At the end of Ridley Scott's Prometheus, Noomi Rapace's Elizabeth Shaw took to the stars with the head of Michael Fassbender's David. Determined to confront the race of aliens known as The Engineers, our assumption was whatever sequel came next would bring us more of that story. For a little while, it looked like that assumption was incorrect, but new details have been released saying that we were right all the long.
Deadline broke the news this evening that sources supposedly close to the production had reported that Noomi Rapace was on the Alien: Covenant set in Australia, and she was filming scenes for Ridley Scott's next chapter in the Alien universe. This comes months after Scott himself told another publication that Rapace wasn't coming back, and that the film was still casting its leads. So naturally, it looks like Sir Ridley has been playing coy with us, as his ever expanding universe has very little room for random changes.
What little we know about Alien: Covenant's overall plot involves a new group of space explorers, which includes Daniels, the mother of Sigourney Weaver's Ripley, played by Katherine Waterson. Said explorers have found a brand new planet which may some sort of dark secrets, all hidden by David, our favorite synthetic protagonist and the planet's sole inhabitant. Of course, now knowing that Noomi Rapace's Elizabeth Shaw is returning makes us wonder if David is truly the sole inhabitant, and if so, why?
Rapace has only been specified as filming "weeks worth" of scenes for the film, scheduled for release next August, so there's a possibility that Shaw's return may not be a big deal in the event of Alien: Covenant. For all we know, Elizabeth herself is indisposed after the first act of the film, due to injury or a rather unpleasant death. Of course, there's always the possibility that somehow, after her run in with the Engineers, she might become a new villain to the crew of the Covenant. Then, of course, there's the possibility that she's just in hiding since the events of Prometheus, only to be revealed as the grizzled guide to Daniels and her crew. It ultimately depends on how many weeks Rapace's shooting schedule includes.
There is a multitude of possibilities for the reality of whatever circumstances Noomi Rapace's return has fallen under. But with the news of Alien: Covenant's cast including another returning character from Prometheus, there's a whole lot more scenarios that could occur, making the film that much more mysterious. There's a lot of time between now and the August 4, 2017 release date for Alien: Covenant, so we'll see if any more information is released in the interim.
