One of the more intriguing casting announcements coming out of Ridley Scott's new Alien picture was that Eastbound & Down star Danny McBride would be on board the titular spacecraft Covenant. Now, he's told us exactly what he'll be doing there. It appears he'll have a fairly important role in Alien: Covenant, as McBride will be the ship's pilot.
Danny McBride is mostly known for playing comedic characters, usually of the overly loud variety. This made the announcement that he'd been cast in Ridley Scott's Alien Covenant seem like a very odd choice. As per usual, there were no details about the character released along with the announcement. However, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Mcbride has revealed how his character fits into the plot. He said:
I'm the pilot of the spaceship Covenant, which is a colonization ship, searching for a planet where we might start life anew. I run the ship.
The basic premise of Alien: Covenant which Danny McBride mentions here was already announced. The Covenant is a ship looking for a new planet to colonize. On their travels, they come across a planet which appears to be perfect for their purposes. It does have one apparent inhabitant, however: Michael Fassbender's android character David, last seen in Prometheus. We know there will be other inhabitants as well, of course. The kind that like to lay eggs in your gut and then destroy you.
In addition to Danny McBride and Michael Fassbender, the cast of Alien: Covenant will include Katherine Waterston and Billy Crudup. We also recently learned that Noomi Rapace, who played Dr. Elizabeth Shaw in Prometheus, and was the only character other than David to survive the film, will be making a return, although it had been previously reported that she would not.
Danny McBride's assertion that he runs the ship certainly makes it seem that he'll be a major part of Alien: Covenant. It's possible that as the pilot, he could be in charge of the ship itself, but not necessarily the mission. It's not clear how much of the film will take place on the ship as opposed to the planet they land on. Prometheus was the name of the ship too, and that film mostly took place outside of the craft. McBride could be a vital character since they may need his skills to get out of the movie alive, though of course, there's no guarantee that will happen.
What do you think of Danny McBride in a dramatic science fiction role, as opposed to his standard comedy? Can you envision him as the man in charge of a colonization spacecraft? We'll all get our chance to see that when Alien Covenant is released in August of 2017.
