The Alien Franchise Is Switching Main Character To Make Michael Fassbender The Protagonist

Published Sep 14, 2026, 12:45 PM EDT

Karlis has been obsessing over television and movie news since he first learned how to read. He has worked in tech, as a musician, and in journalism with a well-rounded knowledge base of pop-culture throughout the eras. He claims that he has memorized the entire Internet Movie Database, and to date no one has been able to refute this.
Holding a Bachelor's Degree in Religion and Culture from Wilfrid Laurier University, Karlis loves to examine the intersections of popular science-fiction and culture. His latest novel MASS. is available now on Amazon and examines a world where obesity has become a federal crime.

Alien is one of the best science fiction franchises of all time, and the next chapter in the exciting series looks to be changing its main character in a uniquely unexpected way. To date, there have been nine Alien movies, including the crossover events of the Alien vs. Predator duology, that have reached varied levels of success.

In addition to movies, the Alien franchise is enormous, with comic books, video games, and even a television series. Alien: Earth is now in production for season 2, and looks to tell even more stories in this thrilling world, examining the Prodigy Corporation and hybrids in addition to adding to the exciting lore of the Xenomorphs themselves.

This series is very exciting, but the main draw of the Alien franchise has been in its feature films. The future for Alien movies is more auspicious than ever, as there are multiple projects that are in development. One of the most exciting of these is a sequel to Alien: Romulus, although another film is currently taking precedence.

Ridley Scott has recently discussed returning to the Alien franchise to make a sequel to his own Alien: Covenant. While this is a fascinating and thrilling prospect, recent updates about the project have also revealed another unexpected way that he plans to change the series moving forward.

Alien Protagonists Are Usually A Woman

Despite the fact that every film in the series has been directed by a man, the main characters of almost every Alien project have been women. This began with Sigourney Weaver's starring role as Ripley in the 1979 original.

Notably, the original script wrote the character of Ripley without a gender. Making the character a woman was a bold creative choice that was formative for the franchise, as Ripley served as the face of the series throughout the first four films.

When Ridley Scott returned to the series with 2012's Prometheus, it made thematic sense that the film would also be led by a woman. Noomi Rapace took the central role in the ensemble, which also featured Logan Marshall-Green, Charlize Theron, and Idris Elba.

More recent years, since the rights to Alien were acquired by Disney, have also been female-forward, as Alien: Romulus was led by Cailee Spaeny's Rain Carradine.

Even the television series Alien: Earth, which saw the first woman directing any Alien project - with Ugla Hauksdóttir helming episodes four and six - had a female lead in Sydney Chandler's Wendy.

Most relevant here, Alien: Covenant also featured a woman at the center of its story. Katherine Waterson played Katherine 'Danny' Daniels, a very Ripley-like hero for the chapter. However, despite being the central figure in the story, the film's cast was headlined by another star who is set to play a more central role moving forward.

Michael Fassbender's David Will Take Center Stage In Alien Covenant Sequel

Michael Fassbender's David was an important part of Prometheus, and had top billing in Alien: Covenant​​​​​​, but it has recently become clear that plans for Ridley Scott's next film will see the character as the central figure. This was discussed in a recent interview with the French website AlloCiné.

During the interview, Scott revealed his plans for the film, which he intends to be a timely look at the repercussions of AI. This is set to be examined with David and his intersections with power: "I’m picking up where we left off in Covenant with Michael Fassbender, who now thinks he’s Ozymandias.”

Putting David at the center of the next Alien movie is a thrilling idea. The character was such an integral part of Scott's two prior prequel entries, and seeing where this leads him is a great promise for the next film. With Scott on board, there is hope that this next entry in the Alien franchise will come together soon.

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