Prometheus: Alien Prequel - Success or Failure? Box Office, Critics & Legacy

The Alien franchise is one of those series that just keeps giving. Ridley Scott brought back the sci-fi horror series with Prometheus back in 2012, but looking back, its legacy might be one to question!

Prometheus: A Financial Success?

While Prometheus was a major hit. It made $403 million at the worldwide box office. This is far beyond its $120 million budget, and a sequel, Alien: Covenant followed, this seemed like the project would really live up to what Alien was all about. However, a 12 years later, some critics question if Prometheus really had a positive impact on the franchise.

Also Read: Prometheus: A Detailed Look at Ridley Scott's Alien Prequel

A Prequel That Fell Short:

Michael Fassbender as David in front of the ship from Prometheus Image

Prometheus tried something super ambitious! It gave a new explanation of the Alien universe by making this story a prequel, one that went against traditional approaches and chose not to directly link itself with the first Alien movie! The classic alien itself shows up but there wasn't really any attention put on it. The script aimed to dive deep into the big, overarching philosophy questions, including what humanity really was and where it came from.

This strategy did bring it success as Prometheus managed to get a rating of 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, however! When comparing this to the entire Alien universe, this just might be considered a total flop. The overall plot relied on how its prequel impacted the series, rather than standing on its own.

Also Read: Alien: Romulus Could Fix A Huge Problem With Ridley Scott's Prequels

Creative Shortcomings:

Alien: a Xenomorph with Earth in the background. Image

While Prometheus was awesome to look at and full of style. A close look at Prometheus showed problems with multiple creative elements:

The characters were not well-developed and left many wanting more!
Many fans didn't like how some major events didn't seem to have reasonable answers.
The series was lacking in many areas!

For many who love the Alien Movies, the experience might not have made the film worth its price tag, ultimately proving a missed opportunity and potentially the series' biggest failure! This may never be known!

Also Read: Why Did David Poison Charlie Holloway in 'Prometheus'? The Shocking Truth

A Prequel That Damaged the Franchise:

It wouldn't be such a big deal. If Prometheus was just another sci-fi movie that ended and never reappeared but this was different as the problems were more profound, the result? It diminished the impact and charm from the original Alien film from 1979!

This means there were flaws. A problem with Prometheus is that the series destroyed this sense of mystery! In Alien, we were given an epic tale, one with an alien encounter, however, it left everyone wanting more.

The approach in Prometheus changed this. The space jockeys are linked directly with humanity! We learned where our origins are coming from.

But the big effect is that the impact is somewhat diminished. We didn't feel as much intrigue when looking at the universe. Everything seems so human-centric, taking away this magical, awe-inspiring world and reducing this into a simpler perspective than the previous film! The "retro-futuristic" approach of the Alien series got tossed aside in this prequel. Instead Prometheus created a future that looked oddly shiny.

Also Read: Prometheus: Was This Alien Prequel A Hit or Miss?

Unanswered Questions:

You'd think that the space jockeys, one of the more compelling elements from Prometheus should help explain so much about Alien. Instead, many fans still wonder about the origins, motivations, and reasons behind it! The answers seem incomplete, causing a negative impact on Prometheus as well.

The Future of Alien:

What's even worse is that the entire universe from Prometheus got re-written. Alien: Covenant had changed things already. However, it wasn't just a shift, It created a new direction where it went from just this alien invasion! That took a new angle, transforming the entire approach into being a bioweapon!

If Prometheus didn't really cause "alien damage," its creative choices had been followed as the newest Alien iteration is coming soon! And there is a great effort to undo what Prometheus had established!

Noah Hawley, the creator of the "Alien: Earth" series has expressed his opinion directly.

Hawley even stated he would ignore the direction set in Prometheus and Covenant. This clearly suggests Prometheus did not live up to the standards or had some questionable decisions, meaning, these story choices may get re-written! This decision suggests Prometheus will fade into obscurity, ultimately proving its failure!

The fact that Prometheus' vision isn't the focus. That alone shows that the overall attempt was a huge creative mistake.

Regardless, Prometheus and its shortcomings is something to reflect on! As some Alien fans will never agree or let go of the premise set. However, there might just be a new beginning for this series.