Natalie Portman Wanted for More Sci Fi: 'Alien' Prequel This Time

It's been a while since we heard anything about that Alien prequel, but don't start thinking we'll be spared an extra-terrestrial addition to Ridley Scott's uneven track record. Vulture has news Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof has just turned in his draft of the script, and Fox is flipping their shit for it. The reason: it's cheap and teen-accessible! Apparently the studio's excitement over the rewrite has a lot to do with its lack of expensive setpieces and strong chance of getting a PG-13 rating, so we may finally get to see what a calm, discreet chest-burster alien looks like. And now that a script is nearing completion, Fox and Scott have been moving into casting, with Natalie Portman--who just turned down Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and the sci fi film Gravity--at the top of the list to become just a darling little alien killer. Noomi Rapace, star of the Swedish adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, is also in the running, though the studio is obviously still pushing for someone whose name won't scare mom so much. Things would be so much easier if you were a woman, Russell Crowe.