Alien TV series is set before Ripley, will film after Fargo season 5

Earlier today, it was announced that Noah Hawley is putting together a fifth season of the Fargo television series for FX – and if that left you wondering how that would affect the Alien TV series that he’s also developing for FX and the Hulu streaming service, FX Chief John Landgraf and Deadline have an answer for you:

Despite five scripts already being in for Aliens, and Fargo only one, Hawley will shoot the latter series first as it needs to go into production this winter given its Midwest setting.

Landgraf also revealed the timeframe the Alien TV show is set in. He told Deadline,

There are some big surprises in store for the audience. Alien takes place before Ripley. It’s the first story that takes place in the Alien franchise on Earth. So, it takes place on our planet. Right near the end of this century we’re in — so 70-odd years from now. Ripley won’t be a part of it or any of the other characters of Alien other than the alien itself.”

Being set in the late 2090s would place this show right in between the events of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, if they’re paying attention to that sort of thing. But it won’t be the first project to put Xenomorphs on Earth well before Ripley encountered them, because the Alien vs. Predator movies already did that.

Landgraf continued,

Noah has this incredible ability, and I think you’ve seen it with Fargo, to both find a way of being faithful, showing fidelity to an original creation like a Coen brothers’ movie, or in this case, Ridley Scott’s and James Cameron’s follow-up, Aliens, but also to bring something new to the table that represents extension and reinvention of a franchise at the same time.”

The folks over at AVP Galaxy had heard that the Alien series would be heading into production in March, but if that was the plan at one time, the plan has obviously changed.