Ridley Scott Prometheus: NOT the Alien Prequel Details
- Thread starter CessnaDriver
- Start date
robstyle
Master Member
Seems the black guy is wearing a YT t-shirt.
Clutch
Master Member
Sounds like a porno.
Clutch
Master Member
Noeland
Master Member
Tom Rothman: "It is not an 'Alien' prequel. It's not. Hand on heart. [On it being in the same universe] I suppose if you want to definitionally be that literal, but it does it a great disservice. I will tell you, here's the way to think about it. If you looked at the whole movie, 95 percent of it is entirely unto itself. Ridley said it right: If you're a fan and you look closely, you'll spot strands of DNA."
If Prometheus is set in the same universe, how is it a disservice to acknowledge that? That doesn't make any sense. It's set in the same universe, the trailer used visual cues and sound designs from the first movie, but he still doesn't believe it. Maybe Tom really is a nihilist.
Exec: We're making a new series set in Gene Roddenburry's Star Trek universe about a medical ship that journeys to different worlds treating patients from all kinds of different species and cultures.
Interviewer: Oh, that's neat. A scifi medical drama set in the Star Trek universe. When did-
Exec: HOW DARE YOU TALK THAT WAY ABOUT THIS SERIES. IT STANDS ON IT'S OWN! Only fans of Star Trek will get the faintest hints of DNA from the franchise. Making this series a part of Star Trek and saying it's a part of Star Trek are two different things! You have given this series a major disservice by associating it with Star Trek! You think we are dumb enough to cling to the Star Trek franchise for guidance?
Interviewer: But the leaked trailer had a nice little homage to the Star Trek theme, the subtitles were using the Galaxy Font, the cast were using TNG era hyposprays, medical tricorders and ships were going into warp very similar to TNG warp effects. Even the USS Enterprise E makes an appearance!
Exec: The leaked trailer. That was not fair. Not fair!
If Prometheus is set in the same universe, how is it a disservice to acknowledge that? That doesn't make any sense. It's set in the same universe, the trailer used visual cues and sound designs from the first movie, but he still doesn't believe it. Maybe Tom really is a nihilist.
Exec: We're making a new series set in Gene Roddenburry's Star Trek universe about a medical ship that journeys to different worlds treating patients from all kinds of different species and cultures.
Interviewer: Oh, that's neat. A scifi medical drama set in the Star Trek universe. When did-
Exec: HOW DARE YOU TALK THAT WAY ABOUT THIS SERIES. IT STANDS ON IT'S OWN! Only fans of Star Trek will get the faintest hints of DNA from the franchise. Making this series a part of Star Trek and saying it's a part of Star Trek are two different things! You have given this series a major disservice by associating it with Star Trek! You think we are dumb enough to cling to the Star Trek franchise for guidance?
Interviewer: But the leaked trailer had a nice little homage to the Star Trek theme, the subtitles were using the Galaxy Font, the cast were using TNG era hyposprays, medical tricorders and ships were going into warp very similar to TNG warp effects. Even the USS Enterprise E makes an appearance!
Exec: The leaked trailer. That was not fair. Not fair!
Larry Young
Master Member
It'd be a disservice contractually. Ask Nick Locarno why his name is suddenly Tom Paris. :lol
I hate it when royalties get in the way of potential continuity. It really would have been better if it was Nick on Voyager.
As for the contractual part, unless the trailer department gets zero input from the film makers, producers, and the studio that's releasing the film, there is no way anyone would look or listen to that leaked trailer without believing it's an ALIEN film.
Jedi2016
Sr Member
I'm still curious as to how this "not a prequel" thing will come out.
The one thing that the studio hasn't defined yet is the term "prequel" in their statements. Obviously, they have an idea of what a prequel is, and this film probably doesn't fit whatever their definition is. But some of us have pretty broad ideas about what defines a prequel, and I think the film may definitely fall into some of those categories.
