'Alien: Covenant' news, spoilers: First poster features new Xenomorph design, reveals film's new release date

A promotional poster for "Alien: Covenant"20th Century Fox

The first official poster for "Alien: Covenant" has been released, and while simple in design, it gives audiences the first glimpse at the new Xenomorph alien. However, the real draw from the poster is that it also announces a new release date, one that is three months earlier than previously expected.

As per Entertainment Weekly, the original schedule of release was on Aug. 4, 2017. The poster now reveals that the movie is going to premiere on May 19 instead. Twentieth Century Fox has yet to announce why the film has been moved up, but it indicates that the studios are confident in the quality of the film.

The Xenomorph resembles the same Xenomorph design from "Alien" and "Aliens" and is likely not the new white prototype that has been widely rumored. This is the final form of the alien, one that fans of the franchise are already familiar with. Right above the image of this alien is the film's tagline, reading "Run."

Michael Fassbender will return to play the android known as David. Noomi Rapace will also reprise her role as Dr. Elizabeth Shaw, but it is rumored that her character has died following the events of "Prometheus" and that she is only going to appear in video logs or flashbacks.

The rest of the cast will be portrayed by Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, as well as Carmen Ejogo. They will be playing crew members of a new ship sent out to find the survivors of "Prometheus," only to find them in an alien world rife with danger.

The Hollywood Reporter further states that the poster is an indication that "Alien: Covenant" will be a proper sequel to "Prometheus," but it will also serve as a bridge to the 1979 original film, "Alien." It is likely that the new film will showcase the events leading right up to "Alien," including how an Engineer crashed on LV-426.