With The Martian being a massive success for Fox and Ridley Scott, they are wasting no time moving forward with Alien: Covenant, the follow up to Prometheus that promises to connect directly to the original 1979 film. Today, Fox has shared the official synopsis and title treatment with us, and also announced an October 2017 release date.

"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."

Expected to begin filming early next year, Alien: Covenant will be released on October 6th, 2017. A surprising omission from the synopsis is Noomi Rapace, so hopefully we'll have confirmation soon on whether she's returning as Elizabeth Shaw. While the movie's release is nearly two years away, we'll be sure to keep Daily Dead updated on casting announcements, plot details, and more.