The Alien franchise is set to continue on the small screen with an “FX on Hulu” TV series from Fargo creator Noah Hawley, a show that began filming last year, then had to halt production after a month due to the actors strike. It’s been a few months since we’ve heard any news about this project, as director Fede Alvarez’s film Alien: Romulus (which is set to reach theatres on August 16th) has been getting all of the attention, but now Deadline has confirmed that filming has resumed in Thailand – and Sandra Yi Sencindiver of Foundation has joined the cast to play “a senior member of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation” in multiple episodes. “We hear there’s scope for the character to grow in future seasons.”
One of the first things we heard about the Alien TV series – and one of the most surprising things about it – is that it will actually be set on Earth, a couple decades before the events of the first movie. FX chairman John Landgraf has said the show will take place “right near the end of this century.” According to Deadline, the setting puts it “a few years before Prometheus,” which Hawley has previously said he has chosen not to acknowledge. Hawley decided to set the show on Earth because “The alien stories are always trapped… Trapped in a prison, trapped in a space ship. I thought it would be interesting to open it up a little bit so that the stakes of ‘What happens if you can’t contain it?’ are more immediate.“
Hawley’s Alien TV series stars Sydney Chandler (Pistol) as the meta-human Wendy, who has the body of an adult, but the brain and consciousness of a child; Essie Davis (The Babadook) as Dame Silvia, Alex Lawther (The End of the F*cking World) as a soldier named CJ, Samuel Blenkin (Black Mirror) as a CEO named Boy Kavalier, Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger) as a character named Slightly, Kit Young (Shadow and Bone) as a character called Tootles, and Timothy Olyphant (Justified), who is said to be playing Kirsh, a synth who acts as a mentor and trainer for Wendy.
Also in the cast are Babou Ceesay (Guerrilla), Jonathan Ajayi (Wonder Woman 1984), Erana James (The Wilds), Lily Newmark (Sex Education), Diêm Camille (Washington Black), Adrian Edmondson (The Young Ones), Moe Bar-El (The Peripheral), and David Rysdahl, who worked with Hawley on Fargo season 5.
The Alien TV series is believed to have an eight episode first season. The show is aiming for a 2025 premiere. Ridley Scott is producing the series through his Scott Free banner. Here’s a list of everything we know about the Alien TV series so far.
Are you looking forward to the Alien TV series? What do you think of Sandra Yi Sencindiver joining the cast as a Weyland-Yutani exec? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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