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"This is wheat. Believe me, I know wheat."
Dan Lopé examining the local vegetation on Planet 4 (from Alien: Covenant)

Sergeant Dan Lopé was the chief security officer aboard the Weyland-Yutani Corporation colony ship USCSS Covenant. He and husband Sergeant Tom Hallet were aboard the Covenant in 2104 during its disastrous voyage to Origae-6, during which it was diverted to a mysterious world after intercepting a rogue transmission. Lopé was part of an expedition team dispatched to explore the planet and was killed by a dangerous alien parasite.

Biography[]

Early life and career[]

"Everyone on my team is a friend. It has to be that way when you realise how closely we'll be working together."
Dan Lopé to Sarah Rosenthal (from Alien: Covenant - Origins)

Dan Lopé[4] hailed from Iowa in the United States of America, where he became intimately familiar with wheat.[2] In his adult years, Lopé served in a military force and lost a back tooth, though the latter was unrelated to his combat experience. During his military career he reached the rank of sergeant, and also met and married fellow soldier Tom Hallet. Later, he was recruited as a security guard by Weyland-Yutani Corporation and placed in charge of vetting applicants for the security complement aboard the Weyland-Yutani colony ship USCSS Covenant.[4]

Investigating the Earthsavers[]

"If their ultimate objection is to stop the Covenant from leaving, the closer we come to launch, they might become impulsive. Because if that's their goal, they're running out of time to achieve it."
Lopé discussing the Earthsavers with Kyoka Bevridge (from Alien: Covenant - Origins)
LopeVision

Lopé broadcasting his status report from the Covenant

While Lopé was filling the final team slot at the Weyland Tower in London, applicant Meryem Tadik took issue with the sergeant's interview questions and fled, nearly luring Lope into an ambush in the Tower's lobby. During the fighting, Lope was given some timely assistance by Sarah Rosenthal, one of the applicants for the last slot. Impressed with her performance, Lopé hired her on the spot and they both worked to track down the applicant Tadik, who had fled the scene.[4]

Deconstructing a disguise worn by Tadik, Lopé deduced that she was in fact Glynis Hazelton, a teacher who moonlighted as an exotic dancer, and he and Rosenthal collared her at a nightclub. Hazelton briefly mentioned a "prophet" before immolating herself, leaving Lopé with little else to go on. Through more investigative work, said "prophet" was revealed as Duncan Fields, who led a group dubbed the Earthsavers. This group was dedicated to halting the Covenant mission by any means necessary and had recruited both former Weyland and Yutani employees to carry out sabotage, and the attempt on Lopé's life had been one such mission. The group was tracked to their compound at Rose Hill Farm in Hampshire and neutralized by Lopé and his colleague Kyoka Bevridge, with Fields placed in custody.[4]

Last message to Earth[]

"A six-person squad might not be sufficient for a mission with so many variables."
Lopé's final status report (from Crew Messages)

Around the time of the Covenant's departure from Earth, Lopé warned Weyland-Yutani that a six-strong security crew would likely not be sufficient for the expedition, citing the many variables involved.[6] During a party held by the Covenant crew before they entered hypersleep, Lopé and Hallet participated in an arm-wrestling match, with Lopé winning; Lopé nevertheless affirmed his love for his partner.[7]

Mission to Planet 4[]

"We just lost forty-seven colonists and our captain. We need to acknowledge that."
Lopé makes his priorities known (from Alien: Covenant)
TomNDan

Lopé and partner Hallet

One year into its voyage in 2104, the Covenant was hit by the energy scatter from a stellar ignition. The event caused serious damage to the ship and killed Captain Jacob Branson along with several colonists. While the crew were recovering from the disaster, Lopé recommended to acting captain Chris Oram that those losses be acknowledged; Oram, however, overruled the sergeant's concerns in favor of concentrating on repairs. Shortly, pilot Tennessee Faris intercepted a rogue transmission from a nearby planet while effecting repairs on the ship's solar sail. Seeing that the celestial object was weeks rather than years from their current position, Oram decided to investigate the source rather than continue traveling to Origae-6 and risk further incident. He chartered a team to travel to the mysterious world with Lopé and his security team attached to the expedition, and they departed the Covenant aboard Lander One.[3]

