Well, it finally happened. After their FX merger, Disney has embraced Ridley Scott’s beloved and esoteric Alien series. During today’s investor presentation, John Landgraf announced that FX was in the process of creating an Alien series from Legion showrunner Noah Hawley alongside original creator Scott.
https://twitter.com/Disney/status/1337170752961974273
While information about the series is slim, Landgraf did say that it would combine the horror of the 1979 original with the non-stop action of James Cameron‘s sequel, Aliens. Hawley will take on executive producer and showrunner duties. Most interestingly, this series will take place on Earth in the “near future” which might upset the timeline of the franchise. Although Landgraf implied this will be the first story on Earth, that honor actually goes to AVP. So we can probably assume that film and its sequel are no longer canon. (If they ever were, to be honest.)
Scott has reignited and reimagined the Alien franchise over the last decade with Prometheus and Covenant. How this will fit in is yet to be seen. But with the trend for direct sequels to original films, this could follow that route. We’re not saying Sigorney Weaver should lead the show… but Sigorney Weaver should lead the show. Anyway, for now all we have are theories.
Disney, Fox
Hawley and Scott have both been causing televisual chaos of late so this is an interesting collaboration. Scott was most recently behind the sprawling and strange sci-fi Raised by Wolves. Hawley is best known for his surreal superhero show Legion--which told an X-Men-centric story in the pre-Disney Fox world–and his critically acclaimed Fargo adaptation. The pairing makes a lot of sense and will likely get fans excited. Alien is a beloved sci-fi film series so this is a super smart move. Now whether they’ll commit to the practical effects to pull it off is another question…
Header Image: Fox, Disney