James Franco has been added to the cast of Ridley Scott's Prometheus sequel/Alien prequel, Alien: Covenant. 

Variety are reporting that Franco has joined the list of newcomers to the franchise which includes, Katherine Waterson, Danny McBride, Demian Bichir, and Billy Crudup.

Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, and Guy Pearse are also starring in the film, reprising their roles from Prometheus. 

It has yet to be officially confirmed as to what role Franco will be playing, but fan site AVPGalaxy are claiming that he'll be playing the role of Branson, the captain of the ship, Covenant, and husband to Waterson's character, Daniels. 

The film will be Ridley Scott's third film in the Alien franchise and will follow the colony ship "Covenant" as it heads toward a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy. Crew members discover what they believe to be an uncharted paradise, which turns out to be a dark, menacing world in which the only inhabitant is the synthetic David (Fassbender), a survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.

Fox have also released the first image of Katherine Waterson in action as Daniels through Entertainment Weekly today. 

A teaser for the film is expected to drop in the coming weeks. 

Alien: Covenant will be in cinemas, May 2017.