Prometheusstands apart from the other films in theAlienfranchise in several ways, but the movie skipped over a crucial deleted scene that could have made it so much better. More than 30 years after Ridley Scott directed the originalAlienmovie, he made his return to the franchise with the thought-provoking exploration of how the aliens came to be.Prometheusserves as a prequel movie that introduces the characters to these terrifying creatures, and unlocks the secrets of the aliens who gave life to humanity.
The movie is full of spectacular scenes on an alien world, with a lifelike android, a nervous ship crew, and themysterious Engineers who tower above them all. These pale white creatures are the centerpiece of the movie, but they remain largely mysterious due to their Stoic and silent scenes. However, one scene that was filmed and then deleted from the theatrical versionadds more context and dialogue for the mysterious Engineersto be more thoroughly explored.
Prometheus’ Extended Engineer Dialogue Scene Recontextualizes The Movie
The Engineer’s Are A Vital Part Of Prometheus
One scene which still remains in the final edit sees the elderly Weyland approach an Engineer, asking for his life to be extended due to his incredible achievements in business and industry. However, the theatrical edit sees the Engineer wordlessly behead David, the android, and ruthlesslykill Weyland as he lashes out and runs away. But this is not how the scene originally played out when it was filmed. Instead, the Engineer and David had a conversation back and forth, as David tried to get more information from the powerful creature.
The dialogue is brief, but it helps to add context and meaning to the Engineer, who otherwise appears to be a mute and impulsive creature. The reality is that these titans are deep thinkers, who place themselves high above the creations they have made. Despite having created humans, andWeyland trying to relate how he has also been responsible for creating new creatures,the Engineer is repulsed and aggravatedby the request of a feeble old man who is not long for this world.
David Talking To The Engineer Should’ve Been The Culmination Of Prometheus’ Story
The Engineers Become Less Important Without The Deleted Scene
As is shown by the final moments of the movie and its sequel,Alien: Covenant, David becomes the focal point of this duology. While the humans are emotional, impulsive, and occasionally act without thinking,David is a more refined creaturewho seeks to learn from and understand his environment. This conversation between the android and the original creator creates such incredible nuance and intrigue that it could have easily been the crowning moment of the film. Unfortunately, that was not to be, and the movie moved in a different direction, making the Engineer more mysterious, and seemingly less intelligent.
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Without the conversation, the Engineer stops being a thoughtful, intelligent humanoid, and becomes more alien and unfamiliar. While it could speak to his utter hatred towards humanity, itdoes not add anything to thecharacter of the Engineerand his race. Had the dialogue been left in, these creatures would have been more imposing, more terrifying, and more powerful than anything in the franchise up to this point. Instead, they appear mindless and are easily overcome by a single alien that Shaw forces upon him to make her escape.
Prometheus Was Almost A Very Different Movie (And Its Deleted Scenes Prove It)
Beyond this one deleted scene, there were plenty of other moments that made it through initial recording, editing and polishing, only to be cut at the last minute. One reel of deleted scenes from the movie goes on for a total of 14 minutes, showcasing just how much of the original story was left out. This amount of content could havedrastically changed the course of the film, and the underlying plot. Instead, they were dropped in favor of making a movie that was less thoughtful, and more jump scare and sci-fi horror.
One reel of deleted scenes from the movie goes on for a total of 14 minutes.
If Scott had chosen to take the movie in a different direction, he had plenty of footage to reframe and alter the overall plot of the movie. It feels as though the movie did at one point have a different motive in pushing the story forward, but in the end, these edits removed much of the soul from the project. When Scott had an opportunity to make a deeply introspective sci-fi thriller, the movie was reduced to a space horror movie. Ambiguity may prompt nervous feelings, but in a movie which was built to be an origin story, it can’t help butfeel like its missing important pieces of the storyin favor of just making something scary with little else going on.
Alien Has A Long History Of Deleted Scenes That Would’ve Changed Everything
Alien Has Repeatedly Cut Major Scenes Throughout
The thing is, theAlienfranchise is prone to deleting huge scenesthat could completely change the course of the films. The films are drenched in lore that gets added to with each subsequent entry, and it’s easy to add things that could change the course of the films forever. However, it’s possible that sometimes the studio or producers step in to retain some of the mystery, or even justredirect the focus back to the horror roots. The films can be engaging and thought-provoking because of their depth of lore, but the series' popularity comes in large part from its success as a sci-fi horror franchise.
The Sequel To Ridley Scott’s $403 Million Sci-Fi Movie Proves It Should Have Been The Start Of A Franchise
Alien: Romulus, the sequel to Prometheus, is the best example of why Ridley Scott’s 2012 prequel should have been the start of its own franchise.
Most horror movies keep the details light, avoid concrete origin stories, and attempt to lean more into the things that make the monsters intense and terrifying, instead of humanizing the villain. As a result, the Alien franchise is likely trying to avoid anything that is too big or too detailed and which could potentially cause the rest of the films to have implications that make it harder to avoid these important details. The task is to be scary and intense, not to be too deep. While the scene could have added a lot of context and interesting lore forPrometheus, it wasn’t meant to be.
Prometheus
Cast
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.
