Back in February, 20th Century Fox announced production on Alien: Covenant in Australia this April, with Ridley Scott at the helm. The cast has been coming together nicely over the past few months, with original Prometheus star Michael Fassbender returning as the android David, joined by several new cast members including Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Jussie Smollett, Amy Seimetz, Carmen Ejogo and Callie Hernandez. I recently had the chance to speak with Demián Bichir for The Hateful Eight, arriving on Blu-ray and DVD March 29, where he revealed that production on Alien: Covenant will span four months.
“That’s in discussions as we speak, with production. We don’t know exact dates yet, all I know is it’s going to be a long shoot, almost like The Hateful Eight. It took five months to shoot The Hateful Eight. We spent a couple of months in the mountains, and a couple of months in a studio in Los Angeles, and this will go for about another four months or so. I have very little details at this point, but we will get there. I’m sure we will get together and read, rehearse, everything.”
Very little is known about Alien: Covenant thus far, but it was recently confirmed that the story is set 10 years after the events of Prometheus. The story follows the crew of the colony ship Covenant who, while journeying to a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world — whose sole inhabitant is the “synthetic” David (Michael Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition. No details have been given for any of the new characters yet, and while Demián Bichir wouldn’t say anything about who he’s playing, the actor did speak about what an honor it is to work with Ridley Scott.
“Well, I can only say that it’s just one of those blessings that any actor hopes for. I’ve been lucky to work with some heavyweights and the journey that I’m going to be able to jump in this spaceship with Ridley is, without a doubt one of the icons in international, universal movie-making… Many of his films marked me personally as an actor, as an artist, and just to be able to share this adventure with him, just the fact that he invited you to be a part of it, that alone is a privilege. That’s something you’re always grateful for. I’m looking forward to it. I’m jumping on a plane tomorrow, so the adventure will begin tomorrow.”
Alien: Covenant has been confirmed as the start of a prequel trilogy that will eventually lead up to the events of the original Alien movie. Ridley Scott has also revealed that classic creatures like the Facehugger, Chestburster and Xenomorph will be featured in this story, but there isn’t much else we know thus far. Hopefully we’ll get more details as soon as production gets under way in Australia. Stay tuned for more on this highly-anticipated sci-fi thriller, and you can check out my full interview with Demián Bichir for The Hateful Eight.