Prometheus

 The untitled project once billed as a prequel to the original Alien movie now has a new name – Prometheus. Director Ridley Scott is back for another sci-fi/horror adventure set in the cold depths of space, but the movie will no longer be a direct prequel to Alien, but rather a film inspired by that project's development. (So. Confused...)

Scott spoke to Deadline about the film, saying, "While Alien was indeed the jumping off point for this project, out of the creative process evolved a new, grand mythology and universe in which this original story takes place. The keen fan will recognize strands of Alien's DNA, so to speak, but the ideas tackled in this film are unique, large and provocative. I couldn't be more pleased to have found the singular tale I'd been searching for, and finally return to this genre that's so close to my heart."

Noomi Rapace ( The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) has a role in the film, as scientist Elizabeth Shaw. Meanwhile, both Charlize Theron and Angelina Jolie are reportedly in the running to play the other female lead, Vickers. Scott has also voiced an interest in Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds) for the role of the ship's android crew member. Damon Lindelof recently did a re-write on the screenplay.

At one point Scott had referred to the then-untitled prequel as the first in a pair of films, both of which would focus on the character that became the "Space Jockey" corpse seen in Alien. The first prequel would feature the Space Jockey and how it and its ship came into contact with the aliens. The second prequel would "go to where [the Space Jockey] came from", according to Scott. How much of this storyline will factor into the script remains to be seen.