We found out earlier this year that 20th Century Studios and Hulu were in the process of developing a new Alien movie with Fede Alvarez (Don't Breathe; Evil Dead) on board to write and direct, and the project has now found its lead.
According to THR, up-and-coming Mare of Easttown actress Cailee Spaeny (The Craft: Legacy; Pacific Rim: Uprising) is set to star. No details on her character were provided, but there's already speculation that she might be playing an older take on Newt from James Cameron's Aliens.
Newt was killed-off in Alien 3, but the character was going to be brought back alongside Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and Hicks (Michael Biehn) for Neill Blomkamp's now defunct movie, which would have served as a direct sequel to Aliens.
While there is always a chance this film will be connected to the previous instalments in the franchise, it is being described as a reboot. Either way, it's probably safe to assume that it won't continue the divisive plotlines that played out in Ridley Scott's Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.
Scott will produce under his Scott Free banner, however. Apparently, the legendary filmmaker was intrigued by an idea Alvarez pitched him on a few years ago, and called him out of the blue last year to see if he had any interest in developing it.
Hulu is also working on an Alien TV series with Noah Hawley (Fargo; Legion) that's expected to premiere at some point over the next two years. Whether both projects will be linked in any way remains to be seen.
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.