Alien: Covenant has been an interesting project to watch from the very beginning. Prometheus didn’t really deliver on all its promises, and for the past four years, fans from across the web haven’t let director Ridley Scott forgive him. I can imagine this is at least partly responsible for his enthusiasm in moving forward with this new sequel to Prometheus — one that actually shares the Alien moniker.

It’s fair to say this project has perhaps had one of the more publicly visible developments. First it was set as a Prometheus sequel, and it wasn’t long before Scott changed the name to Alien: Paradise Lost. About five seconds later, he changed his mind, and changed it yet again to Alien: Covenant — a name that’s stuck in the months since.

Over a week ago, a rumor started circulating that James Franco was secretly cast in the film, and as unlikely as it seemed, it wasn’t exactly unbelievable. Well, it sounds like you can check this off in the “confirmed” column, as per his discussion with the outlet Hey U Guys.

“The news is out, I guess? Uh, I don’t know if he’s trying to trick me into talking about it or not. [Laughs] … I remember, when I was a kid, watching Alien for the first time, and that was huge. I still watch it. I just watched it in the past month over at Tarantino’s theater, and it… it’s such a good movie!”

While the casting of James Franco certainly feels a bit on the random side — especially with Danny McBride already in the film — the actor has had plenty of experience in more serious roles in the past. Whether it be in films like 127 Hours or shows like 11.22.63, the actor certainly knows how to bring his game when necessary.

In addition to this confirmation, the official Twitter account for Alien has posted a new photo from the film, and we gotta say, with every new photo we see, we get just a little bit more excited.

Take a gander at it below:

What do you think of the photo or of Franco’s casting? Let us know your thoughts down below!

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SOURCES: Hey U Guys, Alien Twitter Account