The name “Ninth Circle” is a direct reference to Dante’s Inferno—the ninth circle of Hell reserved for traitors. In Alien: Covenant lore, the fan-edit community uses this title to imply a darker, more ruthless version of the film, one that restores deleted scenes and rearranges the narrative to emphasize David’s betrayal, the fate of the colonists, and the original vision Ridley Scott hinted at but allegedly softened for theatrical release.
The edit is commonly attributed to an anonymous fan-editor (sometimes linked to online handles like “Agent9” or “The Covenant Cut”) who sought to merge:
No official studio—20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios/Disney)—has sanctioned this cut.
For casual Alien fans: No. The pacing is slower, some restored scenes feel redundant, and the color grading is intentionally bleak. Alien Covenant 2017 Ninth Circle Edition WebRip...
For die-hard Prometheus/ Alien lore enthusiasts: Yes. It’s the closest we have to Ridley Scott’s rumored “director’s cut” that never materialized. It turns Covenant from a frustrating slasher-in-space into a tragic, philosophical horror film about creators destroying their creators.
For completionists: Seek out also the Chaos Edition and the Crucible Cut for comparison. The Ninth Circle remains the most downloaded Covenant fan-edit as of 2026.
This paper examines the fan-edited version of Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant (2017), known as the “Ninth Circle Edition,” as it appears in WebRip format. Unlike the theatrical cut, this edit re-sequences narrative events, restores deleted scenes, and alters the film’s tonal pacing to emphasize cosmic horror over action. Drawing on Henry Jenkins’ theory of participatory culture, this analysis argues that the Ninth Circle Edition functions as a critical response to studio-mandated compromises. The WebRip format—while legally ambiguous—serves as the primary vector for distributing such unauthorized revisions, enabling fan-editors to act as curators of alternative canons. Methodologically, the paper conducts a scene-by-scene comparison between the theatrical cut and the Ninth Circle WebRip, focusing on three key alterations: the prologue’s framing of David and Walter, the placement of the “Last Supper” sequence, and the omission of specific crew-member archetypes. Findings suggest that fan-edits like the Ninth Circle Edition represent a significant shift in audience agency, challenging traditional notions of cinematic authorship and final cut privilege. The name “Ninth Circle” is a direct reference
Alien: Covenant was divisive upon release. Critics and audiences praised Michael Fassbender’s dual performance and the horror set pieces but criticized:
The Ninth Circle Edition addresses these complaints by:
For hardcore Alien/Prometheus lore fans, this edit feels more tonally consistent with Prometheus (2012) and the original Alien’s themes of cosmic nihilism. No official studio—20th Century Fox (now 20th Century
A “WEBRip” in file-sharing terminology means the video source came from a web streaming service (iTunes, Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc.), not a physical Blu-ray or DVD. For a fan-edit to be distributed as a WEBRip, the creator likely:
Because the final output is not from an official WEB source, the “WEBRip” label is technically inaccurate—it suggests the original source was web-based, not the final edit. Piracy groups sometimes mislabel fan-edits to avoid detection.
File sizes for this edition typically range from 2.5 GB to 8 GB, depending on resolution (720p or 1080p). No legitimate 4K version exists.