Alien Prequel Is No Longer An Alien Prequel, Proving That Prequels Are Usually Terrible

In the Small Mercies department, Ridley Scott recently revealed to soul sister site Deadline that his much talked-about Alien prequel movie has gone through a metamorphosis. Specifically, it's no longer a prequel tied to the Alien mythology, it's just a standalone movie now. And for that, I am quite thankful.

The script for the now-defunct prequel evidently evolved and transformed itself sufficiently enough to no longer be considered part of the Alien mythos. Now called Prometheus, Scott promises "a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place," but that "the keen fan will recognize strands of Alien's DNA," by which I assume he means that the movie is in space and is scary.

It could be that Scott or screenwriter Damon Lindelof realized something that most moviegoers already are all too-aware of: prequels are terrible. There are exceptions, like Temple of Doom, that help prove the rule, of course. But for every Godfather II, there is an X-Men Origins: Wolverine or Hannibal Rising, or, God help us all, the Star Wars prequels.

The problem usually stems from the fact that, as an audience, we already know how it's going to end. Wolverine's going to get his claws, Anakin is going to turn to the dark side, and so on. It can't really go off and forge a path of its own because the path is already paved to its predecessor. All that's left typically, are some nerdy Easter eggs to distract the die-hard fans; look, it's C-3PO! Look, it's Cyclops! And I imagine Scott might have felt that he already made his Alien movie, so why not try for something else?

· Ridley Scott Directing 'Prometheus' For Fox [Deadline]



Comments

  • Dimo says:

    As a huge Alien/Aliens fan, I find this a great relief...As an even bigger movie fan, I hope this sends a message to the studios that original ideas are what we all want.

  • tanya says:

    i watched wolverine and star wars prequels - thought they were great along with millions of other people

  • Marcus says:

    People used to say that sequels are usually terrible. So what's your point? I say remakes are usually terrible. Yet there are at least 50 on the drawing board that I know of. I also say movie critics are pretentious arrogant pricks who don't know how to have a good time. Not to mention that I think all of Ridley scott's films are all visual with weak stories, so who cares if it's a prequel or a redux, because I won't watch it either way. But I won't insist that my opinion on that matter is good as gospel, like some people. I'll let people choose for themselves.

  • voiceofReason says:

    Um, you lost me with "Temple of Gloom" as exception. Granted, compared to (Terrible SEQUEL) "Crystal (Numb)Skull", it isn't "Star Wars Prequel" bad, but it's still pretty bad, to the point where Spielberg was quoted he did "Last Crusade" as an "Apology" for "Doom".
    With all the awful sequels after "Aliens" and the timeline busting "sequel/prequel" abominations of "Aliens vs Predators" abominations, I think the "Alien" universe is pretty much played out. I'm looking forward to the "non prequel" Scott movie, but when he says "Alien DNA"....I suspect it will be a "side story" (as opposed to a gawdawful "Sideways Universe Story" considering one of the screenwriters...) nascently set in the "Alien" universe, but without Aliens being front and center...so maybe something set in space (or earth) involving Weyland Yutani (the Evil corp in all the Alien flicks).

  • Isabelle says:

    I just would like to point out that Star Wars has no prequels. The 3 episodes that were created most recently had already been written by George Lucas, when he started filming A New Hope (1977).
    The fact is that he wasn't sure people would like that kind of movie, so he choose to start shooting the episode which, in his opinion, would be most likely to be popular.
    Of course, after the phenomenal success of those 3 episodes, he then decided later to film the very beginning of the story.

  • The Winchester says:

    Man, I'm sick and tired of Hollywood going and making these original movies, when there are PLENTY of comic books that haven't been adapted, TONS of movies that are deserving of sequels ,and whole SLEW of TV shows that younger viewing audiences have no idea of and can be introduced to through a gritty reboot.

  • Joe says:

    Wolverine was a great movie, YOU JERK, and Scott is an idiot.