Even when he's in a movie like, say, Prometheus, that inspires no end of criticism and bitching, Michael Fassbender emerges unscathed.  Since most of the movies in which he appears inspire an altogether more positive reactions, his potential involvement in Jane Got Her Gun is good news for star Natalie Portman and director Lynne Ramsay.

After playing an instrumental part in the decade-plus glut of superhero movies as the director of X-Men and X2, Bryan Singer then spent some time away from the franchise, only to return as producer of last year's prequel/reboot X-Men: First Class, the best entry since his departure.  Singer's staying aboard to produce the sequel scheduled for summer 2014, and he's confirmed that the film is titled X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Nobody could argue that Prometheus didn't look like roughly $130 million, but a lack of internal logic and mystery that was more frustrating than intriguing had many moviegoers, fairly or not, angrily decrying the work of Damon Lindelof, the writer who overhauled Jon Spaihts's more directo Alien prequel screenplay.  Well, a sequel to the prequel is indeed in development and looking likely in the next few years, but Lindelof probably won't be writing the script.

Decades of bungled videogame adaptations have taught us to be wary of would-be movies based on the gaming arts, no matter how well-done or popular the property being adapted may be.  It takes something special to suggest that a videogame movie could be special, or even satisfactory.  Though it doesn't yet have a director or screenplay, Assassin's Creed now has something thoroughly special.  Michael Fassbender is attached to not only star as the free-running, time-traveling killer, but also to produce his first movie adventure.

So Prometheus is at a theater near you.  As such, months of anticipation has been replaced by much discussion, though not necessarily the type for which the filmmakers had hoped.  There are philosophical debates and theological extrapolation, yeah, but also talk of narrative shabbiness, wobbly characterization, and intellectual posturing.  Everyone seems to agree, however, that Prometheus is a handsome film of visual detail and craftsmanship.  Two new featurettes go deep into that craftsmanship to break down the visual effects in three crucial scenes.

Just because the major motion picture it was designed to so teasingly promote is in theaters now doesn't mean that the viral marketing for Prometheus has to stop now.  Indeed, the viral efforts are continuing to tease, with a new website and a new video featuring Guy Pearce as a younger, more virile Peter Weyland quoting Friedrich Nietzsche.

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.

Because it was a prequel, we always had a decent, if vague, idea of the basic shape for the story in X-Men: First Class.  We knew that we'd see the formation of the X-Men and how the relationship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr went from hetero-mutant-bro-dom to opposite sides of ideological divide.  For the prequel-sequel scheduled to arrive in the summer of 2014, we've had no real clue as to just where the story will go.  Until now, that is.  A potential title for the X-Men: First Class follow-up indicates that the next mutant adventure just might involve some time-travel shenanigans.

Prometheus is already playing in many a European theater, causing Americans who've been fretting over the film for months to curse their lack of Russian citizenship, but here in the States, we can while away the next week with some more promotion for the new Ridley Scott joint.  The latest in a long, long line of behind-the-scenes featurettes focuses on the Prometheus spacecraft itself. 

This one includes new imagery of the ship, inside and out, as well as interview snippets with Scott's frequent production designer Arthur Max, actors Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron, and the director himself.

Holy whoa, Prometheus is just over two weeks away.  Finally, all those burning questions will be answered in what is hopefully a masterful film of science fiction and body horror.  Until then, though, we'll just going to have to be satisfied with more marketing that plays coy and promises big things that come from small beginnings.