These are cool! We're seeing some of the first set photos from director Ridley Scott's upcoming franchise sequel Alien: Covenant, which is a follow-up to 2012's Prometheus and a direct prequel to the 1979 original sci-fi classic. They show us what appear to be two new Xenomorphs fighting in the desert. We also get to see a massive massacre of what look to be Engineers. This extraterrestrial slaughterhouse comes courtesy of The Daily Mail, which also show us more from the set, including the giant Engineer heads that we saw in a previous production update.

These latest images were leaked from a quarry in Sydney where director Ridley Scott and his crew are shooting this week. And this definitely looks like the aftermath of some very violent scene. We see a mix of scorched, possibly petrified, blackened humanoid type creatures. And there are also new Aliens, which should get fans quite excited. Especially since these appear to be actors in suits, not CGI creatures. Though we're sure they will get enhanced in post. This scene hints that a hard R rating will be firmly in place, as Scott has promised.

Shooting is taking place throughout the summer in an undisclosed location in Sydney, Australia. These latest photos were taken in the New South Wales capital. The whole production is said to be coming along quite nicely, and you can even see some of the crew standing against these huge blocks of stone and some mysterious hieroglyphs. The over two dozen human forms seem to be stricken with panic, frozen in their death as they attempted to make it up a set of ancient stairs. In the distance, you can see tall stone slabs and subtle hints of greenery. And they even reveal a parking lot not too far away, so we know this is just make believe.

These first images seem to hint at an apocalyptic scenario, and deliver a haunting dystopia that will surely interest longtime fans of the franchise. There are also several huge monuments toppled and strewn across the landscape. While we're not sure what is happening in these images, it appears to be quite substantial. We may have to wait until the movie is in theaters August of next summer to truly know the ramifications of what we're looking at.

Alien: Covenant starts a new prequel trilogy that will bridge the gap in the events between Prometheus and the original Alien. Michael Fassbender will be the only original Prometheus star returning, reprising his role as the android David. Back in December, it was confirmed that iconic Alien creatures such as the Facehugger, Chestburster and Xenomorph will be appearing in the sequel. Now, it appears we'll be getting at least one new variation on the iconic movie monster.

The story follows the crew of the colony ship Covenant, who are bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy. They discover what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world, whose sole inhabitant is the "synthetic" David (Michael Fassbender), survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition. Take a look at these latest images. Is this David's handiwork?