Ridley Scott's quasi-Alien prequel Prometheus is one of the more divisive sci-fi features churned out by Hollywood in recent times (seriously, we're talking about love/hate reactions that are near Man of Steel passion levels), but its $400 million worldwide gross kept its sequel hopes alive and well.

More importantly, as far as justifying a franchise from a creative perspective goes, the film managed to leave many a moviegoer (even many of its detractors) exceptionally curious, as to what will happen next in the story - with semi-religious archaeologist Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and damaged, but still functioning android David (Michael Fassbender) headed to the home world of humanity's architects-turned would-be destroyers, known as the Engineers.

Prometheus 2's projected release (originally, 2014 or 2015) was pushed back to an indefinite date over the months after screenwriter Damon Lindelof officially stepped away to work on Brad Bird's sci-fi Tomorrowland. Meanwhile, Scott kept busy in the meantime with the Cormac McCarthy crime-thriller The Counselor (another love/hate affair, though heavier on the "hate"), and then followed that with the Moses epic Exodus, which arrives in theaters at the end of this year.

Scott has always been onboard to direct the Prometheus sequel, though last year we learned that Lindelof has been formally replaced by screenwriter Jake Paglen (the upcoming Transcendence). According to the latest report from The Wrap, Paglen's script draft is now being revised by Michael Green, fresh off him having collaborated with Scott on the script for a planned Blade Runner quasi-sequel (e.g. another film set in that specific Philip K. Dick-imagined universe).

20th Century Fox recently claimed a March 4th, 2016 release date for an unspecified Scott feature, which many were quick to guess was staked out with Prometheus 2 in mind. The Wrap's sources claim this is the case, with production expected to begin this fall (right after Scott finishes post-production on Exodus). Prometheus 2 appears to be the semi-official working title right now, though it's not at all guaranteed to be the final one. (Paradise - the name of the Engineers' planet - has long been rumored.)

Plot details for the Prometheus sequel are scare right now, though The Wrap's article mentions that the story may involve more than one version of the 'David' android. (How, well, that's a good question...). Furthermore, Green's script rewrite is supposed to give the project more of a horror movie-feel on par with the original 1979 Alien movie; based on the troubling (read: horrific) implications of the marketing for Transcendence, though, one imagines that Paglen's original draft was probably on the dark side to begin with.

Prometheus 2 may feature multiple Davids (Michael Fassbender)

Prometheus resulted from Lindelof and Scott's attempts to spin the original script draft by Jon Spaihts - a more straight-forward Alien prequel - into a 2001-esque sci-fi thought piece (with shades of less-remembered sci-fi titles likes Brian De Palma's Mission to Mars); the final movie result was certainly big and beautiful, if also a bit of a mess. However, now that the storyline has properly diverged from the Alien narrative, it's possible that the sequel will be more cohesive and, in turn, better than its predecessor.

On the other hand: Scott's formed a bad habit of delivering solid, yet perfunctory directorial work over the last decade, while the last big-screen release to feature Green as a co-writer was Green Lantern - which is to say, there's still plenty of room for Prometheus 2 to disappoint. Be sure and let us know if you are nonetheless excited to see the plot threads left dangling at the end of Prometheus picked up in a sequel - or if you're no longer interested in exploring the Alien-verse further, after being disappointed by the most recent trip.

__________________________________________________

Prometheus 2 is (allegedly) slated to arrive in theaters on March 4th, 2016.

Source: The Wrap