Noah Hawley’s Alien series is easily one of the most highly-anticipated projects that FX has in the works. Having a built-in fanbase certainly helps, but don’t expect the show to cater exclusively to old-school viewers. According to FX chief John Landgraf, Hawley is cooking up some serious left turns for the Xenomorphs’ small-screen debut.
Landgraf revealed a few key details about Alien during a recent TCA press event (via The Hollywood Reporter). He also confirmed that the show won’t feature any legacy character from the original films, and naturally, that includes their iconic leading lady.
“Alien takes place before Ripley,” he said. “It’s the first story in the Alien franchise that takes place on Earth. It takes place on our planet, near the end of this century we’re currently in — 70-odd years from now.”
Landgraf also revealed that Hawley is writing Alien concurrently alongside another season of Fargo, with five scripts already in the can for the former series and only one turned in for the latter. But while Alien is farther along in the scripting stage, Fargo needs to go into production first in order to maintain its wintry Midwestern setting. Which essentially means that Alien can’t start shooting until 2023 at the earliest. Regardless, Landgraf appeared to indicate that the show will be worth the wait.
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“All I can tell you is Ripley won’t be a part of it, and neither will any other characters — other than the alien itself,” added Landgraf. “Noah has an incredible ability to both find a way of being faithful and showing fidelity to an original creation, like to the Coen Brothers [with Fargo] or to Ridley Scott’s movie and James Cameron’s follow up Aliens, but also to bring something new that represents both an extension and reinvention of a franchise at the same time. He’s done a masterful job with Alien as he did with Fargo. There are some big surprises in store for the audience.”
It was previously expected that Alien would premiere on FX in 2023. But if filming doesn’t start until next year, a 2024 debut seems more likely.
Are you excited to see what Hawley and FX have in store for the series? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: The Making of Alien
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