Here's my personal take:
There will be no mention of a mission to retrieve an alien sample, and no mention of the Nostromo or any of the characters from the first film. I seriously doubt we'll see LV-426 or the crash of the derelict. I doubt we will see any of the classic xenomorph form, but we may hear about its existence in passing, or catch a glimpse of eggs or something.
However, I do believe we will see the SJ ship before the crash, or one just like it, and learn its purpose. We'll probably see living Space Jockeys and have some interaction with them.
If you limit your definition of "prequel" to what George Lucas defined it as, then yes.. Prometheus is not a prequel. However, if your definition of a prequel includes simply taking place in the same universe, but earlier, than an established work, and possibly (maybe distantly) setting up the events that will take place in the original work, then I think that's the category that Prometheus will fall into.
A good example are the video games Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. The stories are clearly linked, with SOTC being that kind of "loose" prequel that has no direct bearing on Ico's story, but otherwise it's completely standalone, and casual viewers may miss the link entirely.
The one thing that the studio hasn't defined yet is the term "prequel" in their statements. Obviously, they have an idea of what a prequel is, and this film probably doesn't fit whatever their definition is. But some of us have pretty broad ideas about what defines a prequel, and I think the film may definitely fall into some of those categories.
Here's my personal take:
There will be no mention of a mission to retrieve an alien sample, and no mention of the Nostromo or any of the characters from the first film. I seriously doubt we'll see LV-426 or the crash of the derelict. I doubt we will see any of the classic xenomorph form, but we may hear about its existence in passing, or catch a glimpse of eggs or something.
However, I do believe we will see the SJ ship before the crash, or one just like it, and learn its purpose. We'll probably see living Space Jockeys and have some interaction with them.
If you limit your definition of "prequel" to what George Lucas defined it as, then yes.. Prometheus is not a prequel. However, if your definition of a prequel includes simply taking place in the same universe, but earlier, than an established work, and possibly (maybe distantly) setting up the events that will take place in the original work, then I think that's the category that Prometheus will fall into.
A good example are the video games Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. The stories are clearly linked, with SOTC being that kind of "loose" prequel that has no direct bearing on Ico's story, but otherwise it's completely standalone, and casual viewers may miss the link entirely.
ghostryder
Legendary Member
Think "Puss n Boots" - it's not a Shrek movie, but a story told in the same universe.
Carson Dyle
Sr Member
First of all, you have to take everything Tom Rothman says with a grain of salt. Studio execs have their own agendas, and being straight with journalists (especially geek journalists) is not always deemed to be in the studio's best interest.
In this case, Fox is concerned fans of the original film will be disappointed if Prometheus fails to deliver the Alien. It's a legitimate concern, and Rothman is trying to manage fanboy expectations. My hunch is that most of the people on this board will come to regard the film as a prequel, albeit one in the aforementioned "Puss in Boots" vein (i.e. same world, different characters).
As for Rothman's mock indignation re: the leaked "trailer"... well, to quote Sean Connery in The Untouchables: "There's nothing like vaudeville."
nickytea
Master Member
That explains a lot, actually.
Saying "this is an Alien prequel" will instantly set that kind of expectation.
A legitimate concern for sure, but he shouldn't have to worry about fans like me. I for one think that having an Alien film without the Alien would be a great way to introduce a new terrifying creature in the same universe without resorting to that classic creature we all know so well. And while I scratch my head at the "Jockeys created humanity!" origin story, I'm willing to see how it plays out. That's more than what I gave AvP's "The Predators taught us to build pyramids for their uber expensive quail hunting sessions!".
SKIN JOB 66
Sr Member
Glad to see these suits:
You already saw them... Look at that A L I E N storyboard panel (by Sir Rid himself) !
Fred
Larry Young
Master Member
Of course; that's why I'm glad to see them in this movie. Those blue neoprene ones from the EW article are uninspiring.
SKIN JOB 66
Sr Member
Larry Young
Master Member
The neck rings are about 30% larger than what we saw in the EW pics... of course there may be some Red Planet-esque CGI Tom-foolery but the resolution is too low for me to tell if those are the same suits.
Similar threads
