Few directors can say they’ve had the same impact on the sci-fi genre as Ridley Scott. Scott first rose to popularity as a director in 1979 with his work on Alien, the genre-defining sci-fi horror masterpiece starring Sigourney Weaver. Just a few years later, he directed the first Blade Runner movie starring Harrison Ford, which is also viewed as one of the best sci-fi experiments of all time. Scott has since delivered countless other sci-fi hits over the years, such as The Martian, but since he kicked off the Alien franchise all those years ago, he continues to find himself drawn to xenomorphs and their prey.
In 2012, Ridley Scott made his long-awaited return to the director’s chair in the Alien franchise with Prometheus, the prequel that follows a group of space explorers who travel to a distant planet to search for clues about humanity’s origins. The film features a star-studded ensemble led by Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Sean Harris, and even Michael Fassbender, who returned five years later for the Prometheus sequel, Covenant. Prometheus earned scores of 73% from critics and 68% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and it grossed $403 million at the box office against a $130 million budget.
Both in America and globally, Prometheus is streaming exclusively on HBO Max, where it’s quietly become one of the top 10 most popular movies on the platform in more than 10 countries. This isn’t the first time that fans have rushed to check out Scott’s work on the Alien franchise. While he last directed a movie with Covenant in 2017, he did serve as a producer on 2024’s breakout horror hit, Alien: Romulus, and he also produced the franchise’s first TV show, Alien: Earth.
Did Ridley Scott Direct ‘Blade Runner 2049’?
After Ridley Scott directed the original Blade Runner in 1982, he did not return in 2017 to direct the legacy sequel, Blade Runner 2049, which stars Ryan Gosling. Scott did work as a producer on the film, and it’s been reported that he gave creative feedback, but he passed the directorial torch to Denis Villeneuve. Scott is also acting as a producer on the franchise’s first TV show, Blade Runner 2099, which is in the works at Prime Video and set to be released later this year. The series stars Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) and Hunter Schafer (Euphoria).
Be sure to watch Prometheus on HBO Max, and stay tuned to Collider for more streaming updates.
Release Date
June 8, 2012
Runtime
124 minutes