'Alien: Covenant' Spoilers: Will 'Prometheus' Noomi Rapace Return With Michael Fassbender?

It certainly looks like the Prometheus sequel is moving forward with a new title, but Alien: Covenant will be not be bringing back the first film's lead star. Director Ridley Scott has just confirmed that Noomi Rapace will not be returning for Prometheus 2!

Scott recently spoke to the Daily Mail newspaper (via Yahoo! AU), where he was asked whether Rapace will reprise her role as the sole survivor Dr. Elizabeth Shaw. "No," Scott told the newspaper before adding, "We're still casting the main roles."

The news certainly confirms a previous announcement that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them star Katherine Waterston will take on the lead role (known only as "Daniels") in Covenant. However, it still leads to new questions, like what happened to Shaw and why Rapace's character has been written out of the new movie.

Some details from Covenant suggest that Shaw may not have survived her trip with David (Michael Fassbender), since the android is revealed to be the only inhabitant found in a remote, paradise-like planet that is discovered by the crew of the colony ship Covenant. The details suggest that the planet is much more dangerous than it appears, so something in the planet may have killed Shaw.

But is it possible that Rapace has decided not to return for Alien: Covenant after the lukewarm response to Prometheus? It may have more to do with the script calling for her character's demise rather than the Swedish star's unwillingness to reprise the role in the franchise. After all, she has previously spoken about being in the movie.

Rapace is best known for playing Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She has appeared opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in the sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and is currently working on the thriller The Price with Man of Steel star Michael Shannon.

Alien: Covenant will be the first of three planned Prometheus sequels and is scheduled for release on October 6, 2017.