Meet Michael Fassbender's Robotic Alter-Ego In 'Prometheus'

Some weeks ago Fox began to launch a series of promotional video spots meant to expand our knowledge of the world of Ridley Scott's new film Prometheus. The first featured Guy Pearce as industrialist Peter Weyland; the second was a very brief introduction to the android David, played by Michael Fassbender.

Now, in a new video, we're given a far more thorough portrait of David. It's almost like an old video dating spot meant to tell potential suitors all they might want to know about David's personality and interests. In fact, because this is modeled as a sales pitch for the ultra-lifelike David android model, the line between advertisement and dating profile is quite thin. There isn't much difference between 'client' and 'suitor' when one is shopping for a human replacement, is there?

See the video below.

I love the performance here by Fassbender; as one might have guessed after seeing Shame, he makes quite the perfect android. I also like the suggestion of the ethical and emotional complexity embodied by this sort of invention. Most of us, having seen Scott's Alien, will watch this spot with the awareness of how a lifelike android can become a terrifically dangerous thing. The memory of Ash's breakdown is not easy to shake.

And here's the scary bit: David says he is saddened by "unnecessary violence." So, er, what constitutes "necessary violence"? And what if his vision of necessary is different from ours?

(Finally, while the 2001 echoes are impossible to miss, is David also meant to remind us of Apple's Siri app? The way he's questioned here is so much like the ads touting Siri's abilities.)

Prometheus opens on June 8.

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.