Where does Prometheus leave Charles Bishop Weyland?

[Dutch90]

First off, it's already been pointed out that the plot of Prometheus is very similar to AvP's. Peter Weyland is Charles Bishop Weyland, the Prometheus is the Piper Maru, the Engineers are the Predators and whatnot. The catalyst of both plots is exactly the same: identical symbols are found in widely dispersed ancient civilizations, prompting an expedition to Bouvet Island/LV-223 to learn more of human history. So in any case, even if they wanted to disregard it continuity-wise, Scott and his writers definitely examined AvP closely. Both Lindelof and Anderson mention Erich Von Däniken as an inspiration for their backstories.

I won't deny I like the first AvP and still try to see both AvP films as part of both franchises, timeline-wise. Tying them all together does require some speculation and creative thinking. Some may disapprove of this as fancruft or making excuses for plot holes and continuity errors, but I think that part of enjoying a fictional mythology is also playing a bit of a scientist/historian yourself and producing your own theories.

Now, obviously Prometheus poses some problems here. The viral website of Weyland Industries, while retaining the non-Yutani name from AvP, does seem to retcon the Company's history as depicted in AvP, heavily implying that Peter Weyland founded it in 2012, rather than Charles Bishop Weyland in 1982. CBW isn't mentioned anywhere on the WI website. This obviously poses a huge problem if AvP is to be seen as part of the Alien continuity. Then again, there's quite some continuity issues between Prometheus and Alien as well which people don't mind 'splaining, so there.

What are your thoughts on this?

EDIT: CBW founding WI in 1982 is taken from SM's Alien Universe Timeline, in turn an estimate based on the AvP novelization. So it's not a definitive, "official date". In any case, it differs from Prometheus's 2012 date, seeing as AvP has it existing in 2004.

[Darkfox]

Whereas I am completely fine with ignoring AvP and, on the other hand, going with the Prometheus explanation (though I am sure there might be or will be people who might prefer it the other way around), I concur when it comes to the "playing a bit of historian yourself"-bit (very nicely phrased!). It could be interesting to endeavour to make it work, and I'm all for trying to reconcile AvP with Prometheus.

Unfortunately, I have no idea yet how But I will think about it!

(...Unless there is something like "Weyland-destiny" working throughout the ages and making completely different people named "Weyland" encounter monsters from space )

[LargeLeader]

[deezelboy]

While I don't think that Prometheus is designed to connect to AVP, I can't see any reason why it doesn't if you want it to.

CB Weyland founds Weyland Industries. That never really recovers from the death of its founder in 2004. In 2012, after the 8th anniversary of CB Weyland's death, another member of the Weyland clan, the precocious Peter, founds Weyland Corp, a holding company which integrates the remaining Weyland Industries under its corporate wing. The WI revenue allows Peter to complete the extremely expensive Solar Panel orbital array in 2015 (well before investment is opened for Weyland Corp).

Utilising remnants of the technology left over from AVP, an atmosphere processor is built at the South Pole in 2016.

Peter retains an interest in CB Weyland, and later heavily invests in droid production, as a homage to the Godfather of Robotics.

[Darkfox]

While I don't think that Prometheus is designed to connect to AVP, I can't see any reason why it doesn't if you want it to.

CB Weyland founds Weyland Industries. That never really recovers from the death of its founder in 2004. In 2012, after the 8th anniversary of CB Weyland's death, another member of the Weyland clan, the precocious Peter, founds Weyland Corp, a holding company which integrates the remaining Weyland Industries under its corporate wing. The WI revenue allows Peter to complete the extremely expensive Solar Panel orbital array in 2015 (well before investment is opened for Weyland Corp).

Utilising remnants of the technology left over from AVP, an atmosphere processor is built at the South Pole in 2016.

Peter retains an interest in CB Weyland, and later heavily invests in droid production, as a homage to the Godfather of Robotics.

Plausible.

Also, is it possible to somehow relate the interest in these Dänikenian whatever-aliens-visited-the-Earth-long-time-ago to the family history, sort of? Or, one would ask, was some of the data, or the hints of what CB Weyland saw in Antarctica, actually preserved and got into the hands of Peter?

Because, I don't know if there is ever any explanation as to why should Peter be so keen on trusting some random cave-crawlers up to the point of financing a trillion-dollar flight to some unknown planet. But if there was perhaps something like CB's diary or whatever pointing out to "we think there is a pyramid in Antarctica... I have consulted this with my experts and it says it shows the signs of several different cultures... it may be a proof of [insert speculation here: "I always wondered if all cultures on Earth have the same origin, perhaps even extraterrestrial"?]"

Maybe the Weyland family indeed happened to be interested in "dänikenisms", so that would explain their keenness to go after this rather obscure discovery?

[deezelboy]

Peter Weyland's mother is apparently an 'Oxford-educated Professor of Comparative Mythology.'

Fanwank slashfic snippet: CB Weyland doesn't actually want to achieve immortality by discovering weird polar pyramids. What he's wanted to do for a long time is bang one of his relative's wives. Discovering a common basis for pyramids throughout cultures could well be a way of getting into her knickers before he dies.

 

[Dutch90]

While I don't think that Prometheus is designed to connect to AVP, I can't see any reason why it doesn't if you want it to.

CB Weyland founds Weyland Industries. That never really recovers from the death of its founder in 2004. In 2012, after the 8th anniversary of CB Weyland's death, another member of the Weyland clan, the precocious Peter, founds Weyland Corp, a holding company which integrates the remaining Weyland Industries under its corporate wing. The WI revenue allows Peter to complete the extremely expensive Solar Panel orbital array in 2015 (well before investment is opened for Weyland Corp).

Utilising remnants of the technology left over from AVP, an atmosphere processor is built at the South Pole in 2016.

Peter retains an interest in CB Weyland, and later heavily invests in droid production, as a homage to the Godfather of Robotics.

Pretty much what I had in mind. What's more interesting, then, is the role of the Yutani Corporation. We know they acquired Predator tech in 2004, so I can sort of see how Yutani used reverse engineering to compete with the Weyland Corporation in the new space race, playing second fiddle to Weyland's empire for most of the 21st century, until the loss of the Prometheus and Weyland himself leaves Weyland Corp in tatters (much like WI after 2004), allowing Yutani to overtake it. Eventually, Weyland Corp accepts a merger offer by Yutani and Weyland-Yutani is born somewhere around the year 2100. This is sort of what SM speculates on his timeline, except that has the merger take place in 2005 after WI goes tits-up following CBW's demise and the international uproar over the "nuclear detonation" on Bouvet Island*.

* Interestingly, there was an actual (well, rumored) nuclear detonation on or near Bouvet Island in 1979.