Prometheus is a 2012 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof. It is the fifth installment of the Alien film series and features an ensemble cast including Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, and Charlize Theron. Set in the late 21st century, the film centers on the crew of the spaceship Prometheus as it follows a star map discovered among the artifacts of several ancient Earth cultures. Seeking the origins of humanity, the crew arrives on a distant world and discovers a threat that could cause human extinction.
Scott and director James Cameron developed ideas for a film that would serve as a prequel to Scott's science-fiction horror film Alien (1979). In 2002, the development of Alien vs. Predator (2004) took precedence, and the project remained dormant until 2009 when Scott again showed interest. Spaihts wrote a script for a prequel to the events of the Alien films, but Scott opted for a different direction to avoid repeating cues from those films. In late 2010, Lindelof joined the project to rewrite Spaihts' script, and he and Scott developed a story that precedes the story of Alien but is not directly connected to the original series. According to Scott, although the film shares "strands of Aliens DNA," and takes place in the same universe, Prometheus explores its own mythology and ideas.
Prometheus entered production in April 2010, with extensive design phases during which the technology and creatures that the film required were developed. Principal photography began in March 2011, with an estimated $120–130 million budget. The film was shot using 3D cameras throughout, almost entirely on practical sets, and on location in England, Iceland, Scotland, Jordan, and Spain. It was promoted with a marketing campaign that included viral activities on the web. Three videos featuring the film's leading actors in character, which expanded on elements of the fictional universe, were released and met with a generally positive reception and awards.
Prometheus was released on June 1, 2012, in the United Kingdom and on June 8, 2012, in North America. The film earned generally positive reviews, receiving praise for the designs, production values, and cast performances. The film grossed over $403 million worldwide. A sequel, Alien: Covenant, was released in May 2017.
Plot
As a spacecraft departs a planet, a tall humanoid alien drinks a black liquid, causing its body to dissolve. Its remains crumble into a waterfall, while its DNA breaks apart and recombines.
In 2089, archaeologists Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway discover a star map in Scotland that matches others found among unrelated ancient cultures. They interpret it as an invitation from humanity's forerunners, the "Engineers". Peter Weyland, the elderly CEO of Weyland Corporation, funds an expedition aboard the scientific vessel Prometheus to the distant moon LV-223. The crew travel in suspended animation, while the android David monitors the voyage.
The Prometheus lands on the barren, mountainous surface near a large artificial structure. Exploring it, the crew find stone cylinders, a monolithic statue of a humanoid head, and the decapitated corpse of a large alien. Shaw identifies the body as an Engineer and retrieves its head. Other corpses suggest the species is extinct. Crew members Millburn and Fifield become uneasy and try to return to the Prometheus, but become lost inside the structure. A storm forces the expedition to retreat. David secretly takes a cylinder, most of which ooze black liquid. The Engineer's DNA matches that of humans.
David investigates the liquid, deliberately contaminates a drink with a small sample, and offers it to Holloway, who drinks it after saying he would do anything for answers. Shortly afterwards, Shaw and Holloway have sex. Inside the structure, a snake-like creature kills Millburn and sprays corrosive fluid that melts Fifield's helmet, causing him to fall face first into a puddle. David discovers a control room containing an Engineer in stasis and a holographic star map highlighting Earth. Holloway rapidly becomes ill. He is taken back to the Prometheus, but mission director Meredith Vickers refuses him entry and, at his urging, burns him to death with a flamethrower. A medical scan then reveals that Shaw, previously infertile, is pregnant. She uses an automated surgery table to remove a squid-like creature from her abdomen. Shaw subsequently learns that Weyland, Vickers' father, has been in stasis aboard the ship. He intends to ask the Engineers how to overcome old age.
A mutated Fifield returns to the Prometheus and kills several crewmen before Captain Janek kills him. Janek theorises that the structure was an Engineer military base where a biological weapon escaped control. The base also contains a spacecraft. Weyland, David and the team return to the structure with Shaw. David awakens the surviving Engineer and speaks to him in Proto-Indo-European, explaining Weyland's request. The Engineer responds by decapitating David and killing Weyland and his companions, then reactivating the spacecraft. Shaw escapes and warns Janek that the Engineer intends to release the biological weapon on Earth and exterminate humanity. Janek and the remaining crew sacrifice themselves by ramming the Prometheus into the Engineer spacecraft, disabling it and allowing the lifeboat to escape. The spacecraft crashes, crushing Vickers.
