Well, this is a headscratcher. It was just this week that Ridley Scott said his new "Prometheus" series would only connect with "Alien" by the third or fourth film. Now, muddying the waters, he’s revealed the title for the followup, and frankly, this is all just getting a little too confusing.
HeyUGuys sat down with the director, who seems to be giving up choice quotes at every press stop, and he revealed that the title for the "Prometheus" sequel is: "Alien: Paradise Lost." So, just to make this clear, this movie has ‘Alien’ in the title even though it doesn’t technically connect to the actual series in any concrete way. Though Scott makes clear that yes, the nod to Milton is intentional, which makes sense given the story’s thrust of searching for the Engineers.
READ MORE: Neill Blomkamp Says, "I’m Not Trying To Undo ‘Alien 3’ & ‘Alien Resurrection’"
And one also has to wonder if the naming of this movie isn’t a further way to try and halt Neill Blomkamp from making his "Alien" project. There have been suggestions that Scott was not exactly cool with Blomkamp stepping on his turf, demanding that Fox release "Prometheus 2" "Alien: Paradise Lost" prior to the "Chappie" director’s picture. And perhaps by reclaiming the franchise name, Scott is looking to further dissuade Fox and Blomkamp from pressing ahead with the filmmaker’s movie, which takes place after "Aliens," but ignores the storyline that unfolded in the subsequent sequels.
From a marketing and branding standpoint, bringing back the "Alien" name is valuable, but narratively, I just hope Scott knows what he’s doing and isn’t just going down a path without a destination.