[Update: Ridley Scott explains Alien: Paradise Lost title and teases plot details]
Filmmaking legend Sir Ridley Scott has confirmed that he is going to begin shooting the sequel to first quarter of 2016, with Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace slated to reprise their roles from the first movie as the android David and human scientist Elizabeth Shaw, respectively. The next Prometheus installment is expected to follow David and Elizabeth as they explore the planet inhabited by the Engineers, the alien race that created humanity... and, somewhat inadvertently, created the dangerous Xenomorphs, too.
Scott recently clarified that the over-arching Prometheus movie narrative thread won't connect back to the Alien franchise Prometheus 2 is officially titled Alien: Paradise Lost may seem to contradict that idea - at first glance, anyway.
Hey U Guys got the scoop on the Prometheus sequel title, during an interview with Scott to promote his latest sci-fi movie release, The Martian (watch the video above). "Paradise" is the rough translation of the word for the Engineers' home - as David reveals to Elizabeth in a Prometheus deleted/extended scene. At the same time, Scott informed Hey U Guys that the Paradise Lost is also a reference to John Milton's massive poem of the same name; the director further noted that "there's a similarity" between the Prometheus sequel's narrative and Milton's take on the Biblical "Fall of Man' story.
Damon Lindelof's Prometheus script draft and the earlier screenplay draft written by Jon Spaihts (titled Alien: Engineers) both contain overt religious symbolism and deal with themes concerning the process of creation, as well as the concept of what a "God" is. Scott has revealed there were even plans at one point to make Jesus Christ an Engineer - though that element wound up being dropped from the final shooting script (for obvious reasons). It's easy to imagine that Alien: Paradise Lost will continue in the same direction, thematically, and explore similar ideas as Milton's examination of Adam and Eve being kicked out of the Garden of Eden by God.
Paradise Lost doubles as both a literary reference and a nodd to the Engineers' home world - also further branding the don't interfere with where Scott is headed with the Prometheus over-arching story. As such, Alien is becoming a better-organized "Shared Universe" than it was before, now that the filmmakers behind the developing two installments are starting to coordinate their efforts.
The Martian already looks to serve as Green Lantern).
Still, Prometheus - love it, hate it, or something in between - certainly laid an intriguing foundation for its sequel to build upon. That alone has us interested in seeing what comes of Scott's Paradise Lost.
[Update: Ridley Scott explains Alien: Paradise Lost title and teases plot details]
NEXT: Prometheus Sequel To Include A New 'Monster'
Alien: Paradise Lost does not have an official release date yet; we'll let you know when that changes.
Source: Hey U Guys