RIDLEY Scott’s Alien prequel has been shelved by Twentieth Century Fox and reconfigured into an original sci-fi movie.

The new film will be called Prometheus and will star Noomi Rapace (of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo fame). It will be released on March 9, 2012, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The idea for the new film is a combined one between Scott and Damon Lindelof and expands on an idea originally written by Jon Spaihts and based on an idea by Scott.

In a statement, Scott explained: “While Alien was indeed the jumping off point for this project, out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place.

“The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien‘s DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative. I couldn’t be more pleased to have found the singular tale I’d been searching for, and finally return to this genre that’s so close to my heart.”

Lidelof added: “In a world flooded with prequels, sequels and reboots, I was incredibly struck by just how original Ridley’s vision was for this movie. It’s daring, visceral and hopefully, the last thing anyone expects.”

Fox and Scott have been working on their Alien prequel for the past two years and were poised to begin shooting early this year.

The high profile prequel had attracted a host of big names as potential stars, including Rapace and the likes of Gemma Arteron, Charlize Theron and Michelle Yeoh.

Michael Fassbender and James Franco had also expressed interest during the different forms of the film.

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