Prometheus: Everything We Know

The original plan was to do an Alien prequel

Whilst director Ridley Scott has recently referred to Prometheus as an original science-fiction yarn, the first we’d heard of it was as a long-awaited prequel to the Alien franchise.

With rumours of Scott returning to the series having been kicking around for the better part of thirty years, it was finally announced in summer 2009 that the British director would indeed be presiding over a new Alien film. Advert-director Carl Rinsch had initially been attached to the project, only for Fox to insist on bagging Ridley, perhaps mindful of what happened the last time they opted for a director with that sort of background (David Fincher…we’re looking at you).

Scott revealed that his intention was to create a “really nasty” return to the series origins, and the sci-fi horror sensibilities that had been lost over years of AVP tie-in movies. Not only that, but he revealed a firm idea was in place, with an unexplained plot point from the original set to provide a jumping-off point for the new film…

The Space Jockey was set to star...

Cast your mind back to the first film. Just before John Hurt has his unfortunate encounter with the face-hugger, he discovers the skeleton of a vast being sitting in a chair. Known as the Space Jockey, this mysterious figure was set to take a starring role in the new film, with Scott set to fill in the numerous blanks in the character’s back-story.

“The film will be about gods and engineers,” Scott told Screen Daily early last year. “It will be about engineers of space. Were the aliens designed as a form of biological warfare? Or biology that would actually go in and clean up a planet?”

"It will take place in the years before that,” he continued, “when they first come across this thing on a planet called Zeta Reticuli. And it will also ask who was that guy in the first film lying in a chair with his chest blown outwards when they first go into the giant spacecraft."

In an appearance at the LA Times Hero Complex festival in 2010, Scott again confirmed that the Space Jockey was central to his plans for the new film, expressing surprise that none of his successors on the Alien sequels had explored it previously. And speaking of his successors, Scott was apparently keen to emulate one in particular in terms of how the film was to be made…

There was a lot of talk about 3D...

“Jim’s raised the bar and I’ve got to jump it,” said Scott last year. “He’s not going to get away with it.” The Jim in question is of course James Cameron, whose Avatar exploits have drastically altered the sci-fi playing field since Scott was last involved. And indeed, with crushing inevitability, it was soon revealed that the new Alien project was also set to be presented in 3D.

This bombshell slipped out as a result of an interview conducted by ShadowLocked with Alien art director Roger Christian, who revealed that, “Ridley’s doing the next Alien i n 3D.” As revelations go, this one had the air of playground gossip about it, but Scott himself would go on to confirm the statement as correct, and revealed he had spoken at length with Cameron over the various possibilities available with 3D technology.

Christian meanwhile had plenty more to say about the upcoming prequel, hinting that it might be one of a series of new Alien films.

“Ridley has a very clear understanding of where this should go,” he gushed. “They kind of stopped dead one of the greatest horror franchises there's ever been, and it had legs to go on. So I'm hoping he'll revive another three. The world certainly wants it, and the fans want it…everybody.”

Again, Christian proved to be bang on the money, as Scott revealed that the first prequel would in fact be one of a pair, with the tentative title “Paradise” thrown into the mixer. Note however, that that title reads “Paradise” and not “Alien: Paradise”…

Ridley stressed it would be something new...

Having whipped Alien fans into a state of frenzy over the promise of a new instalment to the franchise, Scott recently set the cat amongst the pigeons by claiming that the new film will be a stand-alone piece of science fiction, rather than a direct prequel.

The news arrived just a matter of weeks ago, with Fox announcing a film entitled Prometheus would open on March 12 2012, directed by Ridley Scott. “What’s happened to the Alien prequel?” we wondered. Well apparently, this is it, although the Alien element now seems a lot less pertinent.

“ Alien was indeed the jumping off point for this project,” explains Scott, “(but) out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place. The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien ’s DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative. I couldn’t be more pleased to have found the singular tale I’d been searching for, and finally return to this genre that’s so close to my heart.

All of which sounds rather encouraging, because whilst we’d love to see Ridley’s Alien universe expanded upon, throwing off the constraints of an existing franchise may well be for the best if the film is going to stand up on its own merits. However, it seems those “strands of Alien DNA” may be a little more prominent than Scott had initially been letting on…

There will still be Aliens...

Despite Scott’s assertions that the film would be moving away from the “ Alien prequel” tag, Sky Movies has recently claimed that a number of the original elements from that project will still be present.

“Despite that press release that seemed to indicate there were no aliens in the movie,” begins Sky’s insider, “the familiar HR Giger-style aliens do appear. Big ones apparently.” Not only that, but apparently the Space Jockey storyline will still be present and correct, with an exact replica of the cockpit from the original film having been constructed at Pinewood studios.

Meanwhile, Ridley’s comments about Alien DNA may actually have represented a bit of mischief on the part of the director, with Prometheus’ plot apparently revolving around the actual DNA of the Xenomorphs. Sounds quite a bit like a prequel, doesn’t it?

