Earlier this morning, Gavin posted the new Prometheus trailer, the epic return of Ridley Scott to the lands of Science Fiction. That fact alone would have been enough to see it quantum leap it’s way to the top of my list of most anticipated movies of 2012, but there is a mystery around Prometheus that has my geeky mind racing at warp speed.

When Prometheus was first announced, it was said to be the long rumoured prequel for Scott’s 1979 classic, Alien. All the initial leaked images – with their mix of futuristic industrial tech and Geiger designed landscapes and spaceships - as well as all the plot descriptions supported this assertion. Sci-fi film geeks around the world simultaneously developed indelible grins, for it seemed that the messiah was finally returning.

Then suddenly it was announced that Prometheus was not going to be an Aliens prequel but rather a separate story “with strands of Alien DNA”, and the internet was filled with a collective “What the…?”

MTV then outright asked one of the lead actors, Michael Fassbender, if Alien and Prometheus was connected and he replied with an unequivocal “Oh, absolutely. There’s a definite connecting vein.”

Confused yet?

Now the trailer has been released, and eagle-eyed viewers immediately spotted a few, shall we say, interesting clues.

The first of these is the overall design and editing of the trailer itself. Thematically and structurally, it is eerily reminiscent of the original Alien trailer, complete with the movie title being slowly revealed a letter at a time. Have a look for yourself:

Back to the Prometheus trailer, and the first major clue is given when we view personnel disembarking a space ship in a scene that is almost an homage to James Cameron’s Alien sequel, Aliens.

A closer look at the vehicles, shows us a red logo (which some helpful forum member over on AVPGalaxy mocked up) which sources say is the Weylan Corporation logo.

In Alien lore, the Weyland Corp would eventually merge with Yutani, to form the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. The same corporation that would be instrumental in a number of the Alien movies. Compare the above logo, with the two known W-T Corp logos and you can clearly see the similarity:

 Next, a sequence of scenes of characters walking down almost organic looking corridors, that definitely show Alien designer HR Geiger’s influence:

Seem familiar? That’s because you just saw almost the exact same thing a few minutes ago in that original Alien trailer.

The next clue is my most contentious, as it’s clearly meant to evoke visions of the Alien xenomorph’s destructive acid blood. A logic leap that many websites have made.

Personally though, I feel that this is the most tenuous of clues, as almost anything could be responsible for what we’re witnessing. But it sure is intriguing.

And now, one of the biggest and most emphatic hints, as to the link between the two films. Look closer at the scene of the team in some kind of medical bay, and you will notice that they are studying what appears to be an alien head or helmet.

Hey, where have we seen him before? Ah, yes. Space Jockey come on down!

For those of you unfamiliar with Alien (only the completely blind will be forgiven for this crime!), the “Space Jockey” is the giant dead alien being that the original crew encounter before their first run-in with a face hugger. His origin has always been shrouded in mystery.

Finally, figuratively punching any naysayers in their disbelieving faces, is this scene. Undoubtedly, the trailer’s biggest reveal:

That is 100%, undoubtedly, without any room for contention, the very same room and control chair where the Space Jockey is originally encountered in Alien.

Zoom in closer to that scene in the trailer and you’ll find – in a “blink and you miss it” cameo – a mysterious figure standing in the shadows to the right of the control chair.

Comparing this figure’s relative size to the control chair, as well as to that of the original human crew member in Alien, it’s clear that this figure is gigantic in stature. Could this be the fabled Space Jockey sans body armour? Or is he one of the mysterious Engineers that rumours have alluded to? One thing is certain, his face certainly resembles the giant stone head seen earlier in the trailer and featured so prominently on the poster:

Initial reports were that the stone head would somehow be the pilot of the Derelict alien spaceship. If it is an artificial being/mechanism – an auto pilot, if you will – then it wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to assume that the mysterious figure had created it, and in his own image.

Even the most skeptic of fans would have to admit that something is definitely amiss with Mr Scott’s insistence that this is a standalone tale. There are just too many things that suggest otherwise. Although, I have to admit, the fact that the script was written by Damon Lindelof, one of the lead writers on Lost (possibly the greatest real-life trolling attempt in modern entertainment history), does raise the question of whether all of these clues were not just deliberately put there to mess with us. I doubt that is the case, but if it somehow turns out that way, I expect the internet will summarily ripped asunder by battalions of ALL CAPS letters and squadrons of exclamation marks!!!

Either way, troll attempt or not, the next 6 months will be agony as I await the arrival of Prometheus. Anybody have any hibernation tips and tricks?