Jussie Smolett, Amy Seimetz and more join the cast of Alien: Covenant

It came as a bit of a shock that the sequel to PROMETHEUS would not seem to be a direct continuation, as Michael Fassbender is the only confirmed actor to return. Since then, we've gotten word that Katherine Waterston, Demian Bichir and Danny McBride are joining this new mission, and it looks like they're not alone. Rounding out more of the cast will be Jussie Smollett (Fox's TV show Empire), Amy Seimetz (UPSTREAM COLOR), Carmen Ejogo (FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM) and Callie Hernandez (LA LA LAND). Not exactly names as big as the the previous entry, but Ridley Scott has a pretty damn good track record as far as assembling his actors.

Given that PROMETHEUS ended on such a clear set-up for a sequel, I'm surprised that Ridley is going "back to the drawing board" with another crew ending up on another planet (albeit one inhabited by Fassbender's David). I loved a lot of the ideas of PROMETHEUS but I'm hoping he's able to put together a much tighter film this time around. Hell, if this is the reason why we're not getting Blomkamp's Alien flick, COVENANT better be damn good!

ALIEN: COVENANT is scheduled to hit theaters on October 6th, 2017.

You'll always be a Mighty Duck to me, Jussie Smollett!