‘Alien: Covenant’ Cast, Updates: Callie Hernandez Teases “Terrifying” Xenomorphs; New Footage of Katherine Waterston’s Daniels in Hypersleep Chamber Released

‘Alien: Covenant’ actress Callie Hernandez teased practical effects on the set of director Ridley Scott’s sequel as well as the reappearance of the iconic “terrifying” Xenomorphs. Meanwhile, new footage of Katherine Waterston’s Daniels in a hypersleep chamber has been recently released.

According to Outerplaces, Hernandez talked Scott’s emphasis on practical effects for simulating space missions on the upcoming film ‘Alien: Covenant’. She said, “The sets are very real… You’re in this built ship and then he’s like [in British accent], ‘Turn on the hydraulics.’ Then you’re like, what is he talking about? Then it’s suddenly shaking and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s what he means.’ So the sets were pretty unreal.” 

When asked about the presence of the iconic Xenomorphs, she teased, “…it was just as terrifying as you would ever imagine it to be.” The Xenomorph was first introduced in the 1979 science-fiction horror film ‘Alien’ that starred Sigourney Weaver and Tom Skerritt. It was the film’s main antagonist and is referred to as Alien.

The highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature was first discovered on the planetoid LV-426 inside a dilapidated spacecraft. The term Xenomorph was coined by Lieutenant Scott Gorman portrayed by William Hope in the original 1970s film.

Xenomorphs are bipedal in form but take on a more hunched over appearance. They have a skeletal appearance with long cylindrical skulls and have the ability to crawl on walls and ceilings. They possess great physical strength and are masters at hand-to-hand combat against human beings.

Since its introduction in the 1970s, Xenomorphs have become one of the most widely recognized pop culture monsters in cinematic history. They were adapted in several mediums such as comic books, toys, and video games.

Hernandez joins the new cast in a yet unconfirmed role. When asked about her character, she replied, “I don’t know… I want to just tell you but I don’t know if I’ll get completely reprimanded for that.”

The Mexican-American actress made her big screen debut on the 2013 action-comedy film ‘Machete Kills’ and also worked on other full-feature film and television projects including ‘From Dusk till Dawn: The Series’. She is set to appear in the upcoming romantic musical comedy ‘La La Land’ alongside Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone and will star in the direct sequel to ‘The Blair Witch Project’ entitled Blair Witch’, scheduled to be released on September 2016.

Meanwhile, new footage of Katherine Waterston’s Daniels has recently been released. According to Gamespot, the short clip featured Daniels dressed in full space gear inside a hypersleep chamber. The footage posted on the Alien franchise’s official Facebook page didn’t give away much detail on the new film’s storyline.

Waterston joins returning cast members Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace who play the android David and human protagonist Elizabeth Shaw, respectively. The returning actors starred in Scott’s original film ‘Prometheus’ released last June 2012.

‘Alien: Covenant’ is an upcoming adventure-horror and science-fiction film scheduled to premiere on August 4, 2017. It is directed by Ridley Scott with a screenplay prepared by Michael Green and Jack Paglen. It is intended as the direct sequel to ‘Prometheus’, which earned $403.35 million worldwide against a production budget of $130 million.