Alien Covenant cast update: Noomi Rapace to star in Prometheus sequel despite Ridley Scott's earlier comments

Noomi Rapace in Prometheus — Noomi Rapace as Dr Elizabeth Shaw in Ridley Scott's 2012 film Prometheus 20th Century Fox

Noomi Rapace may be a part of Ridley Scott's sequel to 2012's Prometheus after all. Deadline reported that the actress was spotted on the sets of the follow-up film Alien: Covenant that is being shot in Australia.

Rapace's character Dr Elizabeth Shaw was the only one to survive Prometheus, along with Michael Fassbender's AI character David's head. So it was expected that she would continue the story in the next film.

However, in February, Scott told a Daily Mail journalist that the actress would not be part of the new film. Even the casting announcements for the film mentioned Fassbender but not her, which led many to believe that she would be replaced. Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride and Demian Bichir were announced as having signed up for the project.

Rumours regarding The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo actress have yet to be confirmed but fans will be happy to learn that there is a chance the film will have a more substantial connection to its predecessor. On the other hand, the official synopsis mentions, "sole inhabitant is the 'synthetic' David, survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition", which leads us to wonder in what capacity Dr Shaw will be making her return.

Official synopsis for Covenant:

Set as the second chapter in a prequel trilogy that began with Prometheus, Alien: Covenant connects directly to Ridley Scott's 1979 seminal work of science fiction. It begins with the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy. There, the crew discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world — whose sole inhabitant is the "synthetic" David, survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.

Movie Pilot also reported that Fassbender would be playing two roles in the film and 20<sup>th Century Fox gave a tiny glimpse at what his alternate character could look like. The photo shows the actor in the background sporting brunette hair while the character David had blonde locks.