'Alien: Covenant's' New Xenomorphs Have A New Name

Prometheus concludes with the Trilobite and the Engineer giving birth to The Deacon. The baby blue-skinned alien hardly ended Sir Ridley Scott's film with a bang. Will we ever see that Xenomorph-like creature ever again or was it simply a moment of underwhelming fan service? We'll have to wait and find out, but we do know the name of the aliens wreaking havoc in next summer's Alien: Covenant is not "Deacons."

Below, get some information on the new Xenomorph (SPOILERS ahead).

Recently during an interview with BBC Radio 2's Mark Goodier (via Birth.Movies.Death), actor Michael Fassbender told the host the name of the new Xenomorphs: "Neomorphs." Initially, it appeared as if Fassbender simply misspoke. AVP Galaxy, however, confirmed the name matches their sources' information.

Now we're going into serious spoiler territory. Take this information with a grain of salt, but AVP has some rumored details regarding the alien, its origins, and how the infection takes hold of the Covenant's crew members, who follow the orders of none other than Danny McBride (Vice Principals).

For starters, thanks to the accelerant/black goo mutating a local ecosystem, the Neomorphs are born. Pods begin growing, and these pods release a spore when approached. According to AVP Galaxy, this is how the infection occurs:

These spores infect several members of the Covenant crew by entering the body through the ear and nostrils. The spores cause the growth of the Neomorphs inside the infected hosts – something that is reminiscent of William Gibson's ("Neuromancer") first draft of Alien 3. One of the Neomorphs bursts from the back of one of the infected crew, a "backburster". The other crewmember's Neomorph erupts through their throat.

The births are preceded by the eruption of two small dorsal spikes. These spikes and a pointed skull are also used to break out of an embryonic sack (similar to the Deacon in Prometheus). The Neomorph resembles some of the older concept art of the proto-Aliens from Prometheus, specifically the white colouration, with a pointed head and two dorsal spines. Upon birth, the Neomorphs move on all fours similar to the Bambi-burster from Alien 3.

We'll see how legit all this information ends up being, but AVP Galaxy is typically reliable. If you want to learn more about the Neomorph, head over to their site. The outlet also suggests the Deacon isn't returning to the series in Covenant, although the Neomorph does share minor aesthetic similarities with that alien, as you'd expect.

Alien: Covenant opens in theaters August 4th, 2017.