While Prometheus failed to launch the Alien franchise in a new direction, the movie likely would have had a longer legacy had it lost its Alien connections. Following the failure of Alien: Resurrection and the disappointment of the Alien vs. Predator crossover movies, it seemed like the Alien franchise was at risk of ending. However, fans were given a new reason to be hopeful with the announcement that Ridley Scott, the director who started it all with 1979’s Alien, would be returning with a new movie, Prometheus.

Initially, it was reported that Prometheus would not be a new Alien movie but rather a movie taking place in that same universe. However, the movie itself was much more tied to the lore than those reported originally suggested. However, the somewhat mixed response to Prometheus led to the even more divisive Alien: Covenant, which ended Scott’s new approach to the genre. However, the sci-fi story could have worked much better had it simply not tried to be an Alien movie.

The Weakest Part Of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus Is Its Connection To Alien

Prometheus’s Exciting Sci-Fi Ideas Were Hampered By Its Franchise Necessities

The idea of Ridley Scott returning to the Alien franchise was certainly an exciting prospect, which makes it all the more confusing that Prometheus doesn’t work when it is focused on Alien lore. There are a lot of people who defend Prometheus from its mixed reception, and it is true that it is a very intriguing sci-fi movie with big ideas. However, those ideas are clouded by the movie’s insistence on connecting to the Alien movies that came before.

The movie presents the fascinating story of a group of humans who travel into the vastness of space after discovering evidence about the beings who created humanity. However, that story morphs into an examination of the origins of the xenomorphs. Sadly, Prometheus is seeking to ask questions that not a lot of fans were asking about these ᴅᴇᴀᴅly alien creatures, while also losing a lot of the intrigue that made them such memorable movie monsters in the first place.

Given how Prometheus, and even more so with Alien: Covenant, deal with the Alien aspects of their story, it is not surprising to find that Scott himself was growing tired of the monster aspect of the franchise. Following the release of Alien: Covenant, Scott stated in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that these new movies were seeking to breathe new life into the franchise because he felt, “I think the beast has almost run out, personally.”

While the success of Alien: Romulus suggests that Scott was wrong in that view, the fact remains that he was not overly interested in returning to this aspect of the franchise. As a result, Prometheus feels like a fresh sci-fi story that has been unnecessarily saddled with having to also be an Alien movie. It ended up frustrating fans of the Alien movies while also failing to lift off with its original ideas.

Prometheus Could’ve Been The Start Of A Whole New Sci-Fi Franchise

Ridley Scott Clearly Wanted To Deal With Themes Beyond The Alien Movies

While the Alien aspects of Prometheus are messy and weigh the movie down, there is a fascinating original sci-fi story hiding underneath all of the franchise necessities. The movie had big ideas about humanity’s constant search for answers about their place in the universe and the quest for immortality. It used those universal ideas within the sci-fi genre to explore the terrifying implications and answers that might come from humans confronting their creators.

Prometheus stumbles with its depiction of the xenomorphs, but the Engineers make for incredible movie monsters with the chilling reveal that they are the creators of humanity, yet have no love for their creations at all. These bold ideas are juxtaposed with the character of David (Michael Fᴀssbender), likely the most complex character in the Alien franchise.

David is an android who joins the mission in Prometheus. Throughout that movie and Alien Covenant, David grows even more fascinating as he becomes a darker character. While the Engineers are creators who think nothing of their creations, David is a creation who comes to realize that he is superior to his creator. This is a fascinating idea to explore in the sci-fi realm, regardless of xenomorphs being involved.

Had Ridley Scott simply taken these aspects of the story and created an original sci-fi movie, it would have certainly worked much better. Sure, there would likely have been a lot of comparisons to Scott’s other sci-fi work, but it also would have been free to tell its own complete story without fitting into an established canon or pleasing the fan expectations.

If It Wasn’t An Alien Movie, Prometheus Would’ve Had At Least 2 Sequels By Now

Prometheus And Alien: Covenant Were Only Failures In The Context Of The Franchise

The story that started with Prometheus was never completed after the disappointment of Alien: Covenant, but the best chance Ridley Scott had to tell this whole story was to avoid the Alien connection. When Prometheus was released, it became a financial success and earned solid reviews, but there was a mixed feeling that it was a disappointing return to the Alien franchise. While the problem was actually its unnecessary connection to the Alien movies, many complained that the movie wasn’t enough of an Alien movie.

It seems as though the filmmakers took this criticism to heart as the next movie, Alien: Covenant, leaned more into being an Alien movie, as evidenced by the тιтle. However, with no traditional xenomorphs, it was obvious that Scott was still uninterested in telling that kind of story again. As a result, it was another disappointing mix of Alien movie and original idea, with neither side getting a chance to shine. It was decided that the franchise needed to go in a new direction, which led to the Prometheus storyline being abandoned to make way for Alien: Romulus.

However, had Prometheus not been part of an existing franchise and had simply been an original sci-fi story, there likely wouldn’t have been as many expectations. Alien: Covenant could have been a sequel that further explored the fascinating themes of the original without the forced Alien lore. Likewise, the studio would not have been as anxious about getting the franchise back on the right track had Scott simply been telling a new story to its conclusion. While Prometheus still factors into the Alien movies, it doesn’t seem like we’ll ever see that story get a proper end.