Soon after “The Martian” became the most successful film of his career, Ridley Scott returned to space, for the third time in five years. This time, it’s to once again continue the long-running sci-fi franchise he birthed, with “Alien: Covenant,” the sixth (or eighth, if you count the ‘vs. Predator’ spin-offs) film in the series begun with his 1979 classic “Alien.”
READ MORE: First Look: Katherine Waterston In ‘Alien: Covenant’
2012’s “Prometheus,” the last time Scott returned to this universe, was a slightly different proposition — a stealth follow-up that expanded the universe, but only turned out to be a direct prequel to the earlier films in its final moments. Perhaps because the film was cooly received by fans, ‘Covenant’ looks to return to a style closer to the original “Alien,” but its predecessor won’t be forgotten: we already knew that Michael Fassbender would be reprising his role as android David, but now it’s been confirmed that Noomi Rapace, the previous film’s lead, will be back.
Rapace and her character Elizabeth Shaw were noticeable absences from earlier releases about the film, but Deadline have reported that the actress has joined the shoot, which is well underway in Australia, and will be filming for several weeks. That suggests she won’t be the lead again, but she should have a significant role, and it’s good to see the gap between the films being further bridged.
Rapace joins Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Jussie Smollett, Amy Seimetz, Carmen Ejogo, Callie Hernandez and Billy Crudup in the film, and you can actually get a first look at McBride’s character in the behind the scenes still above, courtesy of Superhero Hype.
