With production set to start next month,Ridley Scottis finalizing casting for his next entry into theAlienfranchise,Alien: Covenant.Deadlinereveals a laundry list of additions to a cast that already includesMichael Fassbender,Katherine Waterston(Inherent Vice),Demian Bichir(The Hateful Eight)andDanny McBride. If anything, seeing these people all together may be reason enough to buy a ticket.
Set to join that already impressive cast isJussieSmollet(Empire),Amy Seimetz(Upstream Color),Carmen Ejogo(Selma), andCallie Hernandez(LaLaLand). Their roles for the film have not been revealed. While we already knewNoomi Rapacewon’t reteamwith herPrometheuscrew, 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 inThe Martian, which also featured a great ensemble. And while some may not have liked the story ofPrometheus, it was hard to fault the cast, which includedIdris Elba, Guy Pearce,andCharlize Theronas well as Fassbender and Rapace.
Speaking of ensemble,Deadlinereports thatBilly Crudupis 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 inSpotlight, 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 forAlien: Covenant, we do know that it is the second film of a trilogy, one that started withPrometheus. All together, the films will lead up to the events of Scott’s first entry, 1979sAlien. Supposedly,Covenantwill pick up 10 years after the events inPrometheus,which itself takes place some 30 years beforeAlien.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 afterCovenant,leaving 10 years beforeAlien.And maybe that’ll be when the covenant (or agreement) is broken.
In keeping with theAlientradition,Covenantis set to be rated-R. Production is set to begin next month in Australia, for a release date of August 19, 2025.
