Last weekend, we got our first look at the terror that awaits us in Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant, and it was, if you'll forgive the pun, a bloody good look. A slow burn of dialogue and terror, the trailer didn't fail to intrigue and terrify us with what it had to give. And yet, someone, somehow, turned that initial trailer into something much more anxious, thanks to some clever editing and unlikely inspiration. Take a look at the Alien: Covenant trailer, in the style of the trailer to 2012's Prometheus, below.
An intrepid YouTuber took the footage revealed to the public on Christmas Eve and made some simple adjustments, turning Alien: Covenant's first look into something much more pulse pounding. Dropping all but minimal elements of the original video's dialogue, and adding the soundtrack of the Prometheus soundtrack, the trailer runs at a brisk 01:08 length. Every second of that run time is packed with all of the intensity of that original trailer, and only gives you one word to hang on to as it concludes: "Run!" Also notable is the fact that the now infamous reveal of the Xenomorph attacking a couple in the showers has been excised from this version, leaving only the bloody aftermath in a brief flash of imagery.
Watching the re-cut for Alien: Covenant's trailer is certainly thrilling, but it could be seen as a bit alienating for folks looking for clues into the further lore of the Alien series. The slower pace and dialogue content helped build the atmosphere of the original content, allowing more of a sense of dread to develop before kicking things into overdrive. If anything, the original tone of the trailer fits the original tone of the franchise that Ridley Scott is trying to bring back. Think of it in the following terms: the new trailer is more like Aliens, while the original cut is more like Alien.
In those terms, while the new trailer looks like a more thrilling film, the original Alien: Covenant trailer seems to sell the film in its own special style for one specific reason: this is supposed to be the movie that most heavily invokes the spirit of Alien since the 1979 original. Sure, it'd be easy and obviously very satisfying to sell Scott's latest picture as an experience in high powered fear, but seeing as that's not the tactic they've officially taken, we'd still advise setting your expectations closer to the original cut of the trailer. You can see what we're talking about, courtesy of the trailer shared below.
Not matter which version of the trailer you favor, the terror that is Alien: Covenant will arrive in our galaxy on May 19th, 2017. If you're curious to see the original Prometheus trailer again, we've included it on the next page for reference.
