The first trailer for Alien: Covenant has left fans of the Alien franchise divided, with some all for the tone presented and others disappointed with what they saw.
A recut version of the trailer, however, has been released that makes everything feel more horrifying. It’s styled on director Ridley Scott’s first entry in the prequel trilogy, Prometheus, and essentially gets rid of the narrative that’s in the original Covenant trailer.
For example, the official trailer starts off with a conversational scene between what appear to be two crew members. It’s through their conversation that we can pick up some information about what’s happening in that moment, before the focus turns to a marine with a bleeding back. In the recut version, that conversation never happens, and the quick flash of the marine’s back feels much more disturbing because of it.
If the first Alien: Covenant trailer framed the movie as a sci-fi thriller, the recut version brings the franchise back to its horror roots. One of the more noticeable changes is the decision to start the trailer off with Michael Fassbender’s David, the synthetic that survived the Prometheus mission in Scott’s last movie. The official trailer teases David’s appearance, but waits about 30 seconds to introduce him. The recut version starts with a shot David and although it might not seem like a big deal, the decision does alter the tone of the trailer.
Alien: Covenant will be released worldwide on May 19, 2017.
