Ridley Scott's pseudo-prequel Prometheus changed its name two months after we thought we would call it Alien: Paradise Lost. Two months ago, the creator of the most popular and long lasting sci-fi series, Alien, named Prometheus 2 movie after a John Milton's poem. It was obvious that the title was highlighting links to the sci-fi franchise Scott created 35 years ago.
Interviewed on the red carpet at the premiere of The Martian, Ridley Scott explained the link between Prometheus 2 and the Alien mythology :
"žWell, because we’re heading back to why and how and when the beast was invented. We’ll go back into the back door of the very first Alien that I did thirty years ago." (Hey You Guys)
The title was supposed to reflect motifs from John Milton's poem, where the main theme is around the “fall of the man” and the “original sin”. Prometheus is the Titan who stole fire from Mount Olympus giving it to the mankind, so Gods punished him for eternity - thus the thematic from the first movie continues while being wired to the Alien series. But somewhat the title didn't satisfy Scott, and he came up with another one.
Prometheus 2 will have a more expansive title
Talking about how he ended up directing The Martian, Scott brought up references to Prometheus 2 and in this context, he divulged the name of the movie. Here's what he told to IndieWire at the AFI Film Festival:
"I was going to be doing what will be called "˜Alien: Covenant,' which starts shooting next February, and we were struggling then with the screenplay there and then there was a phone call, somebody saying, "˜Listen, we've got this thing which is completely written called "˜[The] Martian,' and I said, "˜Huh.' And I sped read it in an hour and by mid-afternoon, I talked to Fox and said, "˜I need to talk to "˜Drew [Goddard]"¦" (Via Cinemablend)
He said nothing about the significance of the title, but we already know about the connection with the Alien series, as it's easy to notice it. So we can guess that the new title will imply the meanings of Paradise Lost, but will add up more significance. “Covenant” is more about philosophy, science, and theology: an agreement with God that was broken and brought consequences for the entire species. In Scott's vision the agreement was broken when our race allowed the death of Jesus, Engineers' representative.
Maybe this new title is meant to be more expansive and to bring more meaning to the concept. If we go back to the end credits of Prometheus, we remember a scene where a proto-xenomorph is born. This ending seems to have left a gap between Prometheus and Alien, gap that will be covered by Prometheus 2, now called Alien: Covenant.
The filming of Alien: Covenant will start in February 2016, and the premiere of the movie is scheduled for May 30, 2017.
