My current theory is that Prime 4 takes place primarily in a time-traveling psychic realm, a-la the a "Homestuck dream bubbles".
The map contains disparate zones interconnected by a large, which really just looks like the map from Prime Hunters.
But more importantly, Metroid Prime Hunters, from which we get Sylux, has overlapping themes. After Gorea arrives by comet (leviathin?) to the Alimbic homeworld in the Alimbic system, mimicking their form and intellect, they sealed him in an interdimensional prison and immediately absconded the fuck off to a psychic realm. Gorea was able to reach out telepathically across the universe and trick people into untrapping him.
In the latest released images, we see green biological sacks from the Ice Belt laboratory... Hey, Kanden was created in a laboratory and has that big green biological motif. Hey, those purple curved Ice Belt aesthetics remind me of Noxus, and he lives in supercold environments. Etc.
So, my running theory:
-
Sylux seeks the Homestuck Dream Bubble / Time Traveling Psychic Realm Portal device, accidentally activates it
-
The Lamorn on Ancient Viewros intercepted a Phazon leviathin, transformed it to Green Energy, and eventually absconded to the psychic realm forever on an "imaginary time" line
-
Sylux wants to use the green energy to make its own army of Metroid Primes. This makes Samus a "Metroid Prime Hunter".
-
In the dream bubbles, Samus encounters GF troopers who she tries to save from their fates. as well as the other Metroid Prime Hunters who they faced off against in the Alimbic system.
-
Sylux is revealed to be a human girl / former Chozo / Samus's brother/father/mother / Ridley / or Samus herself
-
(If Sylux is Samus) The "final" boss of Metroid Prime 4 has Samus defeat Sylux, taking his suit... And then she starts traveling backwards, "tenet style". Samus has to create a stable time loop as Sylux in order to make things right. The true final boss has Sylux-Samus defeat Samus to pop the psychic time travel bubble. Or something crazy like that. This isn't a theory any more, this would just be cool. Things can just be cool.