Damon Lindelof Walked Away From Prometheus 2 And It Was Good For Alien
Although Prometheus was one of the most polarizing movies of 2012, the science fiction Alien prequel was a huge moneymaker for Ridley Scott and Twentieth Century Fox. So when screenwriter Damon Lindelof left the project due to a scheduling conflict — Lindelof opted to work with director Brad Bird on the upcoming Tomorrowland instead — questions went unanswered about the state of the Prometheus sequel.
At the time, a report from Bloody Disgusting suggested that Ridley Scott and Twentieth Century Fox have no idea what to do about Prometheus 2 in the wake of Damon Lindelof’s departure. According to the website’s insiders:
Sources close to the sequel have told Bloody Disgusting that the studio and Scott are literally ‘freaking out’ over how to continue the story of Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace), and are taking pitches from basically anyone who can crack the story. While a sequel is nearly inevitable, it definitely puts it in flux, and in a state of jeopardy.
The reported “freak out” was due to Damon Lindelof’s exit. But according to /Film’s Germain Lussier, who reached out to the former Lost showrunner to clarify the reports, Lindelof said that when he was brought on to rewrite Prometheus there was a strong desire for the film “to launch off in its own way so that by the end, it would not connect directly to the original Alien, but instead run parallel to it.”
Lindelof reasserted that the main reason why he left the project was not due to the film’s quality, but rather his commitments to Brad Bird and Tomorrowland. Damon Lindelof said, “As to whether Ridley and Fox are ‘freaking out’ about me not working on a sequel, well that’s news to me… the idea that there aren’t many, MANY writers out there capable of taking the reins is sort of ridiculous.”
Damon Lindelof went on to say, “I did not map out a trilogy and then walk when the going got tough. Anyone who says otherwise doesn’t know me and doesn’t know the truth.”
Whether or not Ridley Scott and Twentieth Century Fox were actually at a loss about how to handle Prometheus 2, there were obviously plenty of talented and smart writers in Hollywood who would be more than capable to write the sequel film.
And later on that was what happened, except that it wasn’t called Prometheus 2. Instead it was Alien: Covenant in 2017 (sans Damon Lindelof). Ridley Scott was at the helm once again with a screenplay from John Logan and Dante Harper.
The story follows the crew of the colony ship Covenant, who discover an apparently idyllic planet to settle on, only to encounter the android David (Michael Fassbender, remember him?) Oh, and there’s also a terrifying new breed of alien creatures.
Thankfully, without Damon Lindelof on board, the movie wasn’t exactly Prometheus 2 and it wasn’t as philosophically dense as the first one. Covenant instead provided a tense and watchable bridge between that film and the original 1979 Alien.
So while everyone might have freaked out about Damon Lindelof leaving, it all worked out in the end.
