For a long time Alien fans have known there are at least two franchise projects coming their way, yet news coming from the Xenomorph front is sparse to say the least, though in the case of FX’s Alien series, many will be happy to hear the show will finally enter production 2023.
An Alien series had been announced as far back as 2020, after Disney had already acquired 20th Century Fox, and thus with it the sci-fi duet of Xenomorphs and Predator. At the time, Fargo creator Noah Hawley was named showrunner with Ridley Scott involved as a producer. However, since then, the project has suffered some setbacks that have pushed its planned release for this year, but with Prey being such a hit last year, Alien could also be closer to making his own landing.
In that sense, the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Gazette picked up a statement from FX executive Josh Landgraf, who confirmed the Alien series is officially in “active preproduction” and should commence its normal production schedule this year. At the moment, Hawley is still working on Fargo’s fifth season, which will keep him occupied for a while, but after that, he’ll continue working on Alien for which he’s already met with production design and camera crews.
By now, die-hard fans should be aware that there’s another ongoing project involving Alien, that being director Fede Alvarez’s (Evil Dead), though not much is known on that front either. For his part, Hawley’s Alien show is set to be a standalone story, one that doesn’t involve Ripley nor any other familiar characters besides the Xenomorphs.
With filming set to start in 2023, it’s now all but ruled out that the Alien series will come out this year, but a 2024 release could still be on the cards for this beloved sci-fi classic. The last few entries in the franchise have been 2017’s Alien: Covenant and Prometheus, both prequels helmed by Scott, so the two ongoing projects will mark the first time that the director is not in charge of the Xenomorphs.
Despite not being in the spotlight as far as cinema or television goes, Alien remains a beloved property in gaming, where it’s also found a home, and it continues to influence contemporary titles the same way Ridley Scott’s films were felt in the sci-fi genre.
Source: Sci-Fi & Fantasy Gazette