Can Prometheus 2 work without Elizabeth Shaw?

[predxeno]

Personally, I'd rather Shaw not return for a sequel.  I never liked her character because despite the fact that she was supposed to be an unbiased scientist, she let her religious beliefs and "faith" interfere with her view of things.  For example, despite the fact that the crew of the Prometheus has discovered evidence that God as we know it never existed, Shaw still chooses to hold onto her faith but when her partner, Holloway, is killed it is then that she starts to lose faith as symbolized when David removes her cross for fear of "contamination". 

Stereotypes be damned, categorizing men (Holloway) as more logical and women (Shaw) as more emotional is no excuse for getting the audience to give any individual more rope when it comes to character analysis.  Furthermore, following the cliché of atheists must be punished for their non-belief while the religious get to live because of their "spiritual journey" (one that was practically non-existent in this film) is a theme I find rather offensive and outdated.  It is for these reasons that I believe Prometheus 2 would be much better if they just reset the story with different characters and only a slight connection to the first film.

[atlantis]

Yes.. I think she was  the strongest character in that Disaster...

[Nightmare Asylum]

It could probably work without her, but I'd prefer to have her around. Aside from some below-average writing which lead to some wishy-washy character development on her part, I quite liked her as the lead. Rapace did a great job with the material she was given, and I like the ideas of her character (they were just presented in too much of a "broad strokes" kind of way without ever really digging deeper into what makes her who she is).

I'd love to see her back, better written, in a film with better writing overall.

[NetworkATTH]

No, they set it up for the promise of going further, if they don't follow through with that promise, then they are screwed. They'll never tell the story they want with Shaw in hypothetical three. They set it up explicitly to go "where they came from", and to not go through with that, would be such a pointless cock tease

[predxeno]

Just because Shaw disappears doesn't necessarily mean the sequel won't answer the questions asked in the first film; it'll just mean that a new character is solving the "mysteries of life" instead of Shaw, picking up her legacy if you will.

[NetworkATTH]

Just because Shaw disappears doesn't necessarily mean the sequel won't answer the questions asked in the first film; it'll just mean that a new character is solving the "mysteries of life" instead of Shaw, picking up her legacy if you will.

Then what was the point of setting it up explicitly to follow Shaw and David at the end of Prometheus, then? Setting up Shaw's entire character to get to the point where she finds some universal truth? There really, is not a whole lot you can do with a sequel either way. But the more interesting, less ham-handed way of going about it would be to follow Shaw and David.

[predxeno]

I guess you could think along the lines of the AVP films, (ignoring, for the moment, the flaws either film has) the events from the first film instigated the events of the 2nd film but it doesn't necessarily mean Lex had to return to the sequel to finish things off, a new cast of characters were capable of continuing the story and bringing things to a close in Lex's place.

[NetworkATTH]

I guess you could think along the lines of the AVP films, (ignoring, for the moment, the flaws either film has) the events from the first film instigated the events of the 2nd film but it doesn't necessarily mean Lex had to return to the sequel to finish things off, a new cast of characters were capable of continuing the story and bringing things to a close in Lex's place.

Yeah but that's a lot of risk to put on a film that wasn't highly appreciated by it's target audience. It just seems like beating around the bush of what's been set up. I'd be interested in knowing what happens to LV-223, sure. But that should be placed secondary, to the characters already created.

[predxeno]

We're not going to be returning to LV-223 in Prometheus 2 actually, the writers of Fire & Stone spoke to P2's production team to make sure there are no contradictions between either story so if Prometheus 2 does take place on LV-223 then they'll have to answer what happens to the survivors of Fire & Stone which includes a veteran Predator in their midst.

[Nightmare Asylum]

Ridley could always have had another draft written in the meantime, which likely won't adhere to F&S. And didn't they push F&S a hundred years further into the future to avoid conflicting?

[predxeno]

And didn't they push F&S a hundred years further into the future to avoid conflicting?

Oh right, I forgot about that; one way or another, I doubt we'd ever be returning to LV-223 (at least in the movies).

[Gash]

As an atheist myself I didn't think it was pushing any pro-belief or anti-atheist agenda. Shaw thinks she's looking for God, instead she finds hell. She still chooses to believe, (the arrogance of self denial) what she finds next in her search for paradise is what Prom 2 should be about. Hopefully more hellish.

By comparison, other ideas, like an armed rescue team going in search of the Prometheus on LV 223, which sounds like a rehash of Aliens, doesn't sound anywhere near as interesting

[Born Of Cold Light]

Everyone expects to see Shaw and David in the next film.  Going down a completely different route with no explanation would just unnecessarily confuse everyone.

As an atheist myself I didn't think it was pushing any pro-belief or anti-atheist agenda. Shaw thinks she's looking for God, instead she finds hell. She still chooses to believe, (the arrogance of self denial) what she finds next in her search for paradise is what Prom 2 should be about. Hopefully more hellish.

By comparison, other ideas, like an armed rescue team going in search of the Prometheus on LV 223, which sounds like a rehash of Aliens, doesn't sound anywhere near as interesting

If Marines do go to LV-223, maybe the story could be where they all get infected with the black goo and then leave the planet.  Now you have a nuclear-armed warship in the hands of space monsters.

[whiterabbit]

Yes. But if they want to strap her to a wall birthing xenomorphs, whatever.

[predxeno]

As an atheist myself I didn't think it was pushing any pro-belief or anti-atheist agenda. Shaw thinks she's looking for God, instead she finds hell. She still chooses to believe, (the arrogance of self denial) what she finds next in her search for paradise is what Prom 2 should be about. Hopefully more hellish.

When watching the film, I simply felt that the whole story was built on stereotypes; from the dying atheist against the living theist and even to Weyland being portrayed as the villain when it was Shaw who behaved unreasonably.  When you think about it, Weyland funded the mission in hopes of saving his life and Shaw just chooses to interrupt his one moment with the Engineer, completely unappreciative of everything he has done for her mission/research.  Shaw should at least have had the decency of letting Weyland complete his last attempt at staying alive and honestly, with a gun to my head, I would have threatened Shaw's life as well if she cared more for her own self-interests than my life.  Despite her claims of religious belief, Shaw chose to forget the one concept that almost all religions are based on; life is sacred.