“Part of the film will be shot in Morocco,” continues the source. “There’s some sort of archaeological dig where they discover alien DNA takes place there and that DNA gives them the coordinates for an alien world.” Some tantalising plot points there then, and for more hints, you only need to look at the script that was leaked back in 2009…

A script has been leaked...

That’s right, a version of the script has apparently been in existence for quite some time, with sci-fi scribe Jon Spaihts hired by Fox to put some meat on the bones of Scott’s vague outline. The Whoa Is Not Me website has apparently seen a copy, and outline some interesting details of what we can expect from the film.

The original premise revolves around a character called Captain Conrad Vance, a member of the Offworld Marine Corps, who is selected by the Special Science Agency to travel to a hostile planet to repair a super-intelligent machine.

This machine is known as Prometheus (that’s the title explained then) an advanced terraforming machine designed to transform a planet twenty-light years away (known as Erix) into a replacement for Earth. However, in the process of rendering this alien planet habitable, part of the machine has broken down, meaning Vance must pitch up and fix it. Without getting killed by the locals…

Quite exciting stuff then, although it will almost certainly undergo some major changes, not least of which is the sex of the protagonist…

Noomi Rapace will play Elizabeth Shaw...

The official press release distributed by Fox makes reference to five major roles, with scientist Elizabeth Shaw heading things up as the film’s main protagonist. Whether she’ll be as kick-ass as Ripley remains to be seen, but if that’s the direction the character will go in, they’ve cast the perfect woman for the job.

Noomi Rapace has officially signed on for the role, having caught Ridley Scott’s eye with her gritty performances as Lisbeth Salander in the Millenium trilogy. According to the press release, it was her turn as Salander that won the director over, suggesting that Shaw may well have a feisty side to complement her scientific chops.

Meanwhile, there are also rumours circulating that there will be another high-profile addition to the female cast, with both Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie being linked to the supporting role of “Vickers”, described as “a 40-something tough-but-sexy woman”. Initially a minor part, it’s believed that the role is being beefed up in order to accommodate one of the two A-listers.

And whilst the nature of the other three roles has yet to be fully disclosed, what we do know is that Michael Fassbender will play one of them…

Michael Fassbender is on board...

The Inglourious Basterds star is the second big name confirmed for the film, having long been linked with the project throughout its various incarnations. As yet his role remains unconfirmed, but the word is that he will be playing a character known as David.

All we know beyond that, is that David is an android, and a possible precursor to the Ash and Bishop characters from Alien and Aliens respectively. If he is to play David, that would leave just two more lead roles up for grabs. As we mentioned before, details are sparse, but we do at least have a vague idea of what might be involved.

One of the two is described as “an older businessman along for the ride,” whilst the other is an engineer, and intriguingly, set to be a CGI creation. Presumably this would suggest he is another non-human, although given that he isn’t listed as an android, we’re not sure quite sure what that could be.

Perhaps Sky’s aforementioned “insider” has the answer. “The main spaceship in the film will be piloted by an enormous head,” says the source, “which I assume will be CGI.” There you go then. The last role going is a giant, disembodied head. Sounds a little odd, although perhaps that’s understandable given who’s working on the script…

Damon Lindelof is tinkering with the script...

The original script from Jon Spaihts has been given a bit of a spruce from Lost scribbler Damon Lindelof, who is confident that the film will be a cut above the usual Hollywood production-line of half-baked sequels and prequels.

“In a world flooded with prequels, sequels and reboots, I was incredibly struck by just how original Ridley’s vision was for this movie,” he told Collider. “It’s daring, visceral and hopefully, the last thing anyone expects.”

Having worked on the recent Star Trek rejig and spent six seasons writing himself out of corners on Lost , Lindelof looks well qualified to do justice to the original Alien films. He’s also a major fan of the series, and is keen to make sure the quality remains the same in the franchise’s latest outing.

“When I sat in a movie theatre as a kid, feet raised off the floor for fear that something might grab my ankles, I never dreamed in my wildest imagination I would one day get to collaborate with the man responsible for it,” says Lindelof. “Working alongside him has been nothing short of a dream come true.”

So when can we expect to see the finished article then? Well, it might be a little later than we originally thought…

Prometheus will arrive in summer 2012...

Fox’s initial plan for Prometheus was to release it on March 9th 2012, but the film has now been pushed back to June 8th. Whilst the typical reaction to such a delay might be concern, planting Prometheus in such a high-profile summer window could be interpreted as a confident move from Fox.

Now effectively being pushed as a summer tentpole, Fox’s bullishness suggests to us that the Alien prequel aspect will be a lot more prominent come the time of release. It would be a gutsy play to release a serious piece of “hard sci-fi” amongst the usual blockbuster fare, and whilst this still could be what Ridley has in store, we think it’s far more likely the Alien element will be the main selling point.

Let’s face it, if the traditional aliens are said to be returning, and a set has been purpose-built to recreate a scene from the original movie, it can’t be a completely unrelated project. And whilst we’d like to see the franchise injected with some new ideas, it’s probably safe to say we all want to see some Xenomorphs somewhere along the line…