Here's a strange bit of news. Alien: Covenant 2 is already planned and will be coming this September. Just five months after Ridley Scott's prequel Alien: Covenant hits the big screen in May. Alas, this follow-up is a book and won't be playing at the local cinema anytime soon.

This may be perplexing for some, as Alien: Covenant, which is the sequel to Prometheus and a prequel to the original 1979 classic Alien, is said to be the first in a new trilogy of movies coming over the span of the next couple of years. But so massive is this story, there needs to be a sequel book to fill in some of the gaps.

Alien: Covenant is just a mere 4 and a half months away, and will help kick off the summer movie going season when it debuts the weekend of May 19. The movie promises to be more of a scary horror thriller than Prometheus, in line with the original. It will feature the classic face huggers, chestbursters and Xenomorphs while also offering up new neomorphs and backbursters, all sure to shower the screen in a thick red glaze.

But there is just too much story to be contained within its two hour runtime. Alan Dean Foster, who has written previous Alien novelizations, will be writing the adaptation of the screenplay for Alien: Covenant, conveniently enough titled the 'Official Movie Novelization'. It will arrive in fine bookstores everywhere May 23 to coincide with the release of the movie.

Titan Books will follow up this release on September 26 with Alien: Covenant 2, a 304-page tome that is, according to Bloody Disgusting, being referred to as "The Official Sequel to the Blockbuster Film."

At this time, Alien: Covenant 2 does not have a synopsis or any cover artwork. But you can pre-order the book on Amazon already. All we can offer is the official synopsis for Alien Covenant.

"Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, members (Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup) of the colony ship Covenant discover what they think to be an uncharted paradise. While there, they meet David (Michael Fassbender), the synthetic survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition. The mysterious world soon turns dark and dangerous when a hostile alien life-form forces the crew into a deadly fight for survival."

No further information has been released about the second two Alien movies Ridley Scott plans to direct after Alien: Covenant. Neill Blomkamp is also currently working on Alien 5, which is a true sequel to Alien and Aliens which will bring Sigourney Weaver back as Ripley one last time. While there have been a few images and a poster released for Alien: Covenant, the biggest reveal came this past December with the trailer. The movie isn't too far out, but it looks like some studios are starting to put the brakes on just how much footage is being released. You can watch the Alien Covenant teaser again here, which shows just how scary these new Alien movies are going to be.