Oh, Billy Crudup. Don’t look in that egg.

Poor Billy Crudup doesn’t seem to know he’s in an Alien movie, the first one with that word in the title in a decade. Though this was initially billed as a sequel to Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s recent prequel to his most enduring sci-fi franchise, the latest trailer for Alien: Covenant makes almost no attempt to connect to that film beyond the presence of Michael Fassbender as another android like the one he played previously. Instead, it looks more like a straight-ahead Alien do-over, with Katherine Waterston in the central female role.

Here’s the official plot description:

The path to paradise begins in hell. Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created, with ALIEN: COVENANT, a new chapter in his groundbreaking ALIEN franchise. The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.

There’s no disputing the greatness of the first two Alien movies, but most of the ones after that left me flat (and so did Prometheus, which was a visually impressive disappointment). Can Scott reclaim his mojo with this one? He has the right cast (and the use of comedian Danny McBride in an unconventional role is an inspired choice) and it’s cool to see the old school xenomorphs back in action. But will that be enough? We’ll find out on May 19, when Alien: Convenant opens, like an egg unfurling itself right in Billy Crudup’s face.

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