The official plot for director Ridley Scott’s Prometheus has hit the web after Fox quietly updated the film’s brief description on the official movie page. After daily feeds of voyeuristic spy shots from The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers sets, the subtle background revelations for the upcoming sci-fi is a welcome change in film news following months of complete secrecy. You may remember my early Prometheus speculation piece in July, offering cryptic hints rather than outright spoilers for the forthcoming film. The following plot reveal on the official movie site continues this trend:
“Ridley Scott, director of Alien and Blade Runner, returns to the genre he helped define. With Prometheus, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discovers a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.”
The passage confirms early talks of the film’s setting taking place within the Alien universe, perhaps as a spin-off precursor to the events that unfold in the original 1979 movie. Mixed with a number of leaked information online, the synopsis for Prometheus points to the Weyland-Yutani corporation engaging in a profound discovery that points to Earth’s origins as created by beings from another planet. The discovery then prompts a scientific team to head into space to investigate, ultimately leading to a clash with a violent extraterrestrial threat.
The new information builds on from an earlier Prometheus release in June:
“Visionary filmmaker Ridley Scott returns to the genre he helped define, creating an original science fiction epic set in the most dangerous corners of the universe. The film takes a team of scientists and explorers on a thrilling journey that will test their physical and mental limits and strand them on a distant world, where they will discover the answers to our most profound questions and to life’s ultimate mystery.”
Screenwriter Damon Lindelof (Lost, Star Trek) also sat down with MTV to discuss the role of Michael Fassbender, giving further confirmation of the actor’s role. “He plays a robot. One of the things that evokes the idea of ‘Blade Runner’ is, ‘What does the movie look like from the robot’s point of view?”
As for Charlize Theron’s character, Lindelof has unveiled a wealth of new material that looks to revamp the staple sci-fi archetype of a mysterious corporate agent.
“Her character’s name is Meredith Vickers and she’s sort of a corporate entity. That’s another one of the familiar things from the ‘Alien’ movies — that there are corporate interests in play. I feel like Charlize brought a new spin on that old variation. It’s a remix…. I don’t think she’s slimy [like Paul Reiser’s character in ‘Aliens’]. She’s not the fast-talking, snake-oil face of the company. By the way, “What company is she a face of?,” I think is a big part of the fun. As we were developing the script, she had some really cool ideas that made it not the suit you’re used to.”
The premise of the film itself looks intriguing enough, especially given Lindelof’s supposed “Alien bloodlust” in regards to its violence mixed with Ridley Scott’s interesting sci-fi philosophy:
“The (space) journey, metaphorically, is about a challenge to the gods. NASA and the Vatican agree that is almost mathematically impossible that we can be where we are today without there being a little help along the way. That’s what we’re looking at (in the film), at some of Eric von Daniken’s ideas of how did we humans come about.”
And if you know anything at all about Greek mythology and the story of Prometheus, you’ll realize how dark this movie can become. Prometheus was a Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave that knowledge to humanity, only to be swiftly punished by having his liver eaten every day by an eagle for all of eternity.
Perhaps the scientists discovering the knowledge to the origins of all of humanity might not end well after all? Prometheus, starring Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, and Michael Fassbender, opens June 1, 2012.
