UPDATED: Watch New 'Alien: Covenant' And 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2' Trailers

While the real world continued its descent into a once-thought-fictional dystopia, it turns out last night was one hell of a night for trailers for science fiction movies. Both Alien: Covenant and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 dropped new trailers, and both are goddamn fantastic, albeit for very different reasons. Take a gander at both after the jump.

First up, Alien: Covenant.

I’m jazzed about Alien: Covenant. I’ll always watch a Ridley Scott movie, especially one set in the Alien universe; I love Prometheus, despite the flaws; and the plot details and concept we’ve encountered all sound rad. That said, much of what we’ve seen thus far has left me a bit cold. That first trailer was brutal and promising, but largely just okay. And that five-minute prologue the other day was flat out pointless.

But this trailer, this trailer delivers the goods. Hectic and chaotic and holy shit they don’t skimp on the monster action, bringing back a few old favorites as well as showing bits and blips of some of the new kids at the party. And when have we ever seen a Xenomorph kicking it in broad daylight? Has that ever happened? I hope they didn’t just tip their entire hand, but damn, Alien: Covenant looks awesome. And it opens on May 19, right around my birthday.

UPDATE: And here's a new red band trailer with a bit more blood and a tad more cursing.

And now for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

This Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has all of the things we expect. There are weird ass space creatures, quippy jokes, Rocket being a smartass, insane sci-fi action, and classic rock—this time “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac, a band I hate, though this track is admittedly a perfect fit.

The gang’s all here: Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), and Baby Groot (Vin Diesel). As well as some new additions, like Pom Klementieff’s Mantis and Elizabeth Debicki’s Ayesha. Familiar faces like Yondu (Michael Rooker) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) are also more front and center, and at least marginally part of the team.

Oh, and Kurt Motherfucking Russell’s Ego the Living Planet shows up. And in case you were wondering about the veracity of those reports that he’s Peter Quill’s father, this trailer leaves little doubt, unless he’s a lying ass space scoundrel, which I guess is possible. But man, I would be psyched to find out Kurt Russell is my dad. I mean, I love my dad, but he’s no Kurt Russell. Even he would admit that.

Fun and bubbly and action packed—I adore that moment between Gamora and Baby Groot—this Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 trailer also has a bit of a darker edge than usual. “Fear, jealousy, betrayal,” all of those things and the potential demise of the galaxy were on the table last time out, but the actual severity of them was pushed aside a bit while it looks like it may skew a bit to the grim side this time around. Which isn’t a bad thing.

Directed once again by James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens on May 5, also near my birthday. I hate my birthday, but I’m looking forward to May for the movies.