The Alien franchise is one that is commonly on the receiving end of fan theories, and this one finally explains how the Xenomorph eggs got on the Space Jockey ship. The various Alien movies have gone in-depth in explaining the lore of the franchise as well as how the Xenomorphs actually work, with each stage of the Xenomorph life cycle being given a highly detailed explanation. However, explaining how Xenomorphs work has actually created a massive plot hole in the Alien franchise, and it all surrounds the iconic Alien eggs that are seen in the original 1979 film. However, this theory explains how they got there.
Ridley Scott’s Alien franchise is one of the most beloved sci-fi series of all time, with new entries still getting released to this day. The original Alien film started out fairly simple, with it essentially following a crew of space truckers as they board an abandoned ship and are forced to fight off a deadly alien. Since then, the plethora of sequels, prequels, and spin-offs have spent much of their time exploring the origin and rules of the Xenomorphs, such as how the eggs are created. The upcoming Alien TV show and movie Alien: Romulus are expected to continue this trend, with them possibly confirming this massive Xenomorph egg fan theory.
The Original Alien Eggs Create A Plot Hole
Although the original alien eggs are one of the most iconic parts of the first Alien movie, with them even being featured on the poster, they create one of the biggest plot holes in the franchise’s history. In the film, the seven-member crew of the Nostromo finds the abandoned alien-infested ship and enters, unaware of the dangers that inhabit the metal death trap. Early in the film, the crew finds a massive room full of glowing green alien eggs, although at the time the team isn’t sure what they are. Kane eventually touches one and a Facehugger pops out, with the crew leaving the chamber and not returning.
Although the Xenomorph is prominently featured in the first Alien, the existence of the eggs is never expanded on. However, Aliens and the other subsequent films explore how Xenomorphs are born, including where the eggs come from. As future films reveal, the eggs are actually living beings called Ovomorphs, with them sharing a parasitic relationship with the Facehuggers. Ovomorphs are always laid by a Queen Xenomorph, with this being seen in Aliens. The franchise has provided no other canon explanation for how eggs can be created, causing a problem for the story of the first Alien movie that still hasn’t been resolved.
In the original Alien movie, the crew comes across a room full of Xenomorph eggs, but they never see a Queen. If there was a Queen on board, the massive beast would have undoubtedly reared its head at some point in the film. Since they didn’t find it, the Queen wasn’t on the abandoned ship, and a ton of eggs without a Queen simply makes no sense. The real-world explanation is simply that the writers didn’t come up with the rule of a Queen having to lay the eggs yet, but there is still no in-universe explanation. However, one fan theory may have provided an explanation for the eggs’ existence.
Alien Director’s Cut Provides An Egg Explanation
This complicated Alien theory stems from Ridley Scott’s Alien director’s cut, which was released in 2003. The film contained several deleted scenes that weren’t present in the original film, with one being especially of note due to the egg plot hole. In the scene, Ripley travels to the Nostromo‘s hold where she sees a horrific sight. Dallas and Brett are trapped in cocoons and being turned into Xenomorph eggs, with this terrifying visual being cut from the final film due to it slowing down the final act. However, the Eggmorphing scene has become famous among Alien fans, with it being one of the most popular deleted scenes.
This Alien director’s cut deleted scene implies that there is another way of Xenomorph eggs being created, that being Xenomorphs converting dead human hosts into Xenomorph eggs. This could be where all of the eggs from the original film came from, with the scene implying that they are actually deceased hosts. While this Eggmorphing tactic still hasn’t been confirmed as canon, it is the most logical way to tie up this plot hole.
Eggmorphing actually does more than tie up the egg plot hole, as it explains another major mystery from the original Alien film. The movie never really explains what happened to the Engineer crew of the original ship, but the Eggmorphing theory does. It could be that the crew of the ship were all killed by the wandering Xenomorph and then turned into eggs, with each of the eggs being a member of the ship’s original crew. This could have been the original intention of the cut Eggmorphing scene, with it tying up many of the loose ends from the first Alien movie.
Original Alien Egg Plan Removes Need For A Queen
This original Xenomorph egg plan is a great idea, as the storyline actually removes the need for a Queen. Under the current canon, there has to have been some way that a Queen got on board, laid the eggs, and then escaped, or it had to have been on board throughout the events of the first film. However, the Eggmorphing plot device means that a Queen never had to be on board the ship in the original film. The story of 1979’s Alien works a lot better under this method, smoothing out some of the wrinkles that exist with the current story.
Alien Director’s Cut Egg Theory Doesn’t Explain Everything
While the Eggmorphing theory is a cool idea, the deleted director’s cut scene still doesn’t explain all of the problems that this creates with the Alien franchise. For example, if Eggmorphing is a real thing that Xenomorphs actually do, the films would then have to explain why Xenomorphs never do it again in any other Alien movie. On top of that, it would need to explain what makes a good host for a Xenomorph egg, and why this is even possible. Although some story details are fixed if Eggmoprhing is reintroduced to the original Alien movie, it opens up a ton of other complicated problems.
Alien (1979)
Alien is a sci-fi horror-thriller by director Ridley Scott that follows the crew of a spaceship known as the Nostromo. After the staff of the merchant’s vessel perceives an unknown transmission as a distress call, its landing on the source moon finds one of the crew members attacked by a mysterious lifeform, and they soon realize that its life cycle has merely begun.
- Release Date
- June 22, 1979
- Director
- Ridley Scott
- Cast
- Sigourney Weaver , Ian Holm , John Hurt , Veronica Cartwright , Harry Dean Stanton , Tom Skerritt , Yaphet Kotto
- Rating
- R
- Runtime
- 117 minutes
- Genres
- Horror , Sci-Fi , Thriller
- Writers
- Dan O’Bannon
- Story By
- Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett
- Budget
- $11 million
- Studio(s)
- 20th Century Fox
- Distributor(s)
- 20th Century Fox
- Sequel(s)
- Aliens , Alien 3 , Alien Resurrection , Prometheus , Alien: Covenant
- Franchise(s)
- Alien
