10 Best Horror Movie Prequels

3. Prometheus

Ouija Origin of Evil
20th Century Fox

Despite how often Ridley Scott proclaimed Prometheus as totally, totally not an Alien prequel before its release, the film did indeed wind up being a precursor to Scott's beloved Alien and the franchise it spawned.

It maybe wasn't appreciated all that much by audiences when it was released in 2011, but Scott's revisiting of the Alien franchise has been looked upon more favourably in the subsequent decade.

The ties to Alien and the greater franchise lore were a little more nuanced and subtle in Prometheus than some were expecting, particularly when memories of the Alien series conjure up familiar images of dark, narrow, claustrophobic corridors being stalked by Xenomorphs.

With its stunning ensemble cast - Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Logan Marshall-Green, Rafe Spall, Benedict Wong, Patrick Wilson and Guy Pearce - and frankly grander setting, Prometheus would work just as well as a standalone feature as it would an Alien prequel.

But as an Alien prequel, the movie does a good job of laying the groundwork for what would come, with Alien: Covenant then taking a major step towards what we know and love about the franchise.

In this post: 
Horror
 
First Posted On: 
Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.