Prometheus Trailer: The Aliening

You may have heard about Ridley Scott's new movie, Prometheus, his much-heralded return to the sci-fi genre. Originally, Prometheus was to have been a prequel to Scott's 1979 classic, but at some point in its development the project seems to have taken another more mysterious turn than simply being an Alien prequel. Scott and members of his cast and crew have made a lot of conflicting statements about just how much this movie has to do with the Alien series. Scott has made strange comments about the movie having "Alien DNA" and has implied that the movie is set in the same cinematic universe as Alien but he has denied that the famous monster makes an appearance in the movie.

Perhaps this is a bit of misinformation. Or maybe Ridley Scott is attempting to manage expectations so that people don't go into his movie expecting another Alien sequel in which his cast is devoured one-by-one. Aside from its connections to Alien there does seem do be a lot going on with Prometheus and the filmmakers have alluded to some big themes that apparently wouldn't be able to be shoehorned into a movie about a monster on the loose.

Today, a lot of questions are answered about the movie with the release of its first official trailer. For a movie that the filmmakers are trying to disassociate with Alien, this trailer really works in as many references to the classic movie as possible, from its eerie music first used in the original Alien trailer, to the title which slowly assembles over the moving images.



Also like Alien is what looks like a terrific ensemble cast including Idris Elba, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, and Guy Pierce. Heading the cast is Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, the original Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Once again, Scott has put together a group of established character actors, edgy up-and-coming movie stars and international talent.

From what little we can tell from the trailer, the movie is more clearly connected to Alien than Scott has been letting on. It looks a lot like much of the footage from this trailer is set on LV-426, the planet on which the first crew discovered the derelict ship and also the setting for most of Aliens. The planet from the Prometheus trailer has the same murky windswept craggy appearance. Later in the trailer, we see the derelict ship from Alien both balancing on its end, and then crashing down, perhaps into the position in which it is found in Alien.

Scott has long indicated a desire to explore the mysterious "Space Jockey" that was found in a fossilized form inside the ship in Alien and he looks to have made good on his wish. Here we see a quick shot of what looks like the head or helmet of the creature going through some kind of medical scanner. Later, we see it aboard the derelict as it rises from the floor and assumes its familiar position.

There are also some strangely unfamiliar things in the trailer. In a shot that recalls a similar situation in Alien, we see Michael Fassbender in a dark chamber filled with pods, but these pods are metal instead of the expected organic eggs. The room is dominated by the colossal sculpture of a human face, which we have already seen in the film's publicity materials. Shortly after, it looks as though Fassbender is face-hugged, although it is no secret that his character is an android. And then there is Fassbender again, pulling something out of a container.

I can't tell you how psyched I am to see this movie. We've gotten used to the idea of an Alien series of movies and have forgotten that Alien was very much its own thing, with it's own unique Anglo Gothic Horror vibe. Prometheus looks to take us back to the Lovecraftian horror roots from which Alien spawned. June 8th, 2012, people.



Patrick Garone is a writer, director, sketch comedian, and blogger. He is the author of City of the Gods: The Return of Quetzalcoatl. Follow him on Twitter for fun-sized ramblings on nerd culture and politics.