Christopher Nolan's Inception Had A Prequel That Is Impossible To Watch Today

It's hard to convey just how much hype there was around Christopher Nolan's "Inception" leading up to its release in 2010. The mysterious marketing campaign, the vague teaser trailers ... it all pointed to a cinematic event that would take the culture by storm — and it did. Nolan certainly benefitted from the critical acclaim of his previous film, "The Dark Knight." Add in Leonardo DiCaprio, a stacked ensemble, and a "Matrix"-esque concept, and you had a massive hit on your hands.

While the film's trailers are well-remembered (thanks in large part to that musical "BWAHHHH" sting that quickly infiltrated all future trailers forever), one piece of the marketing lead-up to "Inception" has been lost to time, and unfortunately, it's the piece with the most actual narrative content. Before the movie came out, fans were treated to a prequel motion comic entitled "Inception: The Cobol Job," featuring the voice talents of the real cast. It was a cool tease of what was to come, with stylish art and some interesting details about the world of the film. Sadly, today, there is no official way to watch it.

You can technically find versions online if you look hard enough, but the motion comic was hosted originally on the official "Inception" website, which has long been defunct. The story, however, remains a curiosity for fans.

Dedicated fans of "Inception" will recognize the name Cobol, as it plays heavily into the opening act of the film. Cobol Engineering is the company that hires Cobb (DiCaprio) and Aurthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) for their initial extraction job on Proclus Global — the job they're seen performing at the start of the movie. Saito (Ken Watanabe), the man they're targeting during that extraction in the film, ends up recruiting them for the larger inception job.

"The Cobol Job" details the lead-up to that opening action sequence, in which Cobb, Arthur, and architect Nash (Lukas Haas) are hired by Cobol Engineering to target Proclus chief engineer Kaneda. They do a whole dream heist in the comic, but the project they were hired to steal information about ends up being slightly above Kaneda's pay grade, and the extradition goes south when he fails to provide them with the intel they seek. The comic ends with them realizing they must target Saito, the head of the company, directly.

A second comic, entitled "Inception: The Big Under," was also produced, showing the next step in the story. It explores Saito's character in more detail than the film does, revealing that he is well-versed in dream sharing and uses the technology for recreational purposes. "The Big Under" also explains how the crew was able to perfectly mimic one of Saito's real-life apartments in the dream world to fool him, though in the film, he ultimately discovers the ruse because the carpet is the wrong material.

The dream sharing technology of "Inception" is a fantastic concept, and the prologue comics show just how much it affects the larger world. Of course, there are mentions throughout the film about CEOs being trained to protect their subconsciouses and certain people becoming addicted to the technology, but the story is so focused down its specific thriller arc that not much time gets spent exploring the edges of that larger world.

Part of what's so fun about these motion comics — and why it's such a shame that they're nearly impossible to find — is that they explore some of the larger ramifications of a world where this sort of tech is widely available.

Christopher Nolan has done sequels before, but only in the case of Batman. It's unlikely that we'll ever get a proper follow-up set after the end of "Inception" given all the other projects the director seems interested in these days, but it's certainly fun to consider other stories and possibilities.