50 Things You Didn’t Know About Prometheus
Origins & Development
1️⃣ Prometheus was originally planned as a direct prequel to Alien (1979).
2️⃣ The script went through multiple rewrites, evolving from Alien: Engineers to a more standalone story.
3️⃣ Ridley Scott returned to sci-fi after 30 years, his last sci-fi film before Prometheus being Blade Runner (1982).
4️⃣ The film’s title, Prometheus, refers to the Greek Titan who gave fire (knowledge) to humanity, mirroring the Engineers' role in the movie.
5️⃣ H.R. Giger’s influence remained, even though he wasn’t directly involved in the film.
6️⃣ The Engineers’ design was inspired by Michelangelo’s sculptures, especially the muscular forms of David.
7️⃣ The film’s script was influenced by ancient astronaut theories, particularly the work of Erich von Däniken.
8️⃣ Lost in Space meets Alien? – Prometheus was influenced by the TV series Space: 1999 and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
9️⃣ The film was shot using 3D cameras to enhance the immersive experience.
🔟 Ridley Scott filmed practical sets instead of relying heavily on green screens, making the environments feel more realistic.
Characters & Casting
1️⃣1️⃣ Noomi Rapace (Elizabeth Shaw) won the role after impressing Ridley Scott in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009).
1️⃣2️⃣ Michael Fassbender based his portrayal of David on David Bowie, Peter O’Toole, and HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
1️⃣3️⃣ Charlize Theron (Meredith Vickers) was originally considered for Elizabeth Shaw but ended up playing Vickers due to scheduling conflicts.
1️⃣4️⃣ Guy Pearce (Peter Weyland) was originally supposed to play a younger version of Weyland, but the scene was cut.
1️⃣5️⃣ Idris Elba (Janek) said he modeled his captain persona after Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Quint from Jaws.
1️⃣6️⃣ Patrick Wilson had a cameo as Shaw’s father in a dream sequence.
1️⃣7️⃣ The Engineers were played by tall bodybuilders, including Ian Whyte, who also played Predators in Alien vs. Predator.
1️⃣8️⃣ Weyland’s TED Talk scene was an official viral marketing video, hinting at his backstory before the events of Prometheus.
1️⃣9️⃣ Theron did most of her stunts herself, including running from the crashing ship at the end.
2️⃣0️⃣ Fassbender actually watched Lawrence of Arabia (1962) to perfect David’s personality, even imitating Peter O’Toole’s accent.
Production & Design
2️⃣1️⃣ The entire spaceship Prometheus was built as a full-sized set, making the interiors feel real for the actors.
2️⃣2️⃣ The Engineers’ ship design was based on Giger’s original concepts from Alien.
2️⃣3️⃣ Weyland’s aging makeup took five hours to apply, though fans criticized the old-man effect.
2️⃣4️⃣ The black goo’s effects were designed to resemble a virus mutating DNA, inspired by real-world pathogens.
2️⃣5️⃣ The opening scene, where an Engineer disintegrates, was originally much longer and more detailed.
2️⃣6️⃣ The giant head in the temple was meant to symbolize the Engineers as gods.
2️⃣7️⃣ The film was shot in Iceland, England, and Spain, with Iceland’s landscapes standing in for the alien world.
2️⃣8️⃣ The Storm Scene was Practical – The dangerous storm on LV-223 was filmed using real wind machines and debris.
2️⃣9️⃣ Creature effects mixed CGI and animatronics, especially the terrifying Hammerpede scene.
3️⃣0️⃣ The Xenomorph mural inside the Engineer’s ship hints at their experiments with alien life forms.
Story & Mythology
3️⃣1️⃣ The Engineers were meant to be the creators of humanity, explaining their DNA match with humans.
3️⃣2️⃣ Shaw’s C-section scene was originally written as a traditional chestburster scene, but it was changed to be more unique.
3️⃣3️⃣ The black goo is never fully explained, but it seems to act as a genetic weapon.
3️⃣4️⃣ The Deacon (proto-Xenomorph) at the end is not a direct ancestor of the Xenomorphs from Alien, but a separate evolution.
3️⃣5️⃣ The Engineers’ planet is LV-223, not LV-426 from Alien, showing they are different worlds.
3️⃣6️⃣ The giant facehugger-like creature, the Trilobite, was meant to mirror a squid’s movements.
3️⃣7️⃣ The Weyland-Yutani Corporation didn’t exist yet, but Weyland’s ambitions set the stage for its formation.
3️⃣8️⃣ The Engineer’s anger toward the humans remains mysterious, but Scott hinted they saw humans as a failed experiment.
3️⃣9️⃣ The film originally included more Engineer dialogue, revealing their connection to humanity.
4️⃣0️⃣ The sacrificial Engineer scene at the beginning was meant to show the start of human life on Earth.
Fun Facts & Easter Eggs
4️⃣1️⃣ The ship’s name, Prometheus, is a direct reference to the Titan who defied the gods—just like humans in the movie.
4️⃣2️⃣ The Wayland Industries logo is an early version of the Weyland-Yutani logo from Alien.
4️⃣3️⃣ Ridley Scott confirmed Jesus was an Engineer in an early script idea but later removed it.
4️⃣4️⃣ The movie’s viral marketing campaign included a real website for Weyland Industries.
4️⃣5️⃣ The original cut was much gorier, but scenes were trimmed to keep an R rating instead of NC-17.
4️⃣6️⃣ The film’s ending was kept secret from most of the cast, with only key actors knowing the full script.
4️⃣7️⃣ David’s fascination with human emotions foreshadows his actions in Alien: Covenant.
4️⃣8️⃣ The Engineer’s bio-suit was inspired by ancient Greek armor and Renaissance art.
4️⃣9️⃣ Prometheus was released on June 8, 2012, exactly 33 years after Alien (1979) was first released.
5️⃣0️⃣ The film’s open-ended mystery was intentional—Ridley Scott said he wanted audiences to ask more questions than they get answers.
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