Pilot Alien (The Thing)

 The Pilot Alien is a member of an advanced extraterrestrial race who collected different specimens from different planets. 100,000 years ago a group of these creatures were on a planet zoological expedition, and unawarely captured and stored a creature assimilated by the The Thing in one of its containment pods. The Thing in disguise broke free and killed all the crew in the ship, and assimilated one of them. The pilot of the massive spacecraft crashes the ship on Earth in Antarctica, hoping that it would kill the hostile organism. However the parasitic creature survives the crash and climbs out of the space craft, only to be frozen and found 100,000 years later by a group of Norwegian scientists.

Biology

The pilot species is somewhat similar to the fossilized Mala'kak (Space Jockey, Engineer) from the 1979 Alien film. The alien pilots have a biomechanoid appearance, standing at around 12 feet tall. The head of the creature has three vertically placed eyes with a biomechanoid breathing apparatus running back into the creature's chest. The pilot also has two massive elongated arms which bends backwards towards the creature's back.

Technology

Spaceship interior.

Little is know about these creature's life style and technology. The pilots travel around the galaxy in gigantic flying saucers, they control their spacecraft by connecting and suspending themselves via tubings connected to their back from the control panel in the middle of the pilot chamber. The interior of their spacecraft are biomechanic in appearance. The saucer is powered by several large energy generators that emits blue light.

Notes

• The name "The Pilot" was given to the creature by the ADI special effects team.
• The pilot creature only appeared in the original cut of 2011 version of The Thing.
• The creature was suppose to be found by protagonist Elizabeth along with its many dead crew within the spaceship to provide a backstory to the crash.
• This idea was discarded by the studio head due to confusion from the audience on what the creature was in the initial screening.
• An outline of the creature can still be seen in the official theatrical cut of the film.

Gallery

The mummified pilot dead for 100,000 years.

Pilot's spacecraft.