The Alien franchise is set to expand at Hulu. Showrunner Noah Hawley (Fargo) reveals new details on the upcoming reinvention of the classic 1979 sci-fi horror flick.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new series will not feature any characters from the flagship series, but will instead be a prequel that takes place “before Ripley”.
FX chief John Landgraf confirmed that the next season of Fargo will film before the Alien series shoots. “We need to shoot Fargo this winter, so we’ll be shooting Fargo before Alien though we have more scripts for Alien than Fargo,” Landgraf told The Hollywood Reporter. “Noah is writing both right now.”
Landgraf also confirmed that the story of the new series will be a mix of previously revealed and new elements, but it will not feature any of the original characters like Ellen Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver in the original franchise). Landgraf also revealed that the story will take place 70 years before the events of the first film on Earth.
“All I can tell you is Ripley won’t be a part of it, and neither will any other characters — other than the alien itself,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “Noah has an incredible ability to both find a way of being faithful and showing fidelity to an original creation, like to the Coen Brothers [with Fargo] or to Ridley Scott’s movie and James Cameron’s follow up Aliens, but also to bring something new that represents both an extension and reinvention of a franchise at the same time. He’s done a masterful job with Alien as he did with Fargo. There are some big surprises in store for the audience”
Landgraf also expressed that he hoped the series feels faithful to the original while also being a reinvention of the franchise.
The original Alien film was released back in 1979 set on a space expedition that is tormented by a bloodthirsty alien stowaway. The film was directed by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner). The series attempted to revitalize itself with the 2012 film, Prometheus, and its sequel, Alien: Covenant.
Alien will air on FX, and it does not have an announced release.