Prometheus: Ridley Scott returns to Sci-Fi

[Trubinator]

Sean Aaron wrote:

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I enjoy Aliens, but without a doubt Alien is the better film.

Blasphemy! And for the record, I also loved Aliens' art style.

[Caligula]

How is it blasphemy to prefer Alien over Aliens? Both are EXCELLENT films of somewhat different styles. Alien is more atmospheric and suspenseful, whereas Aliens is a fun rollercoaster ride which also happens to beautifully add a bit in the drama department via the Ripley/Newt dynamic. James Cameron's artful direction allows us to get to know his characters just a little bit more (mostly because of the longer running time... mostly), but no one is ever lost in the fray when a single monster is meticulously picking them off with little to no defense against it as in Ridley Scott's Alien.

I just like the claustrophobic atmosphere created by Ridley Scott's film that much more, and applaud the film all the more for being able to present itself this way despite the fact that the ship involved is so freaking huge!

[Basill]

Caligula wrote:

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James Cameron's artful direction allows us to get to know his characters just a little bit more (mostly because of the longer running time... mostly)

Morning coffee go SPEW! That one caught me off guard.

[DestinyCaptain]

So...in the recent interview Ridley said that Guy is in the film, though much older than the TED piece. Does anyone think he might be the dude in the wheel chair? Is it possible he is the one that is reconstituted by the goo into a Space Jockey? I Can't tell if the person in the shot that is undergoing the "blackening" if Fassbender or Pierce. The suggestion is that it's the David synthetic and this will give rise to the Zenomorph species. Damon hinted towards something of a progression from ape to man in the Q&A.

[Base_Delta_Zero]

I like how there's all this "It's not a prequel to Alien" tripe, and then EVERY ELEMENT of the film revealed so far refers back to Alien.

Spaceships? Check
Horror both psychological and ichy? Check
Strong female lead(s)? Check
Weyland (Yutani) Corp.? Check
Android crew member? Check
LV-426? Check
Derelict? Check
Space Jockey? Check
Alien Egg-type things? Check
Melting helmet faceplate? Check
Med-bay patient shenanigans? Check
Direct threat to mankind if it gets back to Earth? Check
Ancient Alien Reference? Wait, you mean like in AVP? Check

It takes place before the events of Alien. It involves concepts, artifacts and beings that will, in universe, appear in some form in Alien and elsewhere in the franchise.

It is a prequel to Alien.

Other movies have also taken place in universe before Alien, and like the dreaded Star Wars prequels, still exist in the real world. Get over it.

EDIT: Forgot to mention...Trailer Music & title reveal for new movie matching the original film? Check

[sojourner]

^Who are you preaching to?

[nvek86]

They are probably only denying that it's a prequel, so that people don't go to the film expecting the classic Xenomorphs/Aliens to appear.

[Kaijima]

Base_Delta_Zero wrote:

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I like how there's all this "It's not a prequel to Alien" tripe, and then EVERY ELEMENT of the film revealed so far refers back to Alien.

Spaceships? Check
Horror both psychological and ichy? Check
Strong female lead(s)? Check
Weyland (Yutani) Corp.? Check
Android crew member? Check
LV-426? Check
Derelict? Check
Space Jockey? Check
Alien Egg-type things? Check
Melting helmet faceplate? Check
Med-bay patient shenanigans? Check
Direct threat to mankind if it gets back to Earth? Check
Ancient Alien Reference? Wait, you mean like in AVP? Check

It takes place before the events of Alien. It involves concepts, artifacts and beings that will, in universe, appear in some form in Alien and elsewhere in the franchise.

It is a prequel to Alien.

Other movies have also taken place in universe before Alien, and like the dreaded Star Wars prequels, still exist in the real world. Get over it.

EDIT: Forgot to mention...Trailer Music & title reveal for new movie matching the original film? Check

I think the idea is not that it isn't a prequel to Alien. More that, if Scott's claims are true, it doesn't necessarily lead in to Alien. In other words, it would effectively be a reboot, starting with the same or similar characters and certain locations from Alien's backstory. But if another film is made it would diverge from a timeline that includes the original alien.

And honestly, I would find that quite interesting. For example: nobody doubts the quality of Cameron's Aliens. But Cameron did invent things Scott never intended originally. By making the xenomorphs "animals" complete with a queen, Cameron overwrote Scott's original, potential concept of the xenomorphs as purely biomech tools and war machines deployed by the civilization of the crashed ship.

Scott may have decided to get things "back on track" by just starting from scratch and portraying the alien technology, and any biomechanical creatures spawned from it, inline with his original concepts. Further films in a Prometheus timeline could go very different places than the Alien franchise had before. For example, war between humanity and the true alien civilization itself, in which creatures such as the xenomorphs are merely devices and not the stars of the show.

[RoJoHen]

I think it's more simple than that. It's not that this movie is a reboot or that a sequel would necessarily ignore the events of the "Alien" saga. It's just that a sequel would be about different people doing different things. Ripley and the Nostromo (and the Alien sequels) would still happen, but they would be irrelevant to the new story being told. It's a big universe; lots of things are allowed to happen without being related to each other.

[Beagleman]

RoJoHen wrote:

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I think it's more simple than that. It's not that this movie is a reboot or that a sequel would necessarily ignore the events of the "Alien" saga. It's just that a sequel would be about different people doing different things. Ripley and the Nostromo (and the Alien sequels) would still happen, but they would be irrelevant to the new story being told. It's a big universe; lots of things are allowed to happen without being related to each other.

I think that's it exactly. Same universe, different story.

[Trubinator]

I agree with most of what's being said. It's very clear that the film takes place in the same universe and includes millions of Alien tie-ins, however, the direct prequel status does not apply for the reasons already outlined. That said, it IS an Alien prequel ... just not the typical, run-of-the-mill variety.

[davejames]

Kinda surprised the trailers so far aren't pointing out that this is an Alien prequel from the guy who directed the classic original movie that started it all. Even for non-scifi nerds, I would think that would be a big selling point.

Just a simple "From the Director of Alien" would be enough to get the job done, I think.

Although I guess it could be argued that the trailers are already so powerful and attention-grabbing that nothing more is really necessary at this point...

[Reverend]

^I'm certain that the people who'd care about that don't need to be told who Ridley Scott is. As for the rest, well, they don't care.

[IcecreamLtDan]

Actually, one of the TV spots does just that.

davejames wrote:

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Kinda surprised the trailers so far aren't pointing out that this is an Alien prequel from the guy who directed the classic original movie that started it all. Even for non-scifi nerds, I would think that would be a big selling point.

Just a simple "From the Director of Alien" would be enough to get the job done, I think.

Although I guess it could be argued that the trailers are already so powerful and attention-grabbing that nothing more is really necessary at this point...

[davejames]

IcecreamLtDan wrote:

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Actually, one of the TV spots does just that.

Oh cool, guess I missed that one.