FILM · 2012 · USA

Prometheus

Directed by

Ridley Scott

Runtime

124 min

Studio

Dune Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Brandywine Productions

197 archived facts · 7 topics · 1 source · Last reviewed Sep 2026

A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

Summary: TMDB

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Prometheus: 9 Facts About the Characters and Cast

1. #011

   Charlize Theron was originally cast as Elizabeth Shaw but had to turn the role down because of a scheduling conflict. A later change to the schedule allowed Theron to make the film, so she was allowed to take the role of Meredith Vickers, with Noomi Rapace taking on Shaw.

   CHARACTERS & CAST · SOURCED

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2. #033

   Noomi Rapace took the role of Elizabeth after a planned meeting with producer Michael Costigan in Los Angeles turned into an unexpected meeting with Sir Ridley Scott. When Scott explained that he had watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) three times and was very eager to work with her, Rapace immediately accepted the offer. However, since Rapace was not yet a major star, the studio first insisted on a screen test. An old warehouse was quickly redesigned to look like the interior of a futuristic ship, and Rapace did her test for the role of Shaw opposite Rafe Spall, who was originally cast as the Englishman Holloway (later recast as the American Millburn). After that, she was hired for the role.

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3. #040
   Contains a major spoiler — show

   Sir Ridley Scott initially wanted Max von Sydow for the role of the elderly Peter Weyland. However, Scott and Damon Lindelof later devised a scene in which the android David (Michael Fassbender) would interface with Weyland while he was in hypersleep and, because Weyland was obsessed with immortality, would see Weyland imagining himself as a younger man. In the dream, Weyland was a handsome playboy on a luxury yacht surrounded by sexy women, jet skis and sports cars. The sequence was storyboarded, designed and prepared to be shot in Alicante, Spain, but Scott objected to it in order not to spoil the surprise that the elderly Weyland was always in Prometheus. Because the scene was cut late in production and never filmed, Guy Pearce had already been cast for the role and had therefore undergone extensive makeup to appear old. Fortunately, Pearce was also allowed to appear as the young Peter Weyland in The Peter Weyland Files: TED Conference, 2023 (2012), giving a TED Talk in one of the film's promotional clips. A longer version of this clip is available as a bonus feature on the home video release. Pearce would later appear briefly as the young Weyland in Alien: Covenant (2017).

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4. #138

   Many famous actresses were considered for the role of Shaw, among them Abbie Cornish, Angelina Jolie, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron (who ultimately played another character) and finally Natalie Portman. 20th Century Fox executives initially wanted Portman to play Shaw. However, after watching Noomi Rapace's intense performance in the original 2009 version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Sir Ridley Scott made her his only choice and pushed to cast Rapace as the lead instead.

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5. #144

   Max von Sydow and Rutger Hauer were considered for the role of Weyland before the story requirements changed (temporarily) and Guy Pearce was later cast.

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6. #147

   Michelle Yeoh and Angelina Jolie were initially considered for the role of Meredith Vickers.

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7. #148

   Gemma Arterton, Carey Mulligan, Olivia Wilde, Anne Hathaway, Abbie Cornish and Natalie Portman were considered for the role of Elizabeth Shaw.

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8. #150

   James Franco was considered for the role of Holloway. He later played Captain Branson in the sequel Alien: Covenant (2017).

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9. #183

   This is the first film to feature two actors who both played Edward Rochester, the character created by Charlotte Brontë, in two different literary adaptations with the same cast. Rafe Spall played Edward Rochester in Wide Sargasso Sea (2006), and Michael Fassbender took on the same role in Jane Eyre (2011).

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