We’re still waiting for real, 100% casting or plot news on the Alien  prequel(s) that Ridley Scott is in the middle of setting up, but word reached Vulture of two interesting new wrinkles: that former Lost co-show-runner Damon Lindelof has nailed the latest draft of the first film, and that Natalie Portman is very much in the running to snatch the lead role.

Portman’s a solid choice, and it would seem she has some schedule time available after dropping out of starring in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (she’ll stick to producing it, assuming the movie ever gets made) and turning down the chance to star in Warner Bros’ Gravity for Alfonson Cuaron. Vulture notes that she’s one of the truckload of actresses who have taken meetings with Scott about the lead in the film – a female military general – and reportedly is high on the list for both Scott and 20th Century Fox. Her big competition? A certain Noomi Rapace.

The script, meanwhile, is coming together, with the studio executives apparently happy that Lindelof has written something that’s both intriguing, creative and, most importantly, doesn’t add millions to an already-hefty budget (there are, naturally, no actual figures, but the current rumour is around $150 million).

And as for the tone, it’s in keeping with what we’ve heard for most of the movie’s gestational life – a return to the creepy horror/suspense feel of the original, with a hefty helping of story to explain the origins of the “Space Jockey.”

So now we know who Scott and Fox like for the role, we want you weighing in. Who would you pick? One of the two mentioned above? Or should it be Martin Lawrence in his Big Momma’s House fat suit? No? Okay... Then who?