The 'Alien: Covenant' Cast on Their 'Unreal' Experience Making the Movie

Coming face to face with a snarling Xenomorph may sound more like a nightmare than a dream, but the cast of Alien: Covenantwas beyond thrilled to meet the monster that has terrified audiences since Ridley Scott‘s 1979 franchise-launching classic. “It’s impossible to imagine when you’re starting out as an actor that you’re going to be a part of something that’s a part of your own childhood,” Billy Crudup tells Yahoo Movies. “[Alien] traumatized us as kids. So yeah, you’re pretty stoked about it.” (Watch our video interview above.)

In Covenant, the sixth film in the Alien franchise and the second in the prequel series that began with 2012’s Prometheus, Crudup plays the first mate of the titular ship, who is elevated into the commander’s position after a non-Xenomorph related tragedy befalls the crew. Joining him aboard the good ship Covenant is terraformer-in-chief Danny Branson (Katherine Waterston), flyboy Tennessee (Danny McBride) and crew member Ricks (Jussie Smollett). And director Scott made the most of their time in the mythology he helped create. “You show up on the set and you’re like, ‘This is real,‘” McBride says of his experience making Alien: Covenant, which opens in theaters on Friday.This ship looks like a ship from Alien. There’s Ridley Scott directing an Alien how to run after me.’ It’s mind-blowing.”

Read more from Yahoo Movies: