Ridley Scott's last update on his Prometheus follow-up Alien: Covenant contained the surprising intel that, while Noomi Rapace is set to show up again as plucky scientist Elizabeth Shaw, she'll only get a "minor part" this time, rather than the starring role. That's now backed up by the news that Katherine Waterston has been cast in what sounds like the lead.
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation's Rebecca Ferguson had previously been linked to the character - possibly named "Daniels" - but Waterston is now locked in. She'll also be in next year's Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, and this year appeared with Joaquin Pheonix in Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice and with Michael Fassbender in Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs. Fassbender will reprise his android David in Covenant.
Scott has also recently confirmed that, following the curveball of Prometheus, Convenant will be a full-on Alien movie. "There was always this discussion:" he says. "Is Alien, the character, the beast, played out or not?" Apparently not, since this time "We’ll have them all: egg, face-hugger, chest-burster, then the big boy."
Alien: Covenant is set to start shooting in March next year for a 2017 release.