As Alien: Covenant nears the start of production, another cast member has been added. Hateful Eight star Demian Bichir is the latest addition to Ridley Scott's much anticipated Prometheus sequel.

　　As reported by THR, Bichir joins Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, and Danny McBride on the film, which is expected to start shooting in Australia soon. Fassbender is the only actor so far returning from Prometheus.

　　An official synopsis for the movie was released late last year, which provides some clues as to what fans could expect. It reads:

　　Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created in ALIEN with ALIEN: COVENANT, the second chapter in a prequel trilogy that began with PROMETHEUS — and connects directly to Scott’s 1979 seminal work of science fiction. Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world — whose sole inhabitant is the “synthetic” David (Michael Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.

　　In an interview with The Wrap in December, Scott revealed that the film would feature some of the Alien franchise's most famous creatures. "There was always this discussion: Is Alien, the character, the beast, played out or not? We'll have them all: egg, facehugger, chestburster, then the big boy. I think maybe we can go another round or two," he said.

　　Originally, two Alien films were going to be made over the next few years--the Prometheus sequel, and Alien 5, directed by District 9's Neill Blomkamp. However, with the news that Prometheus 2 was now titled Alien: Covenant, and would tie in more closely to the Alien series than its predecessor, Blomkamp's film was put on hold.

　　Alien: Covenant is set for release on October 6, 2017.