Noomi Rapace In The Running For Ridley Scott's 'Alien' Prequel?

Briefly: Scant info here, but as Ridley Scott preps his possible Alien prequels, word is starting to come down about actresses who have tested for the lead role. Deadline relays word that Noomi Rapace, the original Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, "met [with Fox and Ridley Scott] and left a strong impression." Yes, the actress is signed to the Sherlock Holmes sequel, but things are still pretty early on in the Alien prequel timeline.

The most useful bit about this news is that it might be the first step towards confirmation of something a lot of people had probably assumed: that, as with Alien, Ridley Scott might be orienting the story around a heroine. It can't be Ripley, obviously, and lets pray that he (and the rumored rewriter Damon Lindelof) aren't working with anyone who could possibly be related to Ripley. But the idea of a strong female lead anchoring the picture is a great one. Though as an Alien fan I'm not yet convinced that this is a good idea, I'm still eager to learn more.