Meredith Vickers

Lore & Background

As an employee of Weyland Corporation, Vickers holds a position of significant authority on the Prometheus. Unlike the crew who travel in suspended animation, she monitors the voyage while awake. The narrative reveals that her father, Peter Weyland, is secretly in stasis aboard the ship, indicating her deep personal investment in the mission's true objectives. She maintains a strict, detached demeanor throughout the exploration of the artificial structure on LV-223. When crew members Millburn and Fifield become lost, she enforces the return to the ship due to an approaching storm. Her loyalty lies with Weyland Corporation rather than the immediate safety of the expedition team, as seen when she prioritizes protocol over saving a dying crew member.

In Their Own Story

The mission takes a dark turn when Holloway becomes infected after David taints his drink. Rushed back to Prometheus, Holloway begs for entry, but Vickers refuses him aboard, citing safety concerns. At his urging, she ultimately burns him to death with a flamethrower rather than risk contamination. Later, as the situation on LV-223 deteriorates and the mutated Fifield attacks, killing several crewmen, Vickers remains part of the returning team led by Weyland. When David wakes the surviving Engineer and fails to communicate effectively, the Engineer kills Weyland and his team before reactivating a spacecraft. Shaw convinces Captain Janek to ram the Prometheus into the alien craft to stop it from reaching Earth. As the disabled spacecraft crashes onto the ground, Vickers is crushed by the wreckage, ending her life on the distant moon.

Reader's Guide

Meredith Vickers represents the corporate oversight within the expedition, functioning as a barrier between the crew and their true mission parameters. Her role requires strict adherence to Weyland Corporation directives, even when they conflict with human survival instincts. Key moments define her character: refusing entry to the infected Holloway and executing him with a flamethrower; maintaining composure while the ship descends into chaos; and ultimately failing in her attempt to survive the Engineer's retaliation. She acts as an antagonist through her rigid adherence to protocol and secrecy regarding Weyland's presence. Her arc concludes tragically when the spacecraft she sought to protect crashes, crushing her body on the surface of LV-223.

Did You Know?

• Charlize Theron described her character as 'a suit who slowly sheds [her] skin through the film.'
• Vickers refused to let the infected Charlie Holloway aboard the Prometheus, ultimately burning him with a flamethrower.
• Meredith Vickers is revealed to be the daughter of Peter Weyland, the elderly CEO in stasis on the ship.
• The character was killed when the Engineer's disabled spacecraft crashed onto the ground, crushing her.