Alien: Covenant has been gearing up pretty hardcore when it comes to its cast, and with its production starting in the near future, it's no secret that Sir Ridley Scott is aiming for the fences. However, the latest cast member to be linked to the Prometheus sequel is the most exciting, as Billy Crudup is reported to be looking into joining the fun.
Deadline reported that Crudup is in "advanced negotiations for a key part" in the latest chapter in the Alien series' origins, which sees the crew of the spaceship Covenant stumbling upon an old friend and a supposed paradise in deep space. That old friend is naturally none other than Michael Fassbender's David, who just happens to be the only inhabitant of said paradise after the events of Prometheus. While this isn't a lot of information, it's enough to start speculating how Billy Crudup could figure into Alien: Covenant.
There is a distinct possibility that the Watchmen actor could be playing a member of the crew of the Covenant. He might even be a captain, much like Tom Skerritt and Idris Elba before him, as he commands a crew that includes
[[ http new ridley-scott-alien-covenant-has-found-its-lead-100707.html www.cinemablend.com ]] Katherine Waterston's Daniels. Of course, if Ridley Scott is feeling particularly slimy about Billy Crudup's character, he could have cast him as the first Weyland-Yutani company stooge to be sent out into space, thinking that evil alien organisms could be lucrative weapons. Of course, this all assumes that Crudup's character is going to be human.
Now this is where the fun part comes into play, because while Billy Crudup is a versatile actor, he seems to have a particular flare for playing the villainous and the morally ambiguous. Which means there are two prime roles that Alien: Covenant could have in store for Crudup's darker sensibilities: he could be playing one of the infamous Engineers that inadvertently created humanity or he could be a rival android accompanying the Covenant's crew. While an Engineer would be particularly interesting, we can't help but think of the ultimate showdown between Michael Fassbender's David and a hypothetical android of more evolved capability being played by Crudup. It's the latter possibility that has us excited, but all are equally likely to happen until the studio starts to release more details.
As if adding stars like Selma's Carman Ejogo and everyone's favorite smartass, Danny McBride, wasn't enough to get the public going, bringing Billy Crudup onto the Alien: Covenant team is a pretty bold move towards upping the wow factor. With some fans being underwhelmed by Prometheus' origin story, its sequel is going to have to do a hell of a job to live up to its expectations. From the looks of the project, we'd say that there's a good chance that this might happen, which makes our countdown towards the October 6, 2017 release date all the harder to deal with.
