It's being reported that Gemma Arterton, (Bond girl Strawberry Fields in "Quantum of Solace", Io in the GOD-AWFUL "Clash of the Titans" regurgitation, and Tamina in Jerry Bruckheimer's "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time"), has been asked to meet with Ridley Scott for the lead female role in his upcoming Alien Prequel Duology. Previously, Scott had apparently asked to meet with Noomi Rapace, star of the original adaptation of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", for what would appear to be the same part.
It seems that Scott is intent on following the same stipulations which lead to his casting of Sigourney Weaver in his original 1979 horror hit Aliens; tall, dark, lithe, and capable of kicking ass. This should be a relief to fans of the franchise, as it suggests that a strong, empowered female lead, and all the connotations that go with it and make Alien unique in the Hollywood sci-fi/horror genre, remain intact. This is especially promising in light of the fact that a truly abysmal script which leaked online early last year, "Alien Harvest", was supposed to be an early draft of the official screenplay by Jon Spaihts and featured two male leads who, among other things, engaged in forced homosexual sex. While sexuality has always been a large part of the Alien series, (and certainly homophobia is disgusting), the script was such a shambles that it received such nicknames as "Gaylien" and "Brokeback Planet" from the disgruntled fan base.
While many of Scott's comments seemed to gel with what was present in the "Alien Harvest" script, the breaking of the project into two films, the hiring of another writer and other developments are reassuring that the project is far from set in stone at this point, (not to mention that the leaked script was written in an entirely different style than that of other screenplays by writer Jon Spaihts).
In any case, the project seems to be on-track to be filmed by the Summer of next year, which should put the Prequels in theaters by 2012/2013 at the earliest and 2013/2014 at the latest, depending on how much Post-Production time is needed. With the Alien Prequel Duology, Lord of the Rings Prequel Duology, and X-Men: First Class all scheduled to hit screens over the next few years, it looks like we're going to be seeing a lot of the earlier years of our favorite cinematic universes.