'Prometheus' Unlikely to Be Next 'Alien' Movie from Ridley Scott

Prometheus will be an event movie next year for at least one reason. Namely, it is the first sci-fi film made by Ridley Scott since his Blade Runner and Alien days. However, from the start of the project fans wondered whether Scott was actually making another Alien movie. Thursday's Comic-Con panel revealed that it may not be an official prequel, but there's still enough wiggle room left to doubt it.

Whatever Prometheus really is, the first footage indicated it is "intense, scary, sweaty and beautiful- and intended to scare your pants off" according to Wired. That is how Scott made himself and the Alien franchise big in the first place, but the series has taken some twists and turns since he left it.

After the original, Aliens officially made the series legendary in sci-fi lore, thanks in part to James Cameron. But after two more less successful sequels and two Predators crossovers, the franchise has more of a mixed legacy these days. As such, a new installment helmed by the original director would be a huge shot in the arm.

However, Thursday's Comic-Con panel showed that although Scott's new effort is somewhat similar to his first hit movie, it can't be classified as a prequel quite yet. Wired cited the director as saying that "there is a DNA" of his last alien-centric film, but "everything else is completely different."

The only reason left to doubt him is that he is shooting scenes near an active Icelandic volcano, for sequences that depict "the beginning of time" according to Ice News. If he's going back that far, then there should be an extensive origin involved for whatever creatures are in the story. As long as Scott and company won't reveal them, fans can wonder if they are his original aliens or are related to them.

But at the moment, it looks like this is just a case of the director paying homage to his roots. Steven Spielberg did the same with his sci-fi epics when he helped J.J. Abrams pay tribute to them in Super 8 this summer. Yet Spielberg has always been more active in the genre than Scott has, since he hasn't returned to it in 30 years.

Does the Oscar winner still have what it takes to make fans fear that "In space, no one can hear you scream?" If he does, it would be a shot in the arm for him after the mixed results he had with Robin Hood last summer.

But since Prometheus might just be a tie-in to Alien in style and subject matter only, fanatics of that movie franchise might have to hope for something else- other than another Predator crossover- to make the series soar again. Yet Scott's epic may or may not be the next best thing, depending on if it delivers in 2012.

Sources

Wired- "First Footage From Ridley Scott's Prometheus Makes Our Space Helmets Explode!"

Ice News- "Ridley Scott shooting movie by Hekla in Iceland"