Since the franchise launched in 1979, Alien has been a beloved sci-fi franchise that has seen filmmakers like Ridley Scott, James Cameron, David Fincher, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and Paul W.S. Anderson explore this strange new world of Xenomorphs in space. It is hard to believe it has been almost four years since it was announced that Noah Hawley would be making a television series for FX on Hulu. Announced at Disney Investor Call 2020, it might not have generated the headlines that Star Wars or Marvel announcements did, but it was an exciting development nonetheless.
Since then, the series has faced multiple delays, from the COVID-19 pandemic to WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Now that filming has reportedly concluded, what can audiences expect from the as-yet-untitled series? From filming and cast announcements to the setting and upcoming theatrical releases, here’s a look at what audiences can expect from the upcoming Alien series.
Update February 24, 2024: Amanda Minchin has updated this article with more details about the upcoming Alien series.
Here’s What We Know For Sure About The Aliens TV Series
Alien
- Release Date
- 2025-00-00
- Seasons
- 1
Beyond the speculation, there have luckily been a few confirmations in the last few months. After COVID-19 and both SAG-AFTRA and WGA Strike delays and scheduling conflicts with Fargo, the show finally resumed filming in February. The presumed release date is 2025. Sydney Chandler (Don’t Worry Darling) is cast in the lead role. Other cast members for the series include Timothy Olyphant (Justified), Alex Lawther (Andor), Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger), Kit Young (Shadow and Bone), Essie Davis (The Babadook), and newcomer Samuel Blenkin have also joined the cast.
Up until late 2023, there was much speculation as to when and where this series would take place. Then it was announced that the series would take place not only on Earthen soil but also in a slightly distant future. Set about 30 years prior to the infamous voyage of the Nostromo, filming thus far has taken place in both Bangkok and the U.K.
It has also been confirmed that the infamous Weyland-Yutani Corporation, the menace behind the space operations, along with competing companies, will take on a vital role in the upcoming series. With an antagonist nearly as nasty as the creatures themselves, it’s likely the corporation will lean on some military grunts to clean up their unethical biomechanical disasters. This plot element is rife with themes of classism and corporate greed.
In doing so, the series will likely be taking heavy cues from James Cameron’s Aliens, often regarded as the best of the franchise. For instance, at the beginning of the film, Ripley finds herself rescued by a less-than-enthusiastic arm of the company. Having to prove her outlandish story to the higher-ups proves akin to talking to a brick wall. Unable to back up her tale, she finds herself without a job or a way to support herself… that is, until she’s presented with another opportunity to go back out in the field. The fact that Ripley’s infamous line about screwing people over for a percentage of the film has been referenced should serve as a sign of things to come.
The Series Will NOT Be Connected To Prometheus Or Alien: Covenant
Alien series creator Noah Hawley has firmly established that his Alien prequel series will not be impacted by Ridley Scott’s two Alien prequel films, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. While Ridley Scott is a producer on the upcoming Alien series, Hawley clearly wants to take the series in a different direction. Hawley said:
“Ridley and I have talked about this — and many, many elements of the show. For me, and for a lot of people, this ‘perfect life form’ — as it was described in the first film — is the product of millions of years of evolution that created this creature that may have existed for a million years out there in space. The idea that, on some level, it was a bioweapon created half an hour ago, that’s just inherently less useful to me. And in terms of the mythology, what’s scary about this monster, is that when you look at those first two movies, you have this retro-futuristic technology.”
Hawley is also looking to return the franchise to the retro-futurist aesthetic of the original film, including big computers, which is what the creators of the 1970s thought the future would look like as opposed to the more streamlined clean version found in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.
Ridley Scott’s two prequel films were controversial among fans, mainly in the origin they made for the Aliens. As opposed to being one of the naturally occurring horrors of the cosmos, they were instead bioweapons that were designed to be the perfect killing machine. This was part of those films’ thematic intent of exploring concepts of creator and creation through how the Alien franchise also uses androids.
