It seems like Ridley Scott is excited about his return to the sci-fi genre! Not too long ago, he revealed some details about his next project ‘Blade Runner’. Now in an interview with Speakeasy, he has given more clues about his present film ‘Prometheus.’

At first it was reported that the synopsis of the film that was featured on the ‘Prometheus’ Facebook page stated that the movie would be about “a team of explorers (who) discover 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.”  This got a lot of fans excited! Now word has it that the official synopsis is as follows:

 

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.

So how does this all tie in? If you recall in Greek mythology, Prometheus was a titan who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mankind. As punishment for stealing from the gods, Prometheus is chained to a rock and has to endure a giant eagle eating his regenerated liver each day.

Although the synopsis is very vague, Scott did elaborate (although not by much) that the central metaphor of the film is similar to the Greek myth. In the movie, a “higher being“ challenges the gods who don’t want to give him “fire.” Says Scott, “Fire is our first form of technology,” and by taking this “fire” the higher being is punished “in perpetuity in a horrible fashion.” If you take the first synopsis with Scott’s explanation to the movie’s title, then one could surmise that this “fire” he was talking about could mean the origins of mankind. But with Scott, one should never surmise.

If you recall, it looked like Rafe Spall spilled the beans about ‘Prometheus’ being a pre-sequel to ‘Alien’, but now it looks like it was somewhat confirmed by Scott as he has stated that the last eight minutes of the “Prometheus” story will evolve into “a pretty good DNA of the ‘Alien’ one.”  Because of this, many fans are guessing that the climax of the film will occur in the Space Jockey chamber that has been shown in connection with the film.

It’s been 30 years since Scott has filmed a sci-fi film and fans have been eager for his return. “I think the reason why I haven’t attempted science fiction in a number of years is because I haven’t really come across a script that I really liked,” Scott says. “This developed and came out extremely well.” That’s good news for Damon Lindelof and Jon Spaihts who wrote the screenplay. If Scott was as enamored by their writing as it sounds, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see their names as the ones who will be writing the sequel to ‘Blade Runner.’

Although Scott is more known with filming in actual sets and building what he needs, he did embrace the “tricks and toys” of the 3D and CGI world. He says he has “completely taken off into this cyber world” and working on ‘Prometheus’ was “the best time I’ve had in a number of years making a movie.”

One downside of the film for fans of the ‘Alien’ franchise is that it has been confirmed that Sigourney Weaver will not have a cameo. Although it does make sense that this film takes place before Ripley was born, many fans were hoping to see her in some capacity in the movie.

‘Prometheus’ will not be out until June 8, 2012 and will definitely be one of this summer’s highly anticipated movies to see. With all the news coming out about the movie, hopefully it shouldn’t be long before a trailer will be released.