Following a hilarious run as Kenny Powers on HBO’s “Eastbound & Down,” Danny McBride is preparing to move from comedy to sci-fi, as he’s in early discussions to co-star in Ridley Scott‘s big-budget blockbuster “Alien: Covenant,” TheWrap has learned.

Michael Fassbender is reprising his role from “Prometheus,” and he’ll be joined by Katherine Waterston as the series’ new female lead.

The director’s company Scott Free is producing the tentpole for 20th Century Fox, which like McBride’s representatives, declined to comment.

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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 (Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.

While “Prometheus” grossed more than $400 million worldwide, “Alien: Covenant” is expected to launch a new “Alien” trilogy that will link “Prometheus” with Scott’s original “Alien” movie.

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The film is a major coup for McBride, as not only will it allow him to show off more of his range as a performer, but he’ll also have a chance to work with Scott. Like the director, McBride is a true cinephile, and the duo are said to have hit it off while discussing old movies.

McBride is bringing his new HBO series “Vice Principals” to SXSW, and his distinctive voice will be heard in two of Sony’s animated movies — “Angry Birds” and “Sausage Party.” He also has the indies “Don Verdean” and “The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter” on the horizon.

McBride is represented by CAA and Hansen, Jacobson.