Alien writer Noah Hawley thoughtfully explains how the upcoming FX series will revive the franchise. First announced in December 2020, the series includes original Alien director Ridley Scott as a producer. Hawley, known for his work on the Fargo television adaptation, in addition to Legion, serves as showrunner. The project has received some major updates in the past few months, with FX chairman John Landgraf confirming the show is in active development.

While speaking at the Austin Film Society recently, Hawley shared how he plans to approach the upcoming Alien show.

The writer recalled first being asked to work on an adaptation of the seminal sci-fi franchise and how he considered that, after six movies, there might not have been any mystery left to explore. In the quote below, the showrunner also discussed how to rethink the story and the creature for a modern audience:

“When FX asked me if I was interested in adapting what is now a franchise, but for me was always this film, I had to think about what it was about the movie that inspired originally and would I be able to create that for an audience. Of course, you can only see Alien for the first time once and there’s something so unpredictable to the creature at the heart of it, and so disturbing about it, that after 6 movies you think “well, maybe there’s no mystery left to it.” What’s interesting to me is to try to remystify the franchise. The creature, the story, for a modern audience in the way that my 15-year-old won’t think is slow, is the requirement. “

What To Expect From The Alien Series

Although specific details about the show are being kept under wraps, it has been reported that the story will unfold on Earth in the near future. And, in a major development, the first casting of the Alien series was announced. Sydney Chandler had been selected to play a lead role. She’d previously worked with FX on the limited series Pistol. The actor also appeared in the Olivia Wilde film Don’t Worry, Darling.

The adaptation is finally gaining steam after a longer-than-expected development process. Back in 2021, Landgraf indicated that the show was likely to debut in 2023. Then, despite reports that filming would begin in March 2022, production was delayed until this year. While discussing the project, Landgraf referred to the show as a “massive undertaking.”

Based on the comments of Hawley, and FX’s chairman, there is a lot of thought and consideration in making sure the Alien show lands and it may well account for some of the delays. Still, given how the franchise has included projects that never materialized, and spinoffs that arguably underwhelmed and even disappointed audiences, the extra time will hopefully pay off.

Source: Austin Film Society