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Published On: Mon, Jul 4th, 2011

Damon Lindelof talks about ‘Prometheus’ being a sequel, but it may not be one

Kevin Pollak had a long talk with Prometheus writer Damon Lindelof on his chat show. Lindelof talks a lot about his career, Lost, Star Trek and Cowboys and Aliens, but he also briefly touches Prometheus in this interview.

When asked whether or not Prometheus is or is not a prequel to Alien, Lindelof replies:

Or is it? I think should be the tag line as opposed to ‘In space nobody can hear you scream’, it should be Prometheus: …or is it?’ (laughs)

It started as an Alien prequel as that’s what everybody wanted it to be. Obviously Ridley Scott hasn’t made a science fiction movie in 25 years since Blade Runner, so the idea that he’s returning to this genre is huge.

But there’s a real issue which is what is the state of the Alien franchise at this point in our lives? Now it’s Alien versus Predator and all these things and it’s been completely and totally diluted.

I’ve always felt really good prequels should be original movies. And the sequel to those prequels should not be the movie that already exists. Because, all due respect to anybody who makes a prequel, why would you ruin the greatest twist in the history of movie cinema?

‘Luke I am your father’… By showing me three movies (Star Wars prequels) that basically spoil that surprise. You could do movies that take place before Star Wars, but I don’t need to see the story of the Skywalker clan. Show me something else that I can’t guess the possible outcome of. There’s no suspense and inevitability.

So a true prequel should essentially precede the incidents of the original film, but be about something entirely different, feature different characters, have an entirely different theme although it takes place in that same world.

That was my fundamental feeling about what this movie wanted to be.

And truth be told, it wasn’t script doctoring in the strictest sense because the draft that existed before I came on was written by this guy named Jon Spaihts, who is very good! And there are a lot of things in Prometheus that were hatched by Jon Spaihts and that were written by Jon Spaihts.

And I feel like somewhere in the media reconstruction of this story the tale is I come in and pitch an entirely new movie and it’s so original that everything else gets thrown out and THAT’s what we’re doing.
In my brain that’s not exactly what happened.

But I also do feel that this is the movie that I would want to see as a fanboy take place in that Alien universe that precedes the events of the original Alien, but is not necessarily burdened by tropes of that franchise with facehuggers and chestbursters and all that stuff that I love. But we’ve seen it before, so can I do something different this time.

And that’s the movie that Ridley wanted to make.

 

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- Stories transferred over from The Desk of Brian where the original author was not determined and the content is still of interest of Dispatch readers.

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