Damon Lindelof is used to being at the center of fanboy speculation. After all, he was responsible for six seasons of "Lost," the hit ABC series that used cliffhangers, sci-fi, faith and a smoke monster to delight-slash-enrage the entire internet. Still, what does he think about the conjecture surrounding "Prometheus" and its connection to "Alien"?
"Let’s say I had nothing to do with this movie, and I was one of the people on the internet who was really curious about what it was, my feeling would be -- and this is just me -- to hear that it’s a prequel, makes the movie less interesting to me than if I don’t really have a clear sense of what it is," Lindelof told Chris Nashawaty from Entertainment Weekly.
To that end, Lindelof is making it clear: while "Prometheus" may have started out as a direct prequel to "Alien," the finished film merely takes place in the same universe as Ridley Scott's landmark science-fiction film.
"I anticipated that, at a certain point, the fact that we weren’t openly addressing that question -- or being cagey about that question -- would lead to a certain degree of frustration, because that’s what I would be feeling as a fan," he said. "That’s when Ridley thought that it would be cool that in the teaser he’d have the word 'Prometheus' reveal itself exactly the way the title 'Alien' revealed itself in the original trailer for 'Alien.'"
If that sounds familiar, it's because Lindelof has been saying that for some time. At WonderCon in March, the screenwriter told assembled fans that "Prometheus" wouldn't directly lead into "Alien."
"I said, 'Well, I think that's what we have to do because if there was a sequel to this movie we are working on, which eventually became 'Prometheus,' it would not be 'Alien,'" Lindelof recalled. "Normally that's a definition of a prequel is it precedes the other movie."
One of the most anticipated events of the summer, "Prometheus" is Ridley Scott's first science-fiction film since "Blade Runner." Like "Alien," it will be rated "R" for some intense violence -- which is glimpsed slightly in the newest trailer.
For more from Lindelof, including how he came to rewrite "Prometheus," head over to EW.com to read the fantastic Q&A.
[via EW.com]
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