James Franco joins “Alien: Covenant”

James Franco is coming on board “Alien: Covenant”, the sequel to Ridley Scott's “Prometheus.”

He joins Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, and Guy Pearce — who are reprising their roles from “Prometheus” — along with newcomers Katherine Waterston, Demian Bichir, Billy Crudup, and Danny McBride.

The film follows the colony ship Covenant as it heads toward a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy. Crew members discover what they believe to be an uncharted paradise, which turns out to be a dark, menacing world in which the only inhabitant is the synthetic David (Fassbender), a survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.

The film is the sixth in Scott's “Alien” franchise and arrives in theatres on May 19, 2017. Fox originally planned to release the movie in August, but decided several months ago to move it forward three months.

“Prometheus” was set in the late 21st Century and about 30 years before the events in Scott's 1979 movie “Alien”. The original “Alien”, starring Sigourney Weaver, was followed by three sequels in 1986, 1992, and 1997.

Franco is currently starring in Fox's “Why Him?” opposite Bryan Cranston.

Source: Variety