Just the other day we learned that Ridley Scott’s Prometheus 2 is no longer Prometheus 2. The legendary director recently revealed that the film is now titled Alien: Paradise Lost, which makes the connection to his Alien even more explicit. But after dropping that bomb, it didn’t take Scott long to dish even more on the new movie.
Empire caught up with the 77-year-old director, who his hyping up his new movie, The Martian, and as this is big news, they pried a bit. Scott was feeling in a particularly sharing mood, and had quite a bit to say on the matter. He revealed a handful of interesting nuggets that are sure to pique the interest of fans, and here are biggest.
There Will Be Ties To Ripley
It’s doesn’t feel like a true Alien movie without franchise stalwart Sigourney Weaver playing Ellen Ripley, one of the greatest action heroes of all time. While it doesn’t appear that she’ll be back, Scott indicted that the film will have a strong connection to her, though he plays coy about what like that is. He said:
Is Prometheus actually taking us off course from where I’m going, which is actually backing into the first Alien... I’ve even got connections with Ripley [in this], but I’m not telling you what.
Even though it is set years ahead of Alien, Prometheus takes place in the same world, and though Scott often talked about how the two were separated by a wide margin, we were always moving towards that. While it will still likely take time to get there—it’s been said it could be a few movies—we can’t help but be curious about seeing this connection to Ripley. Perhaps it could be family, as her relatives have shown up before in books and games and other properties set in this world.
He’s Bringing Back The Classic Xenomorph
As it turns out, Ripley isn’t the only classic element Alien: Paradise Lost will dust off for more. It sounds like a big part of the film will revolve around the Xenomorph, which is one of the most terrifying movie monsters of all time, and dig into the origins of the beast. Scott said:
I was always fascinated with why this thing [the Xenomorph] would be made, by whom, and for what purpose?
At the very end of Prometheus, we saw what appears to a sort of proto-Xenomorph, a precursor to the iconic creatures. And again, while we expected to get there, it looks like we might arrive at that point in the story sooner than we thought. Who made them and why also ties into the continuing adventures of Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and David the android (Michael Fassbender), whose quest is essentially a search for our creator and to demand answers from them.
It Doesn’t Interfere With Neill Blomkamp’s Movie
With Prometheus 2 in the works, and the connections to Alien now taking even more prominence, that left people questioning the status of District 9 and Chappie director Neill Blomkamp’s much talked about Alien movie. If you were stoked for that, don’t worry, as it’s still happening, and in fact, Ridley Scott will be involved. He said:
I’m producing it. The design is for it to go out next, after this. This will go out first. It’s more associated with Ripley, it’s a completely different angle, it’s more of a sequel. I’m coming in from the back end.
From what Scott says, it sounds like the two are approaching a similar end point from different directions. While Paradise Lost will have a connection to Ripley, Blomkamp’s film has, since the discussions first began late last year, always included her. Taken together, it appears these films will serve to illuminate nice chunks of this universe that we haven’t seen before.
He Has Big Plans For Michael Fassbender’s Severed Head
By the end of Prometheus, the sneaky android David (Michael Fassbender) had seen better days. It led to the question of whether or not he will spend the run time of the second movie as a disembodied head. That could be a fun way to play it, but Ridley Scott said it isn’t going to go down like that, and there are plans in the works. He said:
It’s going to be better than that. It’s a very nice big idea I’ve got. It’s really great. You’re going to have to wait...
Do we have any inkling what Scott means, what this "big idea" might entail? Absolutely none. But are we intrigued as all hell? You bet your ass we are. We have no clue what he has in store for David and his severed head, but from his reaction, it sounds like it is going to be something rather memorable.
