Noomi Rapace is on the set of Alien: Covenant

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

PROMETHEUS had a wide open ending, the final moments showing archaeologist Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) blasting off into space with the severed head of creepy android David (Michael Fassbender) at her side, seeking the home of the Engineers. Anyone who saw that ending likely fully expected the sequel to center on the adventures of Shaw and David, with Rapace and Fassbender both returning.

For a long time, we took it as a given that would be the case, but as Ridley Scott's PROMETHEUS follow-up / ALIEN prequel ALIEN: COVENANT started to be assembled, a rumor came out that Rapace would not be in the film. This rumor seemed to be confirmed when COVENANT went into production several weeks ago with a cast consisting of Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride, Demian Bichir, Jussie Smollett, Carmen Ejogo, Amy Seimetz, Callie Hernandez, Billy Crudup, and Benjamin Rigby, with Fassbender back in the role of David, but no mention of Rapace.

If you were disappointed or befuddled by Rapace's absence, you might like this: Deadline has heard that Rapace has finally arrived on the set of ALIEN: COVENANT, not just for a visit, but to "shoot weeks worth of scenes". It looks like we'll be seeing the return of Shaw after all.

Written by Michael Green, Jack Paglen, and John Logan, ALIEN: COVENANT has the following synopsis: 

Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world — whose sole inhabitant is the "synthetic" David, survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.

The movie is scheduled for release on August 4, 2017.