Upon landing on the world, the crew came across a field of vegetation. Lopé sampled a grain,[3] recognizing it as wheat from his childhood in Iowa.[2] Shortly after, Lopé charged subordinate Ben Ledward with guarding biologist Karine Oram while she ran some tests on the environment. Lopé and the rest of the team continued on, tracing the source of the transmission. The search led to a crashed alien ship; as the expedition proceeded inside, Hallet examined a small fungal lifeform and was unknowingly infected with mysterious spores. Lopé exhorted his partner to keep up with the rest of the group, likewise unaware of Hallet's condition. Hallet duly fell ill; meanwhile, Karine radioed the team to inform them that Ledward was also unwell, and that she needed everyone to return to Lander One.[3]

FUBAR[]

"I will always be with you. My love, my angel. Light of my life."
Lopé speaking his last words to Hallet (from Alien: Covenant)
LopeTaxi

Lopé on the planet

Lopé and the others were unable to reach the lander before it was destroyed in pilot Maggie Faris' misguided effort to kill a dangerous alien creature born from Ledward. Meanwhile, Hallet began convulsing and screaming in pain, and as the team tried to restrain him, an identical creature burst from his throat and mouth before fleeing. Shocked at Hallet's horrific demise, Lopé remained at his body and mourned his loss while the rest of the security personnel secured the area. Shortly after, both creatures attacked the group. Security officer Ankor was killed, and ship's synthetic Walter lost a hand. The aliens were scared away by a flare fired by a mysterious interloper, who led the crew to a nearby city and into a temple-like structure.[3]

Their rescuer introduced himself as David, the synthetic from the ill-fated Prometheus mission. Aware that any transmissions to the Covenant would not penetrate the temple's thick stone, Lopé immediately queried the synthetic on how to reach the roof. Taking his subordinate Cole with him, Lopé eventually managed to get in touch with Tennessee, who let them know he was able to evacuate the surviving crew. Chief terraformist Katherine Daniels joined them, ordering Tennessee to use the Covenant's cargo lift to transport the survivors.[3]

Alien encounter[]

"The fuck was that?"
Lopé moments after being attacked by an alien parasite (from Alien: Covenant)
AcidFacial

Lopé injured by acid

Meanwhile, Oram had gone missing, and Lopé and Cole searched the temple for him. Cole discovered Oram's dead body, and was attacked by a crab-like parasite, which latched on to Cole's gun. The guard managed to dislodge the Alien and attempted to kill it; in the confusion, it lunged at Lopé and successfully latched to his face. Cole ran to Lopé's aid and, using his knife, cut the parasite off of Lopé and threw it aside. However, the resulting acid spray burned Lopé's left cheek and severely injured him. As Cole tried to bandage Lopé's wound, an alien lifeform that had emerged from Oram appeared and pounced on Cole, violently killing him. Lopé managed to get to his feet and escape the carnage.[3]

While hiding from the alien, Lopé heard Daniels calling for him, and the two regrouped and escaped the temple along with David, who had disguised himself as Walter. They boarded the cargo lift piloted by Tennessee, and "Walter" treated Lopé's wound with the meagre medical supplies aboard the lift. Daniels managed to kill the alien as the survivors escaped the planet. Back aboard the Covenant, Lopé was treated by Tennessee and communications officer Upworth, and placed in an induced coma. Some time later, another alien erupted from the comatose Lopé's chest, killing him and subsequently slaughtering Upworth and her husband Ricks. The creature would ultimately be killed by Daniels and Tennessee.[3]

Personality and traits[]

Dan Lopé had a grandfatherly manner that belied his effectiveness in combat,[2] and valued competence on the battlefield. Particularly impressed with Sarah Rosenthal, he chose her as his partner while tracking down the Earthsaver cult and got to know her along the way.[4] Lopé also deeply loved his husband Hallet, showing extreme grief when he was killed on Planet 4.[3]

Equipment[]

Lopé was armed with an RMC F903WE Automatic Assault Rifle.[8]

Behind the scenes[]

"I play Sergeant Lope, and I'm in charge of the military part of the mission. I have a small platoon, which might not be sufficient to deal with so many unknown variables, but that's what we have. Our mission is to keep everyone safe, and we are trained for it and we will do our best to keep it that way."
Demian Bichir (from Alien: Covenant: The Official Collector's Edition)

Dan Lopé was portrayed by Demián Bichir.[3] During production of Alien: Covenant, Bichir named the security unit under Lopé's command as the "Perros Locos", or "Crazy Dogs".[9]

Appearances[]

Gallery[]

Videos[]

References[]

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