Prometheusshould have been the first chapter of an original story instead of anAlienprequel, and its sequel,Alien: Covenant, proves it.TheAlienfranchiseis finally back not only with the well-receivedAlien: Romulusbut also with theupcomingAlien: Earthshow. LikeRomulus,Alien: Earthis promising to be a return to form for the franchise, even though it is teasing a massive retcon by having a Xenomorph on Earth before the events of the first movie. Regardless, the fact is thatAlienhas since moved away from the Ridley Scott prequels.
Scott returned to theAlienfranchise 33 years after directing the first film to helm a prequel that promised to reveal the true origins of the Xenomorph.Prometheus’ premise was enough to retconAlienvs. Predator and most of theAlienstories from other media, but given that the franchise never had a solid canon anyway, those retcons were arguably for the better. However, not only wasPrometheusa very divisive film, but its sequel was a box office disappointment that wasted most of the great ideas that Scott had introduced in the 2012 film.
Alien: Covenant Was Too Much Alien Prequel And Not Enough Prometheus Sequel
Covenant Threw Away Most Of What Prometheus Set Up
The biggest problem withAlien: Covenantis that it did not pay off all the storylines thatPrometheusset up and preferred to be a more traditionalAlienmovie. WhileCovenantrevisited David and dealt with the aftermath ofPrometheus, it worked as yet another sci-fi slasher in which a group of people has to survive the Xenomorph. All the mystery and new ideas fromPrometheustook a backseat inCovenant, whereas classicAlienelements became more prominent.Covenanteven featured a more traditional Xenomorphinstead of the proto-creature fromPrometheus.
In hindsight,Alien: Covenantwas too much of anAlienprequel instead of being a truePrometheussequel.
Alien: Covenantis also a more straightforward film compared toPrometheus. It takes a while to understand whatPrometheusis even trying to say, whereasCovenantdoes not bring that much nuance and tells a simpler story about a group of explorers trying to survive after realizing they were welcomed into a trap.Michael Fassbender’s Davidis still as fascinating as he was inPrometheus, butCovenantnever lives up to the thingsPrometheuspromised.Very little new information about the Engineers is revealed, and the sequel focuses entirely on David’s Xenomorph experiments.
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Alien: Romulus
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In hindsight,Alien: Covenantwas too much of anAlienprequel instead of being a truePrometheussequel. While theAlienfranchise is no stranger to moving to an entirely different cast with only a few returning faces between movies,Covenantfeels too disconnected fromPrometheus.It felt almost as ifCovenantwas skipping over a story that should have happened afterPrometheusand taking the series in a different, safer direction. The third act ofCovenantis as “Alien” as it can get, which was fun to see but not as interesting as what aPrometheussequel could’ve been.
Ridley Scott’s Alien Prequels Were At Their Best When They Weren’t Trying To Be Alien
Prometheus Introduced A Whole New Story That Deserved To Continue
It seems paradoxical that a prequel franchise would have its best moments when it was not trying to be a prequel, but that was the case withPrometheusandCovenant.The idea Ridley Scott came up with for the possible origin of the Xenomorph evolved into a much larger storyabout the origins of the human race and our place in the universe, which sounded more interesting than learning how the perfect organism came to be. Part of what madeAlienso good is that neither the characters nor the audience knew what that creature even was.
AnAlien: Romulussequel has been confirmed.
Alien’s titular creature barely appears in the film yet it is still one of the most iconic movie monsters of all time. TheAlienfranchise arguably did not need to explain how and where the Xenomorph came to be, let alone make an entire prequel franchise about it. That said, the wayPrometheuscombined itsAlienlore and retcons with an original story centered on David was very interesting.Prometheuswas not without its flaws, and it could have been an even better movie with some changes, but it had great ideas.
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The search for the meaning of life and the philosophical questions that come with the chance of meeting your creator were just some of the aspects that madePrometheusfar more than just anAlienprequel. Much of that was lost inCovenant, which, despite bringing David back and referencing Shaw, was more concerned about giving the Xenomorph an origin story.ACovenantsequel may have brought the story full circle and tied it all back toPrometheus, but it’s impossible to say since it never happened.
Covenant Being Just Another Alien Movie Made It Less Interesting Than Prometheus
Covenant Wasn’t That Different From Previous Alien Movies
Many of the things that madePrometheusso interesting were lost inAlien: Covenant, which is even more disappointing considering that a third entry in Ridley Scott’s prequel franchise never happened. While it made sense to move on fromPrometheusandCovenant–Alien: Romulus’ critical and commercial success proves it – those movies could have led to something quite special.Prometheusplanted all the seeds for a bigger, bolder sequel, yetCovenantwasted most of them. FromElizabeth Shaw’s offscreen deathto no mentions of the Engineers,Covenantbarely felt like aPrometheussequel.
WhenPrometheusends, we are left with hopes that the next movie will see David and Shaw finding the Engineers’ home planet. However,not only is Shaw dead inCovenant, but we don’t find anything else about the Engineers.It has been widely accepted that the race David wiped out betweenPrometheusandCovenantwas not that of the Engineers but rather one of their many creations across the universe. Going fromPrometheustoCovenantcan make one feel like they have skipped a movie and jumped to the end of a trilogy that had no middle chapter.
Prometheus Could Have Been Virtually The Same Movie Even If Wasn’t Tied To Alien
Prometheus May Have Worked Better As Its Own Franchise
The fact thatAlien: Covenanttried so hard to be a properAlienmovie and was worst for it proves thatPrometheuscould have been virtually the same movie even if it was an original story instead of a prequel. Of course, everything inPrometheusis leading up to the creation of the Xenomorph, but the themes and the characters work just fine on their own. Someone who has never watchedAliencan easily enjoyPrometheus. The best things about Scott’s 2012 prequel had little to do withtheAlienmovies.
It’s difficult to imagine whatPrometheuswould have looked like as the beginning of its own franchise rather than anAlienprequel, but it’s no exaggeration to say that it could have worked. The reception toPrometheusmay have also been more positive in that scenario sinceAliencomparisons and debates about retcons would have been avoided. Some of theAliencomics have since revisited elements fromPrometheusandAlien: Covenant, but the story will likely never be completed on the big screen.
Prometheus
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Prometheus, released in 2012, is a science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott. It follows a team of explorers as they uncover clues about humanity’s origins, embarking on a perilous interstellar expedition where they confront formidable challenges to secure the future of mankind.
Alien: Covenant
Alien: Covenant, directed by Ridley Scott, follows the crew of the colony ship Covenant as they discover an uncharted planet. Initially seeming like a paradise, the planet soon reveals dark secrets. Katherine Waterston, Michael Fassbender, and Billy Crudup lead the cast in this science fiction horror film, which serves as a direct sequel to Prometheus and continues to explore the origins of the Alien species.
