Prometheus rising...

2012 is looking mighty interesting. John Carter of Mars, The Avengers (Marvel), Star Trek II, The Dark Knight Rises, Bond 23, Superman: The Man of Steel, The Hobbit and Prometheus.

Wow, I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Better make plans to take the year off.

Of all those must-see pictures, Ridley Scott's Prometheus remains one of the most intriguing. After being away from science fiction for decades, the man who made Alien and Blade Runner has got our attention, returning to the genre with a strange, quasi-prequel to Alien.

It's sounding like this won't be a straight-up Alien movie or prequel, but something original set in that same universe. The screenplay has seen a lot of work from Lost veteran Damon Lindeloff, though apparently the bones of the initial Alien prequel script by John Spaihts remain.

Casting is in high gear, with Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the etc. etc.), Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds, X-Men: First Class) on board and now most recently, apple smoker Charlize Theron.

What Prometheus ultimately turns out to be is anyone's guess. But they have a release date, Spring of 2012. I'm definitely excited to see Ridley return to deep space - it's been a long while. But I think that what I'm most excited for is 2012 as a whole. Wow! That is one hell of a slate.