Katherine Waterston will fight xenomorphs in Alien: Covenant

Let's face it, Noomi Rapace had a tough time taking over the ass-kicking mantle from Sigourney Weaver. Thankfully she had the "Prometheus isn't really an Alien prequel" argument to shield her from further comparisons, which can't be said for whoever leads the next installment. Alien: Covenant is being touted as return to the franchise proper, and according to new reports that person is Katherine Waterston.

The Inherent Vice and Steve Jobs star is the first fresh face to board Ridley Scott's Alien prequel. While we know very little else, we do know that she is set to lead the movie as a character named Daniels. Will she step up to take on the perilous duties of a xenomorph slayer? It's highly likely. Scott's plans are to pick up where Prometheus left off, with Rapace's scientist and Michael Fassbender's android David journeying to the Engineers' home planet.

At some point Rapace bows out as she's only said to appear briefly. Bearing in mind Scott's recent confirmation that every stage of the xenomorph's life cycle will be spotted in the movie, it's not looking good for her is it? Waterston's character will no doubt be a part of a new group of explorers on the colony ship Covenant who will reach the planet where David still lingers - in that creepy way of his - and encounter a load of creatures. Whose existence is probably down to David's amateurish "flair" for science.

Alien: Covenant opens in the US on October 6, 2016.

Images: Warner Bros., Fox

Gem Seddon

Gem Seddon is GamesRadar+'s west coast Entertainment News Reporter, working to keep all of you updated on all of the latest and greatest movies and shows on streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Outside of entertainment journalism, Gem can frequently be found writing about the alternative health and wellness industry, and obsessing over all things Aliens and Terminator on Twitter.