Just last month, we brought you interviews with screenwriter Damon Lindelof and actress Noomi Rapace, both of whom dropped a few minor details about the story and characters in director Ridley Scott‘s hotly anticipated forthcoming sci-fi epic, Prometheus.

In a recent interview with the WSJ, director Ridley Scott spoke about the connection between Prometheus and Alien:

“The last eight minutes of the Prometheus story evolve into ‘a pretty good DNA of the Alien one.’

The director also spoke about the story, and how draws from the mythological story of Prometheus, the god of fire:

“The central metaphor of Prometheus is about a ‘higher being’ who challenges the gods, and the gods don’t want to give him fire. ‘Fire is our first form of technology,’ Scott says, and so by taking fire, the higher being is punished ‘in perpetuity in a horrible fashion.’ Much like the story of the mythological god, Prometheus, who stole fire from Zeus and for his actions was bound to a rock with an eagle eternally devouring his liver.”

Synopsis:

“Ridley Scott, director of “Alien” and “Blade Runner,” returns to the genre he helped define. With PROMETHEUS, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

Prometheus starring Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Sean Harris, Guy Pearce, Patrick Wilson and Kate Dickie is slated to hit theaters on June 8th, 2012.