After this week’s Oscars post-mortem it’s a relief to find this viral clip designed to whet our appetites for Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s maybe-it’s-a-prequel to Alien.
Those who’ve been following all this – and I am one – will know that Scott has been playing down quite how closely connected his new film, Prometheus, is to Alien. Scott gave an interview at the back end of last year, where he discussed the connection between the two films, which seem to hinge on the ‘Space Jockey’, the giant alien pilot whose body the crew of the Nostromo found on the derelict spaceship in Alien. But he was pretty emphatic that was where the connection ended.
It might all be a smokescreen to deflect from some deeper truth about how Prometheus fits into the Alien universe. Truth be told, I’m kind of reluctant to dig too deep into all this: I’d quite like some surprises when I eventually get to see Prometheus. But I was pretty excited this morning when I clicked on the link to the Prometheus viral. In the clip, over at www.weylandindustries.com, you see Guy Pearce’s Peter Weyland, CEO of Weyland Industries, delivering a TED talk in 2023, and handily getting out of the way a lot of exposition about the myth of Prometheus, which I presume will be referenced in some way in the film.
I read an interview somewhere with Scott recently, where he talked about how, in the late Seventies, he always imagined the future would be run by big corporations – hence, Weyland-Yutani in Alien (never mentioned by name, but you see their logo everywhere) and the Tyrell Corporation in Blade Runner. Of course, Weyland-Yutani took on a larger and more sinister role as the Alien series developed. So it’s great to see Pearce’s Peter Weyland – slightly dodgy British accent aside – delivering his lecture.
Has this vibed you up for Prometheus? Is it a good idea for Scott to revisit the Alien universe, or are you not fussed? Let us know.