“It’s going to be really scary, this film,” says Michael Fassbender in the new issue of Empire, on sale from December 29. The “this film” to which he refers is Alien: Covenant, the sort-of sequel to Prometheus and very-much prequel to the original Alien. And that film’s legacy can be felt everywhere – especially in its badass-looking lead character Daniels, played by Katherine Waterston. Check out Empire’s exclusive new look at Waterston, here being given notes by her director, Ridley Scott.
With her steely demeanour, enormous weapon, and standard-issue tank top (look closely and you can spot a Weyland logo) there are obvious echoes of a certain Ms. E. Ripley. But Waterston tries to ignore that famous past. “These are things you actively don’t think about until you get interview to remind you that you should be pissing yourself,” Waterston tells Empire, laughing.
At least she can channel that terror. “Unlike Sigourney in Alien, [Daniels] is in a survival mode of sorts from the beginning. She’s not the captain, but she’s a natural leader so in times of crisis she falls into that position quite easily.”
For more on Alien: Covenant and a metric tonne of other exciting new films, be sure to have a leaf through our bumper 18-page 2017 preview in the new issue of Empire, arriving in all good and evil newsagents from December 29. Want to get exclusive subscriber-only covers delivered days before everyone else? You’ll want to subscribe to Empire{
Alien: Covenant, meanwhile, arrives in all good and evil cinemas from 19 May, 2017.