Folks were likely bummed to learn that the sequel to Prometheus, Alien: Paradise Lost, would not feature the famous Xenomorph aliens — much like they were when the first film was released. Prometheus is not a horrible film by any stretch, but many felt that there was a promised connection to the Alien franchise within, and the delivered result was unsatisfactory. The same might be said for Ridley Scott, but expand it to the entire franchise he helped create on the tail end of the ’70s.
In an interview with IGN, Scott talks about how the original Alien franchise “got away” from him and into the hands of other filmmakers, all with varied results. And the interesting point that comes up is the talk of the original Alien and the creation of the beasts that the Nostromo encounters in that first film, the essence of what we expected to see in Prometheus:
I’m trying to re-resurrect the beast and let if off the hook for a while because I’m coming back into the back-end of Alien 1. I’m gradually getting to Alien 1.”
And to do that, Scott details his tentative plan to IGN and notes that we’ll likely find out who created the frightening and monstrous Xenomorphs, and why:
“Prometheus 2 will start getting shot in February and I’ve already begun now so I know what the script is. Then there will be another one after that and then maybe we’ll back into Alien 1, as to why? Who would make such a dreadful thing?”
It’s a fine interview, which you can check out in video form over here, but it does pose some issues with Prometheus and more issues with the general timeline of Scott’s plan. There’s obviously the factor of Scott’s age — something that could be averted given the director has plotted out his direction for the film’s story — but there is also the lingering plans for Neill Blomkamp’s Alien film. Where will it fit with the Prometheus stories, and will whatever control that Scott is grabbing for himself affect that story that Blomkamp is attempting to craft on his end?
Personally, I see Blomkamp as taking a clear Aliens direction with his film, focusing less on the philosophy behind it all and more on the action. That doesn’t mean he couldn’t encounter some sort of massive change in the Alien dynamic, thanks to Scott’s films. We’ll just have to hope it plays out well in the end.
