The Big Reveal In Alien That Inspired Noah Hawley's TV Series
Relatively little has been concretely revealed about the "Alien" TV show currently in the works for FX. Despite originally being announced just shy of three years ago during Disney's now-infamous 2020 investor presentation where the company announced a ludicrous amount of upcoming projects, we've only heard little bits here and there about this show since then. But series creator Noah Hawley ("Fargo," "Legion") has finally opened up a bit more about the show based on Ridley Scott's beloved 1979 sci-fi film of the same name.
Yesterday, I attended a panel where Hawley spoke during this year's Austin Film Festival. During the panel, the filmmaker talked a fair amount about the show, which will take place on Earth roughly 70 years in the future — (give or take) just a few years before 2017's "Alien: Covenant" in the overall timeline. In speaking about how he approached crafting a show based in an already existing franchise, Hawley revealed that there is a very specific moment in the original movie that inspired his show. Here's what he had to say about it:
"I've been asked a couple of times — and I did a 'Star Trek' project that we didn't get to make — to take something original and remake it as something original, you know what I mean? So I always look at, what did the original make me feel? And how can I recreate those feelings in the audience by telling a different story? So for me, there were a few things about 'Alien' that made it interesting. Because it's not just a monster movie, right? It is the great monster movie. But there's that moment you realize Ian Holm [who plays Ash] is an android where you go, 'Oh, this is really interesting now, because this is humanity trapped between the primordial past and the AI future, and they're both trying to kill us.'"
A new take on a long-running franchise
For those who might need a refresher, Ian Holm's Ash is just part of the crew for most of "Alien" and the audience just assumes he's human. Then, during a confrontation with Sigourney Weaver's Ripley, it's revealed that Ash was an android the whole time. It's a pretty big mind-f***, and one that makes viewers question things in a fundamental way. For as much as the Xenomorph is the big piece of iconography that sticks from the film, this moment is up there in terms of sheer impact. That being the case, it's a damn good moment to use as a touchstone for a TV show.
Ridley Scott had already been exploring the nature of AI and humanity quite a bit in "Covenant," using Michael Fassbender's dual roles as David and Walter to do so. But fear not! There will be aliens afoot, not just human-like robots. Even though the show takes place on Earth, Hawley also casually mentioned during the panel that "this show does involve creatures coming to Earth." So we've got that to look forward to, which would be a first for an official entry in the franchise. (The "Alien vs. Predator" movies are not recognized as canon.)
The cast for the show includes Sydney Chandler ("Don't Worry Darling"), Alex Lawther ("The End of the F*cking World"), Samuel Blenkin ("Black Mirror"), Essie Davis ("The Babadook"), and Adarsh Gourav ("The White Tiger"). Meanwhile, director Fede Alvarez ("Don't Breathe") has also wrapped filming on a new "Alien" movie, which is expected to arrive next year.
The "Alien" TV show is set to premiere on FX sometime in 2024.