Walter One

Walter1
Alien character
First appearanceMeet Walter (2017)
Last appearanceAlien: Covenant (2017)
Created by
Portrayed byMichael Fassbender
In-universe information
SpeciesAndroid
GenderMale
OccupationCaregiver
Ship's mechanic
AffiliationCovenant crew

Walter One (Walter1), commonly known simply as Walter, is a fictional character featured in the Alien franchise, portrayed by Michael Fassbender. He is the counterpart to the android David 8, also played by Fassbender. He appeared in Alien: Covenant (2017), its novelization, and multiple accompanying promotional short films.

Background

Walter was portrayed by Michael Fassbender, who also played the antagonistic android David.

Unlike each preceding android in the Alien franchise, who had been named in ascending alphabetical order (Ash, Bishop, Call, David), director Ridley Scott named the new character Walter after Alien producer Walter Hill.[1] The character was given an American accent to differentiate him from the British-accented David.[2]

The character was featured in a feature, stylized as an advertisement for the fictional Weyland-Yutani corporation, released in March 2017.[3][4] Included in the promotional was a link to "MeetWalter.com", which provided in-universe information about the character.[3]

Fictional character biography

Main article: Alien: Covenant

Walter One is engineered as a reformed synthetic, after the David 8 model was deemed "too human".[5] According to a trailer and movie promotional website, he has "AMD's Ryzen and Radeon Instinct technology", which allows him to become personalized for each customer.[3][6][7] Walter is assigned to monitor and maintain the Covenant, a colonial vessel carrying couples in suspended animation to Origae-6. When a neutrino-burst damages the ship, Walter reanimates his 14[8] human crewmates. The crew receives a distress call from a seemingly habitable, and much closer, planet and decides to land. On the planet, several of the crewmates are attacked by neomorphs and are saved by David 8, who brings them to an Engineer temple.

In the temple, Walter discovers Elizabeth Shaw's dissected corpse, used by David as material for his evolving creature designs. When Walter confronts David, he is attacked and his spine is removed. However, unlike the earlier model David, Walter's advanced systems allow him to heal. He catches up with David as he is attacking Daniels. She is able to escape as the two synthetics fight. Ultimately, David wins and assumes Walter's identity. It is unclear if Walter is permanently damaged or will be able to recover.

Reception

Fassbender's performance as Walter, and David, was widely praised.[2][9][10] Cinema Blend's Gregory Wakeman said "Michael Fassbender who once again steals the show in his dual roles as Walter and David. What we see is far from conventional, yet still always verges on eye-catching. The interactions between the two androids, whose disparate personalities are pitch-perfectly portrayed by the Irishman, are genuinely bizarre, in both a good and bad way."[11]

Aaron Couch of The Hollywood Reporter pointed to the interactions between David and Walter as possibly homoerotic.[12] Others described their relationship as "exclusively gay".[13] Matt Zoller Seitz, writing for RogerEbert.com, noted that "the David-Walter relationship differentiates 'Covenant' from all other 'Alien' films."[14]

Appearances

References

  1. ^ "Ridley Scott reveals the secret behind why Fassbender is called Walter in Alien: Covenant". Digital Spy. 8 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  2. ^ a b Wilkinson, Alissa (May 19, 2017). "Alien: Covenant is too muddled to pull off its deeply ambitious Satan allegories". Vox. Archived from the original on April 16, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Burton, Bonnie (March 13, 2017). "'Alien: Covenant' trailer recounts android's creepy creation". Cnet. Archived from the original on March 25, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  4. ^ Alexander, Julia (March 10, 2017). "Alien: Covenant's new synthetic, Walter, gets assembled in new featurette". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 26, 2017. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  5. ^ Bloomer, Jeffrey (19 May 2017). "Alien: Covenant's Exclusively Gay Moment Isn't the One They Teased. It's Much More Glorious". Slate. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  6. ^ "Meet Walter". Archived from the original on August 4, 2018. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Alien: Covenant / Meet Walter / 20th Century FOX". Youtube. 10 March 2017.
  8. ^ Smith, Damon. "Review: Alien Covenant (15)". Evening Express. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  9. ^ Ehrlich, David (December 13, 2017). "'Alien: Covenant' Star Michael Fassbender Delivered Two of the Year's Best Performances in the Same Movie". Indie Wire. Archived from the original on May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  10. ^ Coyle, Jake (May 9, 2017). "Review: In 'Alien: Covenant,' a return to gut-busting horror". Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 23, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  11. ^ Wakeman, Gregory. "Alien: Covenant Review". Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on March 30, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  12. ^ Couch, Aaron (May 21, 2017). "'Alien: Covenant' Screenwriter on the Michael Fassbender Scene That "Easily Could Have Gone Wrong"". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  13. ^ Bloomer, Jeffrey (May 19, 2017). "Michael Fassbender's Gay Kiss With Himself in Alien: Covenant: An Appreciation". Slate. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  14. ^ "Alien: Covenant movie review & film summary (2017) | Roger Ebert". Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  15. ^ Cotter, Padraig (June 27, 2017). "How Does the Alien: Covenant Novelization Differ From the Film?". Den of Geek. Retrieved February 14, 2021.