When Danny McBride got the call to join Alien: Covenant– director Ridley Scott’s through line between his original Alien and the 2012 prequel Prometheus – he thought he was going to be there to make a couple of jokes and suffer a grisly onscreen death.

McBride – who is part of Judd Apatow’s comedy gang that includes Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, James Franco and Craig Robinson – is known for making people laugh.

“I thought that for sure that I was going to come in there for some comic relief and then I was going to have my head ripped off and crammed up my a--,” he chuckles down the line from London.

Instead, McBride – who plays the pilot Tennessee – found himself an intricate part in an ensemble piece, which includes James Franco (for a blink of an eye), Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston and Billy Crudup. Scripted by John Logan and Dante Harper, Alien: Covenant (opening Friday) is an unrelentingly dark horror that reintroduces movie fans to H.R. Giger’s iconic xenomorph and will lead to at least two additional movies that will back into the original Alien and answer just who the ‘space jockey’ was.

“I remember when I got the offer for the film and they gave me the script, just as a fan, I was just like, ‘F— yeah, this is exactly what I think people are wanting and it’s exactly what I’m wanting from this franchise,’” McBride says. “I think in some ways, it boosts Prometheus. For me, I love now knowing where Prometheus is heading and how Covenant fills in some of the blanks that were there after that film was over.”

Taking place 10 years after the end of Prometheus, Alien: Covenant follows a colonization mission in which 2,000 human passengers, along with 1,140 embryos and 15 crew members, linger in a deep-sleep for several years with a humanoid named Walter (Fassbender) overseeing their journey. The giant ship, named the Covenant, is headed to a planet, Origae-6, to foster a new home for humanity.

Partway through the mission, the crew is awoken after a tragedy onboard. Then a faint transmission of John Denver’s Take Me Home, Country Roads is received from a nearby “hidden planet” that coincidentally can sustain human life.

The Covenant crew lands thinking they’ve found paradise (hey, someone even planted wheat). But of course, they’re mistaken and things go horribly wrong when they cross paths with Prometheus’ android David (Fassbender again), and before they know the creek they’re standing in, it’s chestbursting time.

“The idea that this is a colonization mission made up of couples plays on the horror element in such an interesting way,” McBride says. “It taps into the fears that your mate is in danger and there’s nothing you can do about it. It’s not only about your own survival, and that’s something that is horrifying.”

Following the world premiere of the film, McBride spoke with the Sun about the franchise’s revival, gave us his thoughts as to why Alien: Covenant is a good date movie and revealed the real reason James Franco doesn’t last too long onscreen.

Prometheus was missing a lot of the horror elements fans expect from this franchise. What did you think of Covenant ratcheting that up this time out?

This is a dark, dark, dark movie and it was cool to be given that opportunity and work in that kind of environment. ... I’ve always been a fan of this franchise. I’ve stuck with it through every version. I’m someone who loved Prometheus. I know that some people missed the horror element, but I loved what Ridley was proposing in it. I had no idea where the hell it was going or what it was all going to add up to. And I just love what Ridley is going after in this movie and it makes me excited to think where this is all headed from here.

What makes Alien: Covenant a good date movie?

My wife and I love to have the s--- scared out of us and we love watching films like this together. But I also think that this movie is not only scary as s--- and fun, but there are these concepts of relationships and love and what that all means. It’s not a simple splatterfest. There are deeper ideas behind this movie.

Ridley Scott is pushing this universe in an entirely new direction. Was that surprising to you?

I think he has managed to make Alien, once again, horrifying. That’s no easy feat. And there are some concepts at work here— everything to do with David and Walter, for example — that are going to push the franchise even further. It is so interesting what Ridley’s proposing and where he’s taking things.

Covenant takes place roughly 30 years before Alien. What did you think of the rumours that Katherine Waterston’s character Daniels was related to Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley?

I thought the same exact thing. I asked Ridley when we were on the set, ‘How far before Alien are we? Is Daniels Ripley’s mom?’ And he was like, ’No, this is many years before Alien.’ But I don’t know if that’s a smoke screen or if that’s reality. I have no idea.

What was it like to come face to face with the Alien?

It was crazy. There actually was a contortionist in the Alien costume that would pursue you and run after you and that left little to the imagination.

Do you think there’s alien life out there?

I would have to assume so. I can’t imagine we’re the only things in the universe. I do think we should look for it and I hope that what we find is something cool and not just a weird cockroach or something like that.

How come you couldn’t get your pal James Franco to hang around a little longer?

I actually told Ridley, ‘If he comes, I love him, but he can’t stay here for long. We’ll just get into too much trouble together.’ So he took care of him for me.

You’ve made people laugh as the outrageous Kenny Powers on Eastbound & Down and the cartoonish Neal Gamby on Vice Principals. What’s harder, comedy or horror?

I feel like comedy never gets the respect it’s due. Comedy is the hardest f—ing thing to do in the world because it is so obvious when comedy is not working. It was nice to come into something where I didn’t have that pressure of adding jokes onto things.

What was your big Alien moment growing up?

I remember I snuck Aliens into the video pile of movies my family was renting one weekend and I got up really early to watch it before my parents were awake because I knew they would not be down with me seeing it. I was partway through the movie and my mom woke up and she was making breakfast and she heard some of the dialogue and she said, ‘If they curse one more time, we’re turning this movie off.’ I was sitting there on pins and needles thinking, ‘Please, please no one else curse,’ and right then Bill Paxton does his epic ‘F—ing game over’ rant and my mom was like, ‘That’s it, this is going off.’

But I think that started something in me. It was like, ‘Mom, you don’t like seeing cursing in movies? Wait ’till you see what I do when I grow up.’

Alien: Covenant hits theatres May 19.

Twitter: @markhdaniell

MDaniell@postmedia.com