Originality

There's what looks like a "space jockey", and a "derelict" an some other elements (like Weyland industries for example), so it definitely has Alien DNA on it. Now the story is whole beast of its own it seems...

It's a simple concept people are having trouble with. If Star Wars did a side story movie, in the same universe......people wouldn't be trying to find Darth Vader in every released pic. Well, maybe they would.....I dunno. But I agree, I think this is a new movie in a familiar universe.

Like RS said it is in the same universe, it CAN be a prequel WITHOUT the classic "alien" we saw in '79.Hence the word prequel , the alien wasn't "born" ,"invented" yet. We will get some sort of backstory involving aspects of the '79 film.

I see this as an ALIEN prequel. There's just too many things in Prometheus for this not to be. The Space Jockey, The Derelict, The Androids, The WEYLAND & YUTANI Coporations. I mean there's one thing after another. I understand this is in the same universe but I just don't understand why this wouldn't be an almost direct prequel in some way. I don't think Ridley is there to make another ALIEN. He's mentioned it multiple times in interviews and even on the live Q & A March 17th. So if he's not out to make another ALIEN than what is he doing? Well its a prequel. Before even production started he wanted explore the merging between Weyland and Yutani. He is now and he's even adding more. There's just tooooooo mannnnyyy things in Prometheus that relate to ALIEN for this not to be a direct prequel in some way. Thats my opinion.

All I have to say is that small discrepancies won't bother me at all if the film is good. To match the first one properly it would have to be a "retro futuristic" film, and I don't know if that would be interesting at all. The most important thing [to me] in Science Fiction is the ideas. Not small details about when something did or did not take place. Watching the trailer from Prometheus it's obvious that it won't be much Alien-like in terms of look and technology, but does that really matter?

@Unlimited Power, I agree. The small things, like going from the grittiness and dirtiness of ALIEN to the sterile and cleaner look of Prometheus doesn't bother me at all. In fact it makes it unique and it allows it to carry on with its own sense of style and voice. And thats one thing that all the 4 ALIEN films are good at doing, is "being different". Not just rehashing the same ideas again and again. FOX always picks a great and brilliant director that takes the ALIEN elements and makes them his own. So all tiny fined details that are different are actually better in my opinion. The Technology is different but that makes sense because its from a different time. To me it makes sense why there are many differences and to me thats what makes each ALIEN film stand out.

I have said it many, many times Prometheus is a movie exploring the Space Jockey, and is set in the same universe as the Alien movies, where it made its first (and only) appearance back in 1979. Ridley Scott says in the commentary for the DVD of Alien that he was surprised that none of the Alien sequels asked about or explored the Space Jockey, so he has decided to do so himself. It is both a prequel and a spin-off of Alien, that most likely doesn't feature the Alien.

/ exactly, the big error of the whole saga, only look for the future, including the original film never touched on the subject of SJ, when the crew back to Nostromo, they forget the "discovery of the century" and focus only on Kane and Alien/Xeno. in A L I E N S the same: no one mentions the SJ...

Could the events in Prometheus lead to the reasons why the Company knows what may lie on LV-426? I mean, how does Ash know that the xenomorph is the significant find on the planet and not all the alien technology that may exist on the derelict SJ ship? Either a previous crew was already sent to the planet (unlikely) or Ash and the Company are already clued in that the SJ tech may be valuable in itself, it is the xenomorph and whatever bio tech is container in its genes that constitutes the true treasure.

"If there were a sequel to this movie, it would not be 'Alien,'" insists Lindelof. "There's an inevitability, in watching a prequel, where you're like, 'OK, if the ending of this movie is just going to be the room that John Hurt walks into, that's full of eggs, there's nothing interesting in that because we know where it's going to end.' With really good stories, you don't know where it's going to end. So this movie, hopefully, will contextualize the original 'Alien,' so that when you watch it again, maybe you know a little bit more." But, Lindelof adds, "If we're fortunate enough to do a sequel to 'Prometheus,' it will tangentialize even further away from the original 'Alien.' When you go to the concert that is this movie, you want the Stones to play 'Satisfaction.' There is this sense of us saying, 'We want you to do something new, Ridley, but just give us a little bit of space jockey. Just play it! Even in the encore.' And, I think Ridley has given us the movie that we all want to see."