Director Ridley Scott hates religion, or so he says. He told Esquire Magazine that it was “the biggest source of evil.” He loves his rebels—men and women who push against authoritarianism be it government, business or church. Individualism, not faith, is the savior of the age, Scott insists.
And yet Scott seems fascinated by God and, to some level, faith. Even when he excoriates it, the subject seems to fascinate him. From historical dramas (The Kingdom of Heaven) to explicitly biblical epics (Exodus: Gods and Kings) to sci-fi explorations (Prometheus), Scott can’t seem to stay away from the subject. He’s like a kid peering into a dark closet sometime past midnight. He knows there’s nothing there. And yet …
Alien: Covenant may be Scott’s most religious work yet.
Oh, Scott still doesn’t get religion, exactly: That’s pretty obvious from Covenant. And some say that this is most anti-religious work yet: Armond White at The National Review went so far as to call it “The Atheist Covenant.”
But I think that’s selling the film short. So let’s dive a little deeper. (Oh, and if you haven’t seen Alien: Covenant yet, be warned: Spoilers ahead.)
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