covenant, with the creation of the physically identical character Walter, who was made more robotic and unable to create on his own.

[4] Throughout the development stage of the production of Prometheus, director Ridley Scott considered German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender to be his top choice to portray David.

Rather than taking inspiration from the previous Alien installments, Fassbender studied Sean Young's character Rachael, a replicant in Blade Runner, noting her vacant demeanor.

Fassbender drew inspiration from a number of other film performances, including Douglas Rain as HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey, David Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth, and Dirk Bogarde in The Servant.

[22] In the screenplay for Prometheus, David is noted as being unusually fond of the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia, with the character viewing parallels to himself, as they both have unfaltering pursuits of the objectives.

[23] Fassbender would continue to have his role make references to Lawrence of Arabia in Alien: Covenant by having David play samplings of the soundtrack on his flute.

[26] As the science vessel Prometheus heads for the moon LV-223, David maintains the ship and passes time by engaging in leisurely activities, monitoring the crew members' dreams, watching films and studying the Proto-Indo-European language that the Engineers are believed to speak.

David is instructed by an unidentified voice on a radio to "try harder", prompting him to gather a drop of mutagen from the urn and use it to infect Holloway as he drinks champagne.

[27] The following day, there is another excursion to the Engineer ship, with David providing Weyland Corporation executive Meredith Vickers with a live stream of his own private investigation.

After Shaw surgically extracts an alien parasite from her abdomen, she happens into the private quarters of David's previously unidentified director — the still-alive Peter Weyland.

David carpet bombs them with the mutagen, resulting in the extinction of all non-floral life on the planet, as well as mutations in the flora that can infect and impregnate organisms with Neomorphs.

With the humans and embryos at his mercy, he sends out a transmission impersonating Walter that states that all the crew members, except for Daniels and Tennessee, were killed in a neutrino blast and that they are still en route to their original destination, Origae-6.

[30] A month later, on April 17, an extended version of the unboxing video was released, with David providing additional insight into his function aboard the Prometheus as the ship's butler and maintenance man, as well as advertising his ability to seamlessly replicate human emotions without the restrictions of ethics or distress.

[32] Despite the lukewarm reception of the Alien prequel films, Michael Fassbender's portrayal of David was met with critical acclaim, with his performance generally considered to be the standout.

[35] Philip French from The Guardian praised the character for being a cross between the fictional valet Jeeves, created by P. G. Wodehouse, and a double agent commonly found in an English Renaissance theatre production.

Kevin Lincoln of Vulture magazine described David as being the best cinematic villain in years, due to his dynamic personality and ability to win against the characters in Alien: Covenant.

[38] John Squires of Bloody Disgusting praised David for supplanting the main protagonist of the first four films, Ellen Ripley, as the overall best character of the franchise in 2017.

[39] Eschewing most reviews, Wenlei Ma from News.com.au complimented Fassbender's ability to portray David, though she criticized the mystery lost by revealing the character's true intentions.

[41] He was nominated by the London Film Critics Circle Awards 2012 for Supporting Actor of the Year, but lost to Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master.