Late last year, news surfaced that Ridley Scott's Prometheus would be getting a sequel. As it turns out a little more than 12 months later, Scott has scrapped those plans in favour of rebooting the Alien franchise with a trilogy of new films. The first on that list is Alien: Covenant. 

While the precise reason for this change of heart from Scott is unknown, we'd venture to guess that it has something to do with the lacklustre showing that Prometheus had at the box office. The Hollywood Reporter recently spoke with Scott about the project, with him noting, "Prometheus was borne out of my frustration that on Alien in 1979 — I only did one as I don't normally do sequels." Adding, "I was amazed that in the three that followed that no-one asked the question 'why the alien, who made it and why?' Very basic questions. So I came up with the notion of Prometheus, which starts to indicate who might have made it and where it came from." 

While there is indeed a connection between the events of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, the latter will focus far more on the creation of the xenomorph, and ultimately why they were created. As such, Scott says stars from Prometheus, Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Michael Fassbender (Shame, Steve Jobs) will only make a brief appearance in this new film. Shooting for Alien: Covenant begins in May next year, with Australia being the first location.