Ridley Scottis busier than ever, and there has been some speculation as to whether or not he would revisit the world ofBlade RunnerorAlienfirst. As suspected, the prolific filmmaker has confirmed thatPrometheus 2, a sequel to his 2012AlienprequelPrometheus, will be his next movie as a director. He hasThe Martiancoming out this October, but as soon as it was wrapped, he didn’t hesitate to jump intopreproductionon this upcoming sci-fi thriller.
Prometheusoriginated as a prologue to the action seen in Ridley Scott’s 1979 horror classicAlien. But the movie morphed into something much greater than a mere prequel, becoming its own thing and igniting a new franchise for 20th Century Fox. It took some pretty complicated ideas head-on and in turn tore audiences in two. Some longtime fans loved it, others hated it, but there is no denying it is interesting. And it did leave off with one heck of a cliffhanger, which is the starting point for Prometheus 2.Noomi RapaceandMichael Fassbender, the only two surviving characters fromPrometheus, are confirmed to return.
SincePrometheusfirst hit theaters, Ridley Scott has gone onto direct three more feature films, including 2013’sThe CounselorstarringMichael Fassbender,Javier Bardem,Cameron DiazandPenélope Cruz, the less-than-well-recievedExodus: Gods and KingsstarringChristian BaleandJoel Edgerton, and this fall’sThe MartianstarringMatt Damon. He’s also done a few TV projects in that time. But nothing is more anticipated than Prometheus 2 andBlade Runner 2, though he’sno longer directingthat second project, withDenis Villeneuvesaid to be taking the helm. Of course, that could change.
As previously reported, it sounds as though Prometheus 2 will indeed begin shooting in the first half of 2016. Empire Magazine recent caught up withMatt Damonand Ridley Scott to talk about theThe Martian. It is here where it is revealed how quickly Ridley Scott jumped into working on the sequel following completion ofThe Martian.Matt Damonsays his director was done with the movie about two weeks after they shot it. Says Ridley Scott.
“I was starting to look for locations for my next movie, which is Prometheus 2.”
Prometheusended withNoomi Rapace’s scientist Elizabeth Shaw and her android David, played byMichael Fassbender, badly injured and damaged, yet still eager to fly off and locate the home world of the Engineers, who are possibly responsible for all of humanity. Shaw hopes to discover who the Engineers are, and why they attempted to wipe out life on earth. Prometheus 2 will utilize real-world shooting locations to bring theEngineershome world to life, which will likely be combined with quite a bit of sound stage work as it was in the first movie.
Jake Paglen, who is best known for his work onTranscendence, took over screenwriting duties on thePrometheussequel fromDamon Lindelof, who wrote the first movie. Since then, Michael Green, who contributed to the 2011Green Lanternscript, has come in for rewrites. It is suspected that they will further connect the world ofPrometheusto the world of the originalAlienmovies.
Alien 5is in the rely stages of production at 20th Century Fox, withNeill Blomkampdirecting. It was reported earlier this month that Prometheus 2 will actuallydelaywork onAlien 5, and with Ridley Scott already deep into pre-production on his sequel, it sounds like that is the reality. Prometheus 2 will hit theaters in 2017, while it’s expected thatAlien 5will get a 2018 release date. Its possible that both films will benefit each other in the long run.
