Ridley Scott’s Prometheus had its fair share of problems, but the casting of Guy Pearce as overly ambitious and power-hungry Peter Weyland wasn’t one of them. Sure, he may have been encumbered by some less-than-stellar age makeup, but the actor made quite the impression with the small part he played in the proceedings. He also truly shined as a young Weyland in the TED Talk viral video that was used to promote the film.
Pearce’s character may have been beaten to death with Michael Fassbender’s disembodied head at the end of Prometheus, but that hasn’t stopped the actor from revealing that he hopes to return for the upcoming Prometheus 2, which hits theaters in 2016.
Weyland, who plays a big role in the Alien franchise as one half of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, wasn’t quite as fleshed out in Prometheus as he should have been. Unfortunately, he was sidelined for the majority of the film, first appearing as a hologram and then later appearing in what amounted to little more than an unnecessary and ill-conceived plot twist.
Needless to say, there is definitely room for more exploration of the character in future films, either through flashbacks, more viral marketing, or more hologram appearances. Really, the possibilities are endless, and Pearce himself is open to any and all options, even if it means playing someone else entirely:
“I’d love to go back and play that character again. To work for Ridley again, you know, he’s great – really wonderful to work for. So yeah, I’m very cautious to see what he will do next with it.
[On whether there’s a chance he could return as Weyland]: Based on my character’s request for immortality and then getting whacked in the head with Michael Fassbender’s head, uh… no. [Laughs] But I think it’s possible. I just think it may not be for Peter Weyland. I mean, who knows? When you look at science fiction and the ways in which you can cut the pie and things can develop – technologically speaking, etcetera – anything’s possible, really, isn’t it? Particularly with Ridley at the helm.”
With Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace already signed on for the sequel, there’s definitely room for Pearce in the cast, and the actor would definitely be a welcome addition. Even as someone who liked Prometheus, I was pretty disappointed that Weyland wasn’t given more to do than just walk around slowly and then get killed. I would love to see Pearce come back and do the character justice.
Prometheus 2Â (not the official title) is getting a rewrite from Michael Green, and will arrive in theaters on March 4th, 2016.
