After months of build-up, the hype for Fede Álvarez‘s “Alien: Romulus” is rounding into form, with a new trailer this week featuring the most footage from the upcoming film yet. But another project connected to the classic sci-fi franchise remains shrouded in mystery: Noah Hawley‘s “Alien” series for FX. Fans knows a little bit about the show so far: it’s a prequel to Ridley Scott‘s 1979 original; it premieres on FX On Hulu sometime in 2025; and it’s still in production in Thailand through the summer. But did Hawley provide any news updates in a new interview with Deadline?
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He did, in fact, albeit nothing too splashy. As a guest on the outlet’s “Crew Call” podcast, Hawley teased that FX is pretty high on the show’s progress so far. “They’re saying maybe don’t do two things at once on this show,” said the showrunner. “Their hope is to put a season two as close to season one as possible.” And FX wouldn’t want a Season 2 for “Alien” unless they see merit and potential in Hawley’s vision, right?
And what about Scott: is actively involved in the series? Hawley also had a definitive answer there, and beyond an initial chat in the show’s early stages, the answer is no. “In the four years it’s taken me to launch this show, he’s made how many movies?” the showrunner quipped. But Hawley did mention what he told Scott about his vision for the series. “What I said to Ridley is ‘I’m adapting your movie,'” Hawley continued. “I had to make a decision — retro futurism or “Prometheus”? And I chose retro-futurism. When I close my eyes and you say “Alien” to me, I see that green Ascii text. You know, I hear that sound. I see that keyboard with the weird Egyptian ruins on it. I see those hallways.”
So Hawley’s “Alien” will resemble Álvarez’s film in that regard: stylistic homages to to Scott’s original and its first 1986 sequel from James Cameron. But Hawley already confirmed he’d crib more from “Alien” and “Aliens” than “Prometheus” and 2017’s “Alien: Covenant” in an interview on “The Business” podcast earlier this year. “The idea that [the Xenomorph] was a bio-weapon created half an hour ago is inherently less useful to me,” Hawley explained. He also teased that the show is a “story of humanity trapped between its primordial, parasitic past and the A.I. future, and they’re both trying to kill us, so there’s nowhere to go.” In other words, don’t expect the Xenomorph, or one of its nascent forms, to take center stage in the FX series. Androids, not unlike Ash in “Alien,” will be a significant adversary, too.
Set a few years before the events of 2012’s “Prometheus,” and a few decades before the 1979 film, Hawley’s “Alien” focuses on the emergence of the franchise’s corporate juggernaut, Weyland-Yultani Corp. Hawley confirmed he’s done directing the show, but production resumes through July due to the show’s VFX work. None of that should keep “Alien” from hitting its intended 2025 release date, though.
Stay tuned for more news on “Alien” soon, and quickly if Álvarez’s film ends up a late-summer hit at the box office.