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?
ยท Ridley Scott Directing 'Prometheus' For Fox [Deadline]