If there is one (potential) franchise that continues to be a muddle of confused ideas, it’s “Prometheus.” We’ll spare you the blow-by-blow (again), but generally speaking, Jon Spaihts wrote a script that was a (more) direct prequel to “Alien” (including facehuggers) like had been initially planned, and then Damon Lindelof was brought in and it became the movie you saw last summer (you can read about some of the differences here). But for all the supposed mystery of “Prometheus,” Ridley Scott wasted no opportunity to explain away everything and even toss in a loose tie to “Blade Runner“ because why the fuck not. So needless to say, the waters have become a bit muddied, and Fox is reportedly none too pleased.
Bloody Disgusting says that according to their sources, the studio and Scott himself are “freaking out” over where to take “Prometheus 2.” As you might recall, Lindelof won’t be returning (which is why they are apparently at a loss of what to do), though there is apparently some movement with Noomi Rapace telling us recently that she met with Scott to talk about the movie. According to the horror site, the filmmakers “are taking pitches from basically anyone who can crack the story” but why not just bring Spaihts back in who told Empire last fall that he had already planned and discussed sequels with Scott way back in the day? Well, allow us to make a few suggestions here.
Were there is smoke there tends to be fire, and if we were to take a wild stab in the dark, our guess is that Fox is concerned with a “Prometheus 2” insofar as it keeps the “Alien” brand as a whole alive. That’s the only reason that movie got greenlit in the first place — it was a famed director, returning to an iconic series (kind of) for the first time in decades, in something that wasn’t just a bunch of monsters killing each other, which is what the franchise had devolved into. But with “Prometheus” finishing with Elizabeth Shaw and bionic Michael Fassbender traveling to some other planet to keep looking for the creator/main Engineer/God/whatever, it seems the whole point of this prequel got lost somewhere. This probably isn’t really about making “Prometheus 2” so much as turning the story back toward facehuggers and other familiar tropes of the franchise. Again, that’s just our guess.
For his part, Lindelof tweeted “I don’t believe Ridley Scott has ever freaked out in his life” and in a lengthy email to Slashfilm, weighs in on Bloody Disgusting’s report. “During the creative process of ‘Prometheus,’ all involved (that includes Fox and Ridley) had a strong desire for this film to launch off in its own way so that by the end, it would not connect directly to the original ‘Alien,’ but instead run parallel to it. This is something that I talked about many, many times in the press burst around the release of the movie,” Lindelof said. “As you probably remember, there was a lot of interest as to whether Prometheus was a ‘prequel’ — the answer was, ‘Yes. Sort of. But if there was a sequel to Prometheus, it would not be ‘Alien.’ “
Adding that his slate became busy as he started working with Brad Bird on “Tomorrowland,” Lindelof insists that he’s not the key to the future of “Prometheus” and more he feels there are any number of writers suitable to come on board. “As to whether Ridley and Fox are ‘freaking out’ about me not working on a sequel, well that’s news to me,” he continued. “I retain awesome relationships with both. More importantly, the idea that there aren’t many, MANY writers out there capable of taking the reins is sort of ridiculous. I did not map out a trilogy and then walk when the going got tough. Anyone who says otherwise doesn’t know me and doesn’t know the truth.”
And lastly, Lindelof clearly refutes this latest rumor: “…denying the story I am. I will take all the abuse in the world for the things I have done, but I refuse to take it for the things I have not. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”
Long story short: dudes need a story for “Prometheus 2.” Badass Digest adds, ”Fox has been taking many, many meetings with screenwriters, and that screenwriters have been pretty much bringing in their own pitches, not working within an established frame” which suggest that might be up for changing things up. Got any ideas? Tell us below.