For almost forty years the Alien films have been switching up gender roles and mining the rich field of metaphors for sex and sexuality. So it's hard to believe that the subversive franchise has yet to feature any LGBT characters. Until now. With Alien: Covenant, Ridley Scott is taking the long-running, constantly-evolving film series back to its roots in deep space terror,
Following suit with Prometheus, Covenant is named after the ship at the center of its narrative -- this time around, a massive terraforming expedition transporting thousands of souls to a new homeland. A not-too-subtle allegory for Noah's Ark, everyone aboard the Covenant came onboard part of a couple, two-by-two, man and wife, and in the case of Demián Bichir and Nathaniel Dean's characters, man and husband.
Last summer, I was lucky enough to visit the set of Alien: Covenant in Sydney, Australia where I had a chance to speak with Bichir and Dean about their characters and the unique relationship they're bringing to the screen. And it's not just unique because it's the first LGBTQ relationship in the Alien-verse, but an incredibly uncommon portrayal of gay men on a much larger scale. Bichir plays Sergeant Lowe, the officer in charge of the military side of the expedition, and Dean plays his husband and colleague Sergeant Hallet, another member of the security detail. In true Alien fashion, the film is flipping conventional gender and sexuality stereotypes on their head, and the franchise's first gay couple are "old-school" military types, consummate protectors, and as Bichir explained, macho as could be.
Bichir plays Sergeant Lowe, the officer in charge of the military side of the expedition, and Dean plays his husband and colleague Sergeant Hallet, another member of the security detail. In true Alien fashion, the film is flipping conventional gender and sexuality stereotypes on their head, and the franchise's first gay couple are "old-school" military types, consummate protectors, and as Bichir explained, macho as could be.
We are all couples on this ship, all kinds of couples even men and men. For me that's a beautiful side of the story when you can have these two almost iconic macho types being together and loving each other and being a part of keeping everyone alive.
If you've seen Covenant's five-minute prologue, you'll have seen that in action already, and you'll also see the relaxed approach the film is taking to the matter. While it's a notable step forward for representation in one of the film industry's formative franchises, the film distinctly handles Lowe and Hallet's relationship as an absolutely normal, everyday marriage; a relationship that is only remarkable for its strength. As Dean told us:
The thing within this film is that we don’t really italicize it, like it’s just a thing, that these two men who love each other and they happen to be bad ass soldiers, so, you know, that’s been a interesting thing to play out within the ship. It’s been great.
Naturally, when your marriage comes up against a murderous extraterrestrial force, that marriage is going to get a bit strained, but these guys are also working within the parameters of military rank -- meaning Hallet has to take orders from his husband, who also happens to be the commanding officer. "We have some conflicts when dissension comes up," said Dean. "We don’t necessarily eye to eye, you know, like any married couple would or you know, any working couple would." But as Bichir was quick to point out, everybody aboard the Covenant is a professional, and he and Hallet, in particular, are trained soldiers who know that obeying orders is a matter of life and death.
We are grateful to serve on this mission together given the fact that in the past he worked under my command as my subordinate. That can create a problem, but not among us because we know who we are and we are trained for anything. We are basically trained to obey orders and obey ranks but that might raise some eyebrows. The fact that they thought it would be a good idea to be put together on the same team, we are just grateful for that. Before partners, before husbands, and before lovers, we are professionals and we know we can't cross that line because that would be the difference between dead and alive.
Peruse the links to the rest of my set visit coverage below. Alien: Covenant opens in theaters on May 19th.