10 Screenwriting Lessons You Can Learn From Prometheus

2. Don't Write For The Sequel

Lots of writers (myself included) like to write in the knowledge that they're saving "added" material (and a few answers) for a sequel to whatever project we're working on. There's nothing better than trying to imagine a full-on mythology or expanded universe for your own works. After all, it leaves you with an imaginary safety net that means - should you find writing success - you've got some good ideas saved away should you need to revisit your work.

But this isn't such a great idea, and Prometheus is proof of that. In fact, the entire movie could've easily been condensed into a kind of prologue or opening crawl, given that we don't learn barely anything that the movie sets out to teach us. It is a movie in search of its own idea, and it shows.

Thankfully, there's a Prometheus sequel in the works as this moment, and maybe the first film will be improved through the answers that a follow-up can provide us with. But as it goes: write every screenplay as if it's your last, or as if it's the only work that will ever be made in the universe you've created. That way, you're not stashing away important plot points for the sake of forced ambiguity, and your movie won't be reduced to a succession of messy interludes and unresolved narrative threads.