Since 20th Century Fox dropped some major info on Alien: Covenant, updates have been trickling in more frequently, including the inclusion of Fantastic Beasts star Katherine Waterston. Now, another new cast member has been added to the roster.
Deadline reports that Demian Bichir joins the Prometheus sequel. The actor’s role is still a mystery, but his involvement as Bob in Quentin Tarantino’s blood-stained Western, The Hateful Eight, lends more weight and interest to his casting. The trade also notes that he joins a cast that includes Noomi Rapace, although this might be an oversight. Despite the actress’ prominent role in Prometheus, Scott towards the beginning of February that she won’t in fact be returning. Could things have worked out somehow since then? Sure, though it still seems unlikely.
Elsewhere, Michael Fassbender will reprise his role of the mischievous A.I. David, Waterston will be the new female lead, and comedian Danny McBride was said to be in early discussions for an undisclosed role. While Prometheus ended with Rapace’s Elizabeth jetting off with David to find out more about the Engineers, Covenant will feature a new crew on a new ship (called Covenant) headed to a remote planet to discover what they believe to be an uncharted paradise. It’s unclear what this planet is exactly, and David’s presence could mean anything. Is it the planet where Elizabeth and David were headed? Is it another planet they landed on instead?
Alien: Covenant, which Scott says will be followed by two (maybe even three) more sequels, is scheduled for release on October 6th, 2017.
Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created in ALIEN with ALIEN: COVENANT, the second chapter in a prequel trilogy that began with PROMETHEUS — and connects directly to Scott’s 1979 seminal work of science fiction. Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world — whose sole inhabitant is the “synthetic” David (Michael Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.
