Danny McBride talks about his surprising fate in 'Alien: Covenant'

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May 22, 2017 7:23 PM

Danny McBride was as surprised as everyone else to learn what happens to his character in "Alien: Covenant."

Danny McBride and Katherine Waterson in "Alien: Covenant."

Warning: Major spoilers ahead if you haven't seen "Alien: Covenant."

Yes, Danny McBride is as surprised as you are that his character in "Alien: Covenant," Tennessee, survives the carnage of the movie.

"I'm very excited about that," McBride recently told Business Insider. "When you read a script like this, you turn the page and go, 'Okay, I'm still in the script,' turn the page, 'I'm still in the script,' turn the page, 'I'm still in the script.'"

It's well-known that generally in the "Alien" movies, all the characters get killed one by one by the aliens until there's one person left who is clever enough to survive (that honor went to Sigourney Weaver's Ripley character in the first two movies, leading to the character becoming one of the most popular in movie history).

In fact, Tennessee made history being the first pilot to survive in an "Alien" movie. McBride has been a fan of the legendary franchise that "Covenant" director Ridley Scott started back in 1979 with the groundbreaking first "Alien" movie, so he's aware how shocking his survival is.

In "Alien: Covenant," along with McBride's Tennessee, a female character, Daniels (Katherine Waterson), survives.

Sworn to keep all details about the movie secret until its release, McBride said he got a kick out of messing with his friends about the fate of Tennessee before the movie opened in theaters.

"It was fun being at dinners that I had with my friends and getting them to guess how I get slaughtered in the movie," McBride said. "Then, I'd say, 'You'll just have to see.'"

Though McBride won't comment on if he'll be in the next "Alien" movie, he's skeptical about his character's future.

At the end of the movie, Tennessee and Daniels are placed in sleep pods as they set course to another planet. But the evil robot David (Michael Fassbender) is also on board.

Numerous characters haven't made it out of cryogenic sleep in the franchise. In the first 10 minutes of "Covenant," the captain of the ship, Branson (James Franco), dies when his sleep pod catches fire. In "Covenant" we learn that David killed Elizabeth (Noomi Rapace), the hero of "Prometheus." Though it's not explained how it happened, it's possible David put an alien embryo inside her while she was asleep in her pod. And in the beginning of "Alien 3," characters Newt and Hicks died in their sleep pods after surviving the events of "Aliens."

With news that the next "Alien" movie might be set between "Prometheus" and "Covenant," it could be a while before we get to know what happens to Tennessee and Daniels after they wake from their long sleep... if they do wake.

"Alien: Covenant" is currently in theaters.

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