Ridley Scott Scouting for Female Lead in 3D ‘Alien’ Prequels

Despite rumors saying that the two “Alien” prequels Ridley Scot had in mind might not happen, all seems to go according to plan, with the director narrowing down his search for a female lead.

Deadline has learned that, while Gemma Arterton remains in the running for the part, other names have also been thrown in the mix, thus prompting quite a debate online with fans.

“Now that Rooney Mara got the Lisbeth Salander role in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Emma Stone got the Gwen Stacy role in Spider-Man and Sandra Bullock is in talks for Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity, the next juicy female role is the lead in the Ridley Scott-directed 3D Alien prequel at 20th Century Fox,” Deadline says.

Indeed, of all the highly anticipated films (be they sequels, prequels or reboots), “Alien” is alone in not having a lead yet.

That will soon change, as studio bosses have already met with Scott, who has some very interesting picks for the role that was made legendary by Sigourney Weaver.

“I’m told that the studio and Scott have had general meetings with a number of actresses. I’ve heard that list includes the studio’s Wall Street 2 star Carey Mulligan and Abbie Cornish (Scott directed her in A Good Year),” Deadline says.

And that’s not all: beside Arterton, Scott is also considering Swedish actress Rapace for the part, with many voices online saying she would probably be the best choice.

“Another intriguing possibility I’ve heard more than once today is that Noomi Rapace also met and left a strong impression,” Deadline reports.

“The actress, who played Lisbeth Salander in the original Swedish adaptation, met Scott and Fox before she signed on to co-star in the Sherlock Holmes sequel,” says the same e-zine.

As of now, nothing has been decided about the cast because talks and negotiations are still underway. However, with fans at least, Rapace is a clear favorite at this point.