By GustavoLeao / 09:52, 31 May 2012 / General Genre/SciFi

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Star Trek XII co-writer Damon Lindelof discusses why Ridley Scott returned to the universe of Alien:in the upcoming sci-fi movie Prometheus (beware of minor spoilers) :

"My sense of it was that he felt like Alien and Blade Runner were enormously satisfying to him – so satisfying that he didn't need to do scifi any more. If he did it again, it was going to have to be different and special. But something happened over the course over the last 10 years, particularly with Alien. There was an itch he needed to scratch. Ridley always says that he was always very interested in the derelict spaceship and the space jockey that was piloting it. It was just something that sat in the back of his brain and never went away. So when the chance came up, he couldn't resist it. I wouldn't say he's a particularly spiritual, touchy-feely guy, but in talking to him I was surprised by the fact that he wanted to talk so much about what Prometheus would be about and what the characters wanted. Which is very different to the original Alien, where essentially the characters wanted to just not get killed."

He also offers some of the clearest descriptions I've seen of just what was in the original script by Jon Spaihts:

"It was a very good script by Jon Spaihts. Essentially, what Jon had done was a much more dyed-in-the-wool Alien sequel, in that it had all the things in it that we would expect to be in an Alien movie, from face-huggers to chest-busters to eggs. But there were also some original ideas in there, too. And what I pitched to Ridley was, 'I don't think this movie needs the face-huggers and chest-busters and all the things people are going to be expecting. I think these other ideas are original enough to power the whole thing.'"

He also confirms that the story follows two scientists - one of whom is star Noomi Rapace's Elizabeth Shaw - who find signs on the Isle of Skye pointing to a distant star system and convince others to investigate with them, with dire consequences:

"Somehow. They convince others that this is a worthwhile adventure, so they go out there to find answers to the most fundamental questions we've had since we've had cognitive thought. Like, who am I? Who made me? What is the purpose of my life? That is the jumping-off point. And in all great science fiction and even myth, characters who try to cross a line that should not be crossed often pay very harsh consequences."

Finally, he confirms that sequels are a distinct possibility:

"One of the things we've always said, that makes Prometheus not a direct prequel of Alien, is that if there were a sequel to Prometheus – and, God willing, there will be if people like it – then it will not be Alien. This film ends in a way that goes off at a different tangent to the original Alien. If you see Alien straight after, you will see it in a context that didn't exist for you before, but it's not going to do anything to change the story of Alien. Prometheus has to go off in its own new bold direction, and hopefully it does so. Ridley certainly wants to do more."

The full interview can be found at The Guardian

We have a muppet of the Colonel who narrates the whole thing from the future. Oh, no wait, different movie. I joke because that is a great question and I think [director] Gavin [Hood] would tell you that it was the biggest challenge he faced in composing his script. It was also the most challenging aspect of the casting process. So here we have two things that really make it happen. First, we got such an unbelievable group of actors who can convey so much with their faces and body language… frankly, with their performances, which is something a book is denied using to convey inner emotion or thought. And secondly, of course, Gavin elegantly translated some of the inner thought into action or character decisions in his script - drama - and that allowed him to find natural places for the characters to speak about what they are going through.

How much of Bean's story will we be hearing about?
Bean who? Oh, Bean! You should know how much Orson Scott Card advocated for as much Bean as we could muster, and really encouraged ways to make him pivotal. You'll decide if we succeeded! I think we did. And we're even more excited for you all to experience Aramis Knight's fantastic portrayal of Bean.

How has the book been adapted to script to work with the ages of the actors?
Time has been compressed impressionistically. Though we don't specify how much time has passed, leaving it somewhat up to your imagination, it is clear that the time span is not as long as the book's.

Is it still about using empathy as a weapon?
One of the great themes that is explored, in more ways than one, is how empathy can be seen as a weakness or a strength. How understanding an enemy makes you also understand their weaknesses. And even how withholding empathy can also be a weapon. The fact that the audience is going to want nothing more than for commanders to show these young people warmth and understanding, but that it has to be weighed against the fear of it being not in the young soldiers best interests in order for them to do what they have to do, makes for fascinating stuff.