Alien: Jones The Cat’s Importance & Meaning Explained

The 1976 classic sci-fi horror film Alien follows the crew of the Nostromo - and their cat, Jones - as they’re awoken from their cryosleep by a strange signal that leads them to a mysterious planet and a dangerous creature. While the focus of Alien is on the xenomorph stalking the crew members, fans have fixated on Jones the cat, developing multiple theories around his greater role and possible significance in the movie franchise.

When most people think about the survivors of the original xenomorph attack on the Nostromo, Sigourney Weaver’s character Ellen Ripley is who usually comes to mind first. Even so, Jones, the ginger tomcat who roams the Nostromo in order to take care of any vermin that might have made their way onboard the ship, gets a fair bit of recognition as well, and plays an interesting role in the movie.

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Fans of the original movie think there has to be more to the fact that Ripley Scott and Dan O’Bannon chose to let Jones not only survive the first film, but James Cameron let him survive into the sequel. In fact, there are all sorts of theories about what Jonesy represents and who he really is, with options ranging from Jones being a Flerken from the Marvel universe to him being an on-screen representation of Ridley Scott himself. Some people even suggest that Jonesy was helping the xenomorph all along.

Jonesy’s Importance & Meaning Explained

While Ridley Scott himself has yet to weigh in on the importance of Jones as a character in Alien, fans of the Alien series have a variety of theories as to who Jonesy really is and why he’s actually a member aboard the Nostromo. The first major fan theory is that Jones is actually an analog for Ridley Scott in the film. Jones is the only character in the film who can move about the ship, and thus the plot, freely. He remains unrestrained by the ship; the human characters spend much of the film unlocking and re-locking doors and barriers, but Jones can seemingly transcend the actual set of the film and its physical limitations.

In addition, almost every scene in Alien allows for the idea that Jones is present even if he’s not explicitly shown on screen. He not only leads many of the characters to the next scene or plot point, but also creates moments of tension, helping shape the audience’s reaction to what’s happening, just like the director would. Thus, Jones could represent Ridley Scott.

The next major fan theory for Jonesy is that he’s best friends with the xenomorph, and has been trying to help him kill the crew. This theory is backed up by Jones’ presence in almost every scene where the xenomorph appears. He seemingly leads Lambert to her death when she goes after him, and watches her get killed. He also turns up to spook the crew in a variety of other scenes, like when they repeatedly mistake him for the creature on their scanners.

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Perhaps the wildest fan theory is a crossover between the Alien and Marvel Cinematic Universe, submitting that Jonesy is actually a Flerken. Flerkens are creatures that look like cats, but instead have pocket dimensions in their mouths. Flerkens were most famously introduced in Captain Marvel with a cat named Goose. With Disney owning both Fox Studios and Marvel, many fans wonder how those two groups could be integrated; with Jones and Goose both being orange male cats, there’s an obvious connection.

Regardless of the significance of Jones as a character, there’s no doubt he’s become one of the most beloved cats in horror cinema. Jonesy is so beloved that he even has his own book. Rory Lucey presents the full story of Alien from the Jones' perspective in Jonesy: Nine Lives on the Nostromo. Despite the theories, it's most likely Jones is simply a cat that serves as a companion for the crew. He’s probably included because H.R. Giger was a well-known cat lover; the cast and crew of Alien wanted to pay tribute to him. The most obvious explanation for why he survives with Ripley is to help bring a slight upbeat to an otherwise dark film. It's also possible the director just didn’t want to kill a cat.