Damon Lindelof Won't Be Writing The 'Prometheus' Sequel

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by Kevin Jagernauth
December 20, 2012 9:39 AM
11 Comments

Christmas is coming early for some geeks. The always polarizing Damon Lindelof has been the object of much of the criticism regarding the myriad problems with Ridley Scott's "Prometheus." The writer, for better or worse, took the original draft by Jon Spaihts and made significant changes, and was the one who largely convinced Scott that the film shouldn't be a direct prequel to "Alien" but...something else. The screenwriter has become a soft target for those knocking the movie, but you won't have him to kick the next time around.

Collider has confirmed that Lindelof won't be involved in the "Prometheus" sequel that is expected to land in either 2014 or 2015. “The thing about Prometheus was it was a rewrite. Jon Spaihts wrote a script and I rewrote it. And still it was a year of my life that I spent on 'Prometheus,' kind of all in," he explained to the site. "The idea of building a sequel to it—from the ground up this time—with Ridley is tremendously exciting. But at the same time, I was like, 'Well that’s probably going to be two years of my life.' I can’t do what J.J. [Abrams] does. I don’t have the capability. I’m usually very single-minded creatively. I can only be working on one thing at a time. So I said to him, 'I really don’t think I could start working on this movie until I do this other stuff. And I don’t know when the other stuff is going to be done.' And he was like, 'Well, okay, it’s not like I asked you anyways.' He and I are on excellent terms and it was a dream come true to work with him. But much to the delight of all the fanboys, I don’t see myself being involved in 'Prometheus-er.' ”

So in summary: Lindelof doesn't have time, and it sounds like he's not willing to make himself the whipping post next time around either. So now comes the inevitable question: who will be writing it? Undoubtedly, Scott is the kind of guy who could get meetings with anyone he wants around town, so it will be intriguing to see whose phone will ring for the job. Is there anyone you want to see tackle the sequel? Let us know below.

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More: Damon Lindelof, Prometheus

11 Comments

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me | December 21, 2012 5:01 AMReply

But then i might be wrong considering what a roaring success Spaihts last movie was http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093357/ were he did not only write the script, he came up with the story as well.
me | December 21, 2012 4:57 AMReply

Alan: "Awful" ideas like empathetic characters, coherent storytelling, well-constructed reversals etc." Well Prometheus had all of these so i dont see what your point is, and that awful chestburster-whilst-having-sex scene is something that comes straight from the mind of an 14 year old.
me | December 20, 2012 7:38 PMReply

Spaihts script was awful, his ideas were awful. People who think his version would be better are stupid. I actually thought it was doomed when Lindelof came onboard but he turned out to save it from being another alien vs predator mess of dumbness.
Alan | December 20, 2012 11:14 PM

"Awful" ideas like empathetic characters, coherent storytelling, well-constructed reversals etc.
Glass | December 20, 2012 10:17 PM

*like*
Alphabet | December 20, 2012 2:59 PMReply

I liked lots about the Spaihts draft, and really dug the glimpses of his original treatment on the Prometheus disc (can we read this anywhere?!) - my vote is for a similar team. Scott and Spaihts develop the draft, then bring in [somebody?] for cleanup if needed.
MAL | December 20, 2012 12:09 PMReply

While I understand some of the criticism around Prometheus, I cannot understand the "hate". It was an incredibly well-made film with an intelligent concept and great acting. Even with its faults, it was one of the smartest sci-fi films to come out in recent years. It was not just an actioner like so many other "sci-fi" recently and caused audiences to ponder -- as any great sci-fi should. If a sequal can take us new places and still generate the amount of discussion as the "original", I'm all for it.
Alan | December 20, 2012 11:13 PM

"Great acting"? Like from Michael Fassbender. And ...
Mark | December 20, 2012 10:01 AMReply

There was no way he would be back anyway, given the reception of the original.

Does anyone really want to see a sequel to this? Ridley should just admit he screwed it up and move on to something new.
Piotr | December 20, 2012 10:51 AM

Yup. There will never be a sequel to this, as much as people talk like there will be.
Christian | December 20, 2012 10:19 AM

Agreed. The Counselor better be his comeback!