With production set to start next month, Ridley Scott is finalizing casting for his next entry into the Alien franchise, Alien: Covenant. Deadline reveals a laundry list of additions to a cast that already includes Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston (Inherent Vice), Demian Bichir (The Hateful Eight) and Danny McBride. If anything, seeing these people all together may be reason enough to buy a ticket.
Set to join that already impressive cast is Jussie Smollet (Empire), Amy Seimetz (Upstream Color), Carmen Ejogo (Selma), and Callie Hernandez (La La Land). Their roles for the film have not been revealed. While we already knew Noomi Rapace won’t reteam with her Prometheus crew, this ensemble makes clear that Scott, and the franchise as a whole, can still pull in the talent. Of course, that is certainly not surprising for the legendary director, who is coming off a major hit in The Martian, which also featured a great ensemble. And while some may not have liked the story of Prometheus, it was hard to fault the cast, which included Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, and Charlize Theron as well as Fassbender and Rapace.
Speaking of ensemble, Deadline reports that Billy Crudup is also in talks to join the project as well. His role has also not been revealed, other than that it will be a “key part.” Crudup himself is coming off of another great ensemble pic in Spotlight, which is expected to do well at this weekend’s Oscar ceremony. The actor always is a great presence on screen, so his addition alone elevates the anticipation.
While not a whole lot has been shared plot-wise for Alien: Covenant, we do know that it is the second film of a trilogy, one that started with Prometheus. All together, the films will lead up to the events of Scott’s first entry, 1979s Alien. Supposedly, Covenant will pick up 10 years after the events in Prometheus, which itself takes place some 30 years before Alien. So that leaves 20 more years until we reach Officer Ripley and company (math!). Perhaps the third film in this trilogy will also occur 10 years after Covenant, leaving 10 years before Alien. And maybe that’ll be when the covenant (or agreement) is broken.
In keeping with the Alien tradition, Covenant is set to be rated-R. Production is set to begin next month in Australia, for a release date of October 6, 2017.
