Alien: Covenant is the middle chapter in Prometheus trilogy

Fox has officially confirmed Ridley Scott's Prometheus sequel. Gone is the gasp-inducing Alien: Paradise Lost title with another that corroborates the director's comments at the recent AFI film fest - Alien: Covenant is the name of his next outing. The plan, according to Scott, is for this forthcoming sequel to edge closer to those dreadful xenomorphs and their first appearance in Alien. Here's the first official synopsis:

"Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created in ALIEN with ALIEN: COVENANT, the second chapter in a prequel trilogy that began with PROMETHEUS -- and connects directly to Scott’s 1979 seminal work of science fiction. Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, the crew of the colony ship Covenant discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world -- whose sole inhabitant is the "synthetic" David (Michael Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition."

Most of the info was previously hinted at thanks to Scott's loose-lipped press tour for The Martian. A new crew will encounter the survivors of the last movie, who are on their way to the Engineers' home planet to find answers about our origin. "A dark, dangerous world" is no lie, as Scott has repeatedly assured us that this film will address the issue of who created the xenomorphs. Interestingly, Noomi Rapace's character Elizabeth Shaw isn't mentioned: does she perish en route to the Engineers' homeworld?

This much-welcomed return to the universe of Alien is without question when you glimpse the first logo accompanying today's news. It has the same typeface, the hues of green and the unmistakable ALIEN stamped in block capitals. It's as if Prometheus never happened ...

Alien: Covenant now opens on October 6, 2017. It was previously scheduled for release May 30.