Weyland-Yutani
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Weyland-Yutani.gif
Weyland-Yutani is a fictional corporation that forms an essential part of the setting of the Alien movie, and its sequels. It is one of the Interstellar Commerce Commission (ICC) corporations that runs the human colonies outside the solar system through the Extrasolar Colonization Administration, has a seat in the Company Review Board, and also has a large presence on Earth. It is only referred to as "The Company", and except for a brief scene in the special edition version of Alien³ and a discussion in Alien: Resurrection, the name Weyland-Yutani is not spoken aloud or shown prominently. The company logo bearing its name is prominently displayed and the name does appear in the scripts and on movie props, and can be deciphered on-screen in Aliens and Alien³. That is how it was found out by fans of the franchise.
Weyland-Yutani is consistently portrayed as having the worst aspects of corporate profiteering, and as being willing to sacrifice decency and human life in the name of the almighty dollar. In various portrayals of the Aliens universe, the corporation has its hands in all aspects of space colonization and research. In Alien: Resurrection, the company is notably absent (according to a scientist it was bought out by Wal-Mart a century prior to the films start). But in almost every other portrayal of human contact with the Aliens from the popular video games to the original Trilogy, they have some involvement. The corporation has consistently ordered its employees and agents to attempt to contain the xenomorph menace so that it can be exploited as a bio-weapon.
In Alien vs. Predator, the founder of this company (then known as Weyland Industries Corporation) is shown to be Charles Bishop Weyland. He is played by Lance Henriksen, the actor that played the android Bishop in Aliens and Alien³, suggesting that the android was modelled after him. However, in the novelization of Alien³ (released before Alien Vs. Predator), it is made clear that the Bishop android was created by a Weyland-Yutani employee named Michael Bishop, which the Alien Vs. Predator filmmakers either chose to ignore or didn't consider Canon. The same can be said for other changes made from the film, but at this time it is unknown.
It is found out during Alien: Resurrection that the company does not exist anymore, and an interstellar international political military force named "United Systems Military" now controls all the aspects of previous W-Y involvement, including projectile firing weapons (pulse rifles and smart guns) and all other weapon development contracts.
The name of Weylan-Yutani was introduced by director Ridley Scott, which was named after his old neighbors which he hated with a passion, so it resulted in him deciding to name the evil "company" after them. The name "Weylan-Yutani" can be seen briefly on several computer monitors during the early scenes in "Alien". It should be noted though, that the name of the company (inexplicably changed to Weyland-Yutani) did not make its explicit on-screen appearance until the special edition of Aliens was released.
Weyland-Yutani can be seen as a major inspiration for the trope of the evil megacorporation in science fiction. Their stylings can be seen as an influence particularly on the Trioptimum Corporation from the System Shock computer game series, and the Union Aerospace Corporation from the Doom computer game series. The company logo is also used by the German industrial musician Wumpscut
| Alien movie series |
| Alien | Aliens | Alien³ | Alien: Resurrection |
| Cross-overs |
| Alien vs. Predator |
| Relating to the Alien universe |
| Bishop | Ellen Ripley | LV-426 | Nostromo | United States Colonial Marines | Weyland-Yutani | Xenomorph | Yautja |