Corona | Coming Attractions

Now that the trailer for Ridley Scott's Prometheus has come out, we can begin analyzing to see how much of a connection the new film will have to the original Alien movie.

Scott, writer Damon Lindelof and several of the Prometheus actors have been careful to distance themselves from connecting their film with the first Alien. After the disappointing creative and financial returns from Alien Resurrection and the two Alien vs. Predator movies, perhaps it's a smart move to try and downplay the connection between the story we'll see in Prometheus and how it ties in to the events from 1979's Alien.

Confirmed facts about the storyline for Prometheus have been hard to come by, at least from the official channels. The marketing material for Prometheus hints that the characters are headed off to search for clues about our origin, and that what they find could spell humanity's end. But now that we've seen the trailer, we recognize several telltale signs that directly connect Prometheus' universe with Alien's -- such as the distinct shape of the biomechanical spaceship that fans have called the Space Jockey ship.

Ever since the appearance of the fossilized Space Jockey in Alien, many of us have wondered what kind of creature this was. By the comments that Ridley Scott has made about the Jockeys we'll see in Prometheus, they will be shown to be like gods -- "gods and engineers", as Ridley Scott once said. But what about the way they'll be shown in Prometheus? Will we actually get to see a Space Jockey that's alive?

There are several pieces of evidence that suggest the answer to the question is yes -- but that the being we will see in Prometheus will look very different from what we might have thought.

One of the strongest places on the Internet to find spoiler information about Prometheus has been the Alien vs. Predator forums. Months ago there had been posts from supposed Prometheus insiders breaking secrets about the movie's storyline. For the most part, these "rumors" have turned to be verified in the early imagery from the film. That doesn't mean all of the rumors on the AvP forums have been proven correct, but as the old saying goes, where there's smoke there's usually fire.

As soon as the Prometheus trailer was released yesterday, the dissection about what was seen in the trailer began. One especially interesting thread focused on a brief scene showing what looks like the Space Jockey pilot's control room, with the Jockey and his gun-like mount rising from the floor. And off to the side, where the S in the Prometheus title is, we see a burly bald being looking off his shoulder. The being is wearing a suit that could be considered to be biomechanical.

Is this what a Space Jockey in Prometheus looks like?

(Go here to see a bigger image of the screencap. The "suit" of the Space Jockey can be seen in the chair rising from the floor. Missing is the being that the Nostromo crew saw when they entered the ship.)

And there's more circumstantial evidence. Here is the online resume of 7-foot-tall actor Phill Martin. He's listed as playing the character of "Engineer" in Prometheus.

Now, this isn't smoking gun evidence that the Space Jockeys look more like Vin Diesel than giant elephantine aliens -- but it could be the case. Of course, Scott and his writer would have to present a satisfactory explanation as to how the giant skeleton we see in Alien turns out to be a more-or-less human-sized alien.

Watch the trailer for Prometheus and spot the moment where you see what might be the unsuited Space Jockey: