Cailee Spaeny In Talks To Star In Next Entry Of 'Alien' Film Franchise

The next big-screen installment of the "Alien" franchise may have found its new star and successor to Sigourney Weaver. According to The Hollywood Reporter, actress Cailee Spaeny ("Mare of Easttown," "The First Lady," "Pacific Rim: Uprising") is in talks to star in the latest "Alien" feature film for 20th Century Studios.

Spaeny would star in the new film for filmmaker Fede Alvarez ("Evil Dead," "Don't Breathe"), who is attached to direct the new film. Ridley Scott, the Oscar-nominated director of the iconic, classic 1979 original movie, and the 2017 sequel "Alien: Covenant," will produce the new "Alien" feature under his production company Scott Free.

Spaeny is a rising talent as of late. She's currently working on a new biopic, "Priscilla," where she will portray Elvis Presley's former wife, Priscilla Ann Presley, for director Sofia Ann Coppola.

Spaeny's casting in the new "Alien" film will continue the franchise's tradition of having a female lead. The first four films starred Weaver as Ellen Ripley. "Prometheus" starred Noomi Rapace, and "Alien: Covenant" starred Katherine Waterston. Even the greatly maligned offshoots, "Alien vs. Predator" and "AVP: Requiem" had female leads with Sanaa Lathan and Reiko Aylesworth respectively.

Weaver received an Oscar nomination for her role as Ripley in the classic 1986 sequel, "Aliens," also forging Weaver as a cinematic action heroine. With that in mind, it makes sense why the lead role in the "Alien" franchise is a highly-coveted and much sought-after role.

According to THR, the new "Alien" feature from Alvarez will act as a "reboot" of the sci-fi horror franchise, which makes sense following the failure of 2017's "Covenant" movie, which was a box office disappointment, grossing only $240 million worldwide off of a reported $130 million budget.

The franchise has largely been dormant since "Covenant," save for some video game entries. The "Alien" saga was also being developed for a live-action television series for FX that would be helmed by Noah Hawley ("Fargo," "Legion," "Lucy in the Sky").

THR reported back in August that Hawley has completed all his scripts for the upcoming television series, and it's slated to start shooting in 2023. It was previously stated that the new series would be set on Earth and would have new characters not associated with any of the ones in the previous films.

FX Chairman John Landgraf also said the new series would take place in the territory of a new corporation that was created by Hawley for the series, rather than the famous established corporation, Weyland-Yutani, from the other films.

The prequels Scott directed, "Prometheus" and "Alien: Covenant," attempted to explain the origins of the Xenomorph creatures. However, audiences were relatively lukewarm to the answers Scott and co. provided. Not to mention, "Covenant" appeared to veer wildly from the course of the story set up by "Prometheus."

Alvarez and Scott's new untitled "Alien" feature does not yet have an official release date. Hawley's new television show is still currently in the works for FX and 20th Television.

Meanwhile, fans of Weaver can see her on the big screen in December for "Avatar: The Way of Water." The sequel sees her once again re-teaming with "Aliens" filmmaker James Cameron.