There is a certain financial reason to ignore the films as well. Alien: Covenant was a notable box office disappointment, grossing only $74.3 million domestically and $240.9 million worldwide compared to its predecessor, which grossed $403.4 million worldwide. In retrospect, Ridley Scott has stated that he wished he had directed Blade Runner 2049, another sequel to one of his popular films that was released in 2017, instead of Alien: Covenant. Now, audiences don’t need to worry about having seen the two prequel films as this provides a new clean slate.
What Will Showrunner Noah Hawley Bring To The Series?
One look at Noah Hawley’s resume, and it is clear he is a man who takes television seriously. His series Fargo is critically acclaimed and, like Alien, is also based on a popular movie. Given how he was able to expand Fargo into multiple television series, it is safe to say he has the chops to do the same with Alien.
Hawley’s other major television series is Legion. Based on the Marvel X-Men comics, this series brought a beloved Fox film property to the small screen without sacrificing the epic scale. Legion was both serious and silly, with some incredibly out-there visuals and themes. Hawley will likely give his Alien series the same sense of prestige that he brought to Fargo and Legion.
Is The Series Connected to Alien: Romulus
Before Hawley’s Alien series arrives on FX, another Alien project is in the work at Fox. Alien: Romulus will be released in theaters on August 16, 2024. That movie is a standalone film that will take place between the events of Alien and Aliens, so far removed from the events of Hawley’s upcoming series. That film cast will include Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), Isabela Merced (Madame Web), David Jonsson (Rye Lane), Archie Renaux (Upgraded), Spike Fearn (Aftersun), and newcomer Aileen Wu.
With the two projects set at different points in the Alien timeline and with two different creative teams, it is unlikely that there will be a lot of setups in one that will pay off in the other. The show’s reach beyond this is still up for speculation. There is a good chance this outing will be more than a self-contained series. Hawley himself has insisted that this is not intended to be a limited series but a multi-year odyssey in at least three parts. Whether this intention comes to fruition is an altogether different story.
Beyond the upcoming 2024 release of Alien: Romulus, the other potential franchise tie-ins could come from an all too familiar source. While Alien vs. Predator has been disregarded by both Ridley Scott and James Cameron, there is a chance Disney may want to plant the seeds to pit these two sci-fi horror titans against one another. Prey was a big hit on Hulu, after all, and now 20th Century Pictures is continuing Predator with both a Prey sequel and also another Predator film titled Borderlands. Uniting both Alien and Predator in the same universe in an age of cinematic universes seems like an obvious answer.
How Will Scary Xenomorphs Fare In The House Of Mouse?
While it may surprise fans of both the Aliens franchise and Disney, the two actually have a long and storied history together. A long time ago, in a decade far, far away, Walt Disney World opened ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter. The original plan was to center the ride based on the hit Alien franchise; plans were scrapped, however, by higher-ups who did not think it was appropriate to have an attraction based on an R-rated movie in their G-rated theme park. This wouldn’t be the last time a Xenomorph would be seen in Walt Disney World. On The Great Movie Ride, a now-retired attraction, guests would ride through recreations of famous movie scenes, one of which featured an animatronic Ripley and a Xenomorph jump scare.
Fans who might worry that Disney’s clean and family-friendly image would prevent them from embracing the horror aspect of the franchise have no fear. Disney has plenty of other on-brand labels for that. The 20th Century Pictures label has been used for them to release more adult-orientated projects without cross-pollinating their family-friendly brand. One of those features just so happens to be the well-received Prey on Hulu. Considering the two franchises have shared screen time in the past, it’s likely to be a perfect fit for a new series.
Between Hawley’s Alien television series and also the upcoming Alien: Romulus, it is clear that 20th Century Fox sees a lot of potential in the Alien franchise. While the series has certainly seen better days at the box office, one hopes that both a prestige television series and a smaller-scale standalone horror sequel will get the franchise back on track.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
