The Xenomorph was originally designed by Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger, based on his lithograph titled "Necronom IV" which was adapted for the first Alien film by Ridley Scott. Giger's design gave the creature its iconic biomechanical and nightmarish look. In terms of in-universe creation within the Alien story, there are multiple layers:
- The mysterious extraterrestrial race called the Engineers (also known as Space Jockeys) are hinted to have created or engineered the Xenomorphs as a bio-weapon or experiment, as seen in the Alien and Prometheus movies. The Engineers' facility contained Xenomorph murals suggesting they planned these creatures long ago.
- In the later films Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, the android David is shown to have conducted genetic experiments combining Engineer bio-weapon "black goo" and other DNA, effectively creating or re-creating the Xenomorph species. This suggests David played a significant role in the Xenomorph's modern incarnation.
- Another theory proposes the Xenomorph evolved naturally on a distant planet "Xenomorph Prime," where it adapted over millennia into the predatory species known.
Thus, the Xenomorph's creation lore involves H. R. Giger as the visual designer of the creature for film, the Engineers as the ancient creators or progenitors in-universe, and David the android as a key creator or re-creator in the storyline explored in the more recent prequels.
In summary, H. R. Giger created the Xenomorph's design artistically, while the fictional Engineers and David are responsible for the Xenomorph's creation and development in the Alien universe narrative.
