The REAL Reason David Killed the Engineers in Alien Covenant Explained

One of the most confusing aspects of "Alien: Covenant" was David's act of killing the Engineers. This action isn't explained in the film, making it one of the biggest questions about the movie. And what could be better than getting the from the creator of the alien franchise – Ridley Scott himself who talked about this specific topic on a podcast.

In the "Alien: Covenant" prologue, which is not included in the theatrical release, David says that he learned the Engineers ways. One of these ways is that they "wipe the slate clean" when their creations don’t follow the desired path. Because David has a superiority complex and aspires to be a God himsekf, he destroys the engineer planet to imitate the Egnineers but his real motives are more complicated than that

Since the last time I discussed this topic, I have uncovered more information about David and his twisted psychology, so in this video will delve deeply into the resons behind David's decision to anihiate the Engineers. In addition to Ridley Scott— pretty much giving the precise answer to this question, we’ll analyze David extended explanation in the early script and the Ozymadiaz poem he recites while destroying the Engineer colony.

So what are the Engineer ways ? Ridley Scott described the Engineers as the "gardeners of space." They cultivate various life on different planets, including humanity on Earth, the beings on Planet 4, and potentially many others. However, if their creations stray from the intended path that the Engineers have set, they "wipe the slate clean."

[danielwoods]

Apart from the fact that he had his ripped off by an Engineer, I think David learnt something about the Engineers during his and Shaw's journey to Paradise. In that prologue video, he said he "learnt of their ways". I think he learnt that the Engineers has complete and utter disdain for AI. If you look at their technology there's no sign of AI. And perhaps that's why the Last Engineer was so disgusted by Weyland comparing himself to them, for creating an android which if you think about it isn't life, it's an imitation. David crying before he bombed the Engineers was probably related to his own disappointment - in Prometheus he was enamoured with their inventions and superiority, but then learnt they would've hated him more than humans hated him.

[nomas]

The problem is, a civilization like the engineers would likely have several planets and ships that they live on. So David killing that world would probably have brought some repercussions.

[maverickopinions]

I think the most frustrating thing about Alien Covenant is that all of this essential information should have really been included in the film. Revealing information like this, years after the film was released, is really doing a disservice to those who went to see the film and enjoyed it, despite the often confounding elements presented in it.

[fireonawire]

I don't think those on Planet 4 were engineers.

[erikdayne]

I don’t think those were engineers he killed. They looked different from the engineer we saw in Prometheus, they didn’t seem to have any advanced technology, their clothes were simplistic, and they looked up at the ship like they revered it at first. I think that was another planet the engineers had seeded for life, similar to Earth, except they still had contact with the engineers, which is why they weren’t surprised when the ship came.

[BDarOZ]

Prometheus was such a missed opportunity, the concepts were ambitious and awesome. Its a pity they dumbed it down.

[Siege]

Honestly, this always felt like a rewrite of a better plot. David actually seemed to care about Elizabeth and I always felt they originally intended for her to die in the stasis chamber en route, for David to wake her only to find her dead and kill the Engineers in a fit of rage. Why would he experiment (and potentially torture) the only human being who had ever been kind to him? At least with her dying, his total disgust for humanity would have made a little more sense and his experimentation was his tiny way of keeping her alive in some other form.

[usdrqir]

The biggest mystery is how the engineers were wiped out so easily. They looked like they were lacking hundreds of thouthens of years of advanced technology.

[hellfire]

It's always great when filmmakers just don't explain crucial plot points in the movie and let you think that the movie is really stupid.

[chadhero]

I think the theories about the Engineers and the possibilities of them is SO INTERESTING, I just don't think it was applied very well in the movies. There should be a whole series of films just about them

[bobsacamano]

I think that David had more respect for the xenomorphs than he did for humans or engineers, just like Ash had more respect for xenomorphs than humans in the original 1979 film.

[S-T-E-V-E]

David explained his motivation in his statement 'Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven', it explains his distain for being created to serve man so he would rather destroy man and those who created man as he despised them and wanted to birth his own creation!

[rizk]

That wasn’t the engineers that David killed. Those beings were created by the engineers. They look distinctly different then how the Engineers look.

[TheRealFenwick]

Thank you for still uploading content about the Alien Universe! I wish one day we get the full explanation and go full circle

[wayne]

If David felt that way, I would’ve thought that the first planet he would go back to to destroy the species would be earth

[noway]

There's a single line in the Prologue that strongly hints to David's motives.

When Shaw asks him about the Engineers "What if they are no better than us?" He answers "So long as they are no worse."

This line is taken directly from the Aseop fable of the cow and the donkey.

A cow and a donkey see that the country of their owners has been taken over by a foreign army and arguing whether or not to try to escape.

The donkey decides to stay because "I am already a slave and so long as they are no worse than our old masters nothing will change for me."

By using that line, the writers show that David fears being made a slave again by the engineers just as he was to the humans (Wayland specifically)

And this is just after he has been freed by Wayland's death.

Even Shaw, the human who is kindest to him, is using him as tool to get her to the engineers. Pretty much exactly like Wayland did.

So he kills the engineers in part so that he would not be made a slave again.

[vincerooney]

We really need a full recut of both movies to contain aspects cut out of the script. It’s such a deep story. It’s really too bad Ridley won’t release a full directors version that is uncut.

[jimtroeltsch]

I wish they finished this trilogy. The second movie wasn't very good, but the first one was great. Even with a disappointing second one, I really wanted to see where it went. I feel like the second one was influenced too much by the reception of the first.

[biggstavros]

I love your Prometheus videos Kroft. Very well done.

[pepleatherlab]

I always approached this part of the story with the same understanding. David, unloved and abused by his creator (Weyland) gradually begins to hold humanity in disdain. Now, on a mission to meet the Engineers (humanities creators), he discovers such appalling behavior isn't limited to humanity. The Engineers are just as bad. So the concept of eliminating the Engineers holds a certain poetic symmetry. Destroying his creators creator is basically David giving the middle finger to them all. He didn't need to go back to Earth, as the Xenomorph he genetically designed would surely keep them contained. LV 246 was basically humanity stepping on a landmine David planted long ago.