Guy Pearce On Whether Peter Weyland Could Return For Prometheus 2
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The last we’d heard of Prometheus 2 was the announcement in March that the production had hired screenwriter Michael Green to do a new pass on the script, which was previously worked on by Jack Paglen (Transcendence). Given that Green’s biggest produced screen credit so far was Martin Campbell’s regrettable 2011 Green Lantern movie, that may not inspire much excitement in you for Prometheus 2. Well, regardless of how well it eventually turns out, actor Guy Pearce was recently asked if he might possibly return for the Prometheus sequel. Given how his character wound up, that seems unlikely, but could Pearce return in an unexpected way?
In the first Prometheus movie, Pearce played Peter Weyland, the ancient tycoon who financed the film’s expedition to LV-223. His motivations were eventually revealed, as was the fact that he’d been hiding aboard the USCSS Prometheus during its long voyage. Weyland was within spitting distance of the grave, and he was convinced the alien Engineers would have discovered some way to extend his life. Unfortunately, when he propositioned the long Engineer they found in hypersleep, the big dude responded by beating him to death with the android David’s head. Ouch.
During an interview with Pearce promoting the new post-apocalyptic flick The Rover, IGN asked if he could/would return for Prometheus 2 if asked. Unsurprisingly, Pearce said he would love to work with director Ridley Scott again…assuming they could figure out a way to involve him. “I’d love to go back and play that character again,” said Pearce. “To work for Ridley again, you know, he’s great — really wonderful to work for. So yeah, I’m very curious to see what he will do next with it.”
Now they just have to figure out a way to use him. In addition to his decrepit physical form, Pearce also played a younger Weyland in holographic form in Prometheus, so we could always see more of Weyland recorded before his undignified death. For that matter, we know human cloning exists — or at least exists in the time of Alien Resurrection — so maybe Weyland could have had a few spares of himself waiting in the wings. Or maybe Pearce could play someone else entirely. He told IGN:
I think it’s possible. I just think it may not be for Peter Weyland. I mean, who knows? When you look at science fiction and the ways in which you can cut the pie and things can develop — technologically speaking, etcetera — anything’s possible, really, isn’t it? Particularly with Ridley at the helm.
Prometheus 2 is currently slated to release on March 4, 2016, with Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender both expected to return. The storyline is rumored to pick up right where the first Prometheus left off, with Dr. Elizabeth Shaw and the android David searching to find the Engineers. What exactly Shaw’s plan is once she finds them remains to be seen. The most obvious option is “Be brutally murdered,” but I’m guessing they probably won’t go that direction.
Meanwhile, if you want to dive deeper into the mythology, later this summer Dark Horse is launching four new interrelated comic series: Prometheus, Aliens, Predator, and Alien vs. Predator. You can check out some of the gorgeous painted covers here.
