It’s a good time to be an “Alien” fan. With Fede Álvarez‘s new franchise installment “Alien: Romulus” hitting theaters on August 16, and Noah Hawley‘s TV series for FX on the way next year, a franchise once thought dead is on the cusp of a potentially huge revival. Alvarez’s film already has Ridley Scott‘s and James Cameron‘s respective blessings, but Hawley’s series remains a bit of a mystery. Well, Deadline has some new scoop on the show, including a buzzy new casting: “Foundation” actress Sandra Yi Sencindiver.
Sencindiver joins a cast of mostly young actors on a series about the emergence of the “Alien” franchise’s corporate superpower, Weyland-Yutani crop. Hawley’s show serves as a prequel to the rest of the “Alien” movies, set a few years before the events of 2012’s “Prometheus” and about thirty years before Scott’s 1979 original. It’s also the first project in the “Alien” series set on Earth, something only the end of 1997’s “Alien: Resurrection” got close to. As for Sencindiver, she plays a senior member of Weyland-Yutani as the company races against other corporations to produce the cutting edge of android technology.
Hawley confirmed his show is “designed to be an ongoing series” show, so Sencindiver’s senior exec could become more established in potential future seasons. Other cast of the FX series include Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Adarsh Gourav, Kit Young, and Timothy Olyphant. David Rysdahl, Babou Cessay, Erana James, Lily Newmark, and Adrian Edmonson round out the main cast. Hawley is still filming the series in Thailand, but expects to wrap this summer, keeping the show on target for a 2025 debut.
Is this Sencindiver’s biggest role yet? The American-Danish-Korean actress’ other work includes the aforementioned Apple TV+ series “Foundation” and Netflix‘s “Geek Girl.” Sencindiver started her career in Danish TV, including acclaimed series like “The Bridge” and “The Killing.” She’s also done voice work for the “Assassin Creed” video game series, including recent entries subtitled “Valhalla” and “Dawn Of Ragnorök.”
Stay tuned for an official premiere date for Hawley’s “Alien” series after it wraps production.