The Gold Caste are the antagonists in the 2011 film, Cowboys & Aliens.
The Old West.. where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world. 1873. New Mexico Territory. A stranger with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don't welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde. It's a town that lives in fear. But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known. Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he's been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella, he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents-townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors-all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.
Appearance
The Gold Caste are a race of tall hulking bone grey skeletal aliens with disjointed legs and arms, a fleshy hood of sorts with two glowing sacks on each side and orb shaped with with large maw and red tiny eyes
Powers and Abilities
The Gold Caste possesses the following powers and abilities:
- Advanced Technology
- Advanced Weaponry
- Liquid Gold Extraction
Fate
The Gold Caste is obliterated when Ella blows up their spaceship as they flee the planet.
Trivia
- Base on a graphic novel of the same name.
- The filmmakers cite Alien (1979) and Predator (1987) as an influence on the look of the aliens in the film.
- Due to poor box office results, a sequel didn't happen.
- Body count: 34.
- "The comic has the themes of enemies uniting to fight a common enemy and has the setting of that specific time period, so we kept the inspiration from all of that."
- The aliens were loosely based on the Anunnaki gods of Zecharia Sitchin's interpretation of the Babylonian religion, who have a distinct interest in gold.
- It was unclear if the red scar Jake gives the über-alien after escaping vivisection would be enough of an identifier to distinguish it from other aliens, so the creature was redesigned with translucent, pale skin due to the lack of time spent outside.
- In addition to the aliens, other visual effects were required for the speeders, the alien spaceship, its interior, environment re-creations, and the head-up display for Jake's arm gauntlet. For the invasion of the town of Absolution, both practical laser lighting and fire effects were utilized, along with practical ships and effects enhancements.
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