In the lifeboat, Shaw discovers that the alien offspring she removed is still alive and has grown enormously. The Engineer forces open the airlock and attacks her, but Shaw releases the creature, which subdues him by thrusting an ovipositor down his throat. Shaw recovers David's surviving remains and decides to find the Engineers' home world to discover why they sought humanity's destruction. With David's help, she launches another Engineer spacecraft and leaves LV-223.
In the abandoned lifeboat, an alien creature bursts from the dead Engineer's chest.
Cast
Noomi Rapace as Elizabeth Shaw: Rapace described Shaw, an archaeologist, as a believer in God with a very strong faith, and said that, "In the middle of the movie, things happen and she changes into more of a warrior. And in the end, she's such a survivor." To aid her method acting, she developed a complete backstory for Shaw, and worked with a dialect coach to achieve an English accent. She also asked her make-up artist to apply extra blood and sweat during filming to more accurately portray her character. Rapace said, "I was out there filming for about six months and it was super-intense, my body was in so much pain sometimes but it was absolutely amazing." She dismissed comparisons to the Alien franchise's Ellen Ripley. Rapace came to director Ridley Scott's attention for her performance as Lisbeth Salander in the 2009 drama film The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. She met Scott in August 2010, and by January 2011 she had secured the role. Actresses Anne Hathaway, Natalie Portman, Gemma Arterton, Carey Mulligan, and Abbie Cornish were all considered for the role during development. Lucy Hutchinson, who was eight years old in 2012, portrays Shaw as a child. Michael Fassbender as David: David is an android that acts as the ship's butler and maintenance man. It is designed to be indistinguishable from humans, and begins to develop "its own ego, insecurities, jealousy and envy." Writer Damon Lindelof stated that the character provides a non-human perspective on the film's events, and said, "What does the movie look like from the robot's point of view? If you were to ask him, 'What do you think about all of this? What's going on? What do you think about these humans who are around you?' Wouldn't it be cool if we found a way for that robot to answer those questions?" Fassbender said, "David's views on the human crew are somewhat childlike. He is jealous and arrogant because he realizes that his knowledge is all-encompassing, and therefore he is superior to the humans. David wants to be acknowledged and praised for his brilliance." In developing his character, Fassbender avoided watching the android characters of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), and instead studied the replicants in Scott's 1982 science fiction film Blade Runner, with a focus on Sean Young's character Rachael, whose "vacancy" and longing for a soul interested him. Fassbender drew further inspiration from the voice of the HAL 9000 computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey, the "funny walk and economy of movement" of Olympic diver Greg Louganis, and the performances of David Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth, Dirk Bogarde in The Servant, and Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia. David's blond hair was modeled on that of T. E. Lawrence. Scott favored Fassbender for the role; by January 2011 he was confirmed to have joined the cast, despite earlier reports that his agents had sought too high a fee. Charlize Theron as Meredith Vickers: Vickers is a Weyland Corporation employee who is sent to monitor the expedition. Theron described the character as "a suit who slowly sheds [her] skin through the film," and also as "somewhat of a villain ... [who] definitely has an agenda." She stated, "Vickers is pragmatic, and desperately wants to control the situation." Scott wanted the character to lurk in the background of scenes watching other characters instead of being the focus. Theron said that this helped layer her character because "you're just so suspicious of her, instantly." The similarities between the appearances and mannerisms of Vickers and David were intended to raise the possibility that David was based on Vickers's DNA, or that Vickers is an android herself. After Theron was cast in the role, she developed three new scenes with Scott and Lindelof to expand her character. Physical action scenes, some of which involved her running through sand in boots, were a problem for Theron. It was intended that Theron would portray Shaw, but a prior commitment to Mad Max: Fury Road prevented her involvement. When that film was delayed, she was able to rejoin Prometheus. Michelle Yeoh and Angelina Jolie were considered for the role. Idris Elba as Janek: Janek is the captain of the Prometheus. Elba described the character as "a longshoreman and a sailor" with a military background. He said, "[Being the captain is] his life and the crew is his responsibility," and, "He's a realistic, pragmatic character. He has to get involved ... in a film with huge ideas, you need a character like this, who can go 'Wait ... why are we doing this? Guy Pearce as Peter Weyland: Weyland is the billionaire founder and CEO of Weyland Corp. Lindelof described him as having a massive ego and suffering from a god complex. Applying the necessary prosthetics and make-up to transform Pearce into the aging Weyland took five hours, and an hour to remove it. Pearce observed elderly individuals to gain insight into the movement for his character, as he found replicating the impeded physical movement the most difficult part of the role. Max von Sydow was Scott's original choice to play Weyland, but the casting of Pearce made it possible for him to portray Weyland as both an elderly character and a younger man who appeared in an earlier script draft. Logan Marshall-Green as Charlie Holloway: