Alien: Covenant is an upcoming American science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and written by John Logan. It is the sequel to the 2012 film Prometheus, the second installment in the Alien prequel series, the sixth installment overall in the Alien film series, and the third installment to be directed by Scott. The film stars Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, and Guy Pearce, returning in their roles from Prometheus, with newcomers Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir and James Franco. The film is scheduled to be released on May 19, 2017.

Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant find what they believe to be an uncharted paradise. What the crew discover is a dark, dangerous world, whose sole inhabitant is the "synthetic" David (Michael Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.

On March 17, 2012, Ridley Scott said that Prometheus leaves many questions unanswered and that these could be answered in a sequel. He said, "If we're lucky, there'll be a second part. It does leave you with some nice open questions." Asked whether a sequel would be a direct prequel to Alien, Prometheus screenwriter Damon Lindelof said, "If we're fortunate enough to do a sequel ... it will tangentialize even further away from the original Alien." In June 2012, Lindelof said that while plot elements were deliberately left unresolved so that they could be answered in a sequel, he and Scott had thoroughly discussed what should be resolved so that Prometheus could stand alone, as a sequel was not guaranteed. Scott said that a sequel would follow Shaw to her next destination, "because if it is paradise, paradise cannot be what you think it is. Paradise has a connotation of being extremely sinister and ominous." Lindelof cast doubt on his participation, and said, "if [Scott] wants me to be involved in something, that would be hard to say no to. At the same time, I do feel like [Prometheus] might benefit from a fresh voice or a fresh take or a fresh thought." Scott said that an additional film would be required to bridge the gap between the Prometheus sequel and Alien.