The Alien franchise is set to continue on the small screen with an “FX on Hulu” TV series called Alien: Earth, from Fargo creator Noah Hawley, which is aiming for a Summer 2025 premiere. While we wait to hear a specific premiere date for the show, FX has partnered with IGN to put together “a tongue-in-cheek Earth Day public service announcement,” which can be seen in the embed above. On the IGN social media accounts, they’ll also be rolling out a series of short videos “chronicling the gestation of a creature in what appeared to be a controlled lab setting.”
One of the first things we heard about the Alien TV series – and one of the most surprising things about it – is that it will be set on Earth (thus the title), a couple of decades before the events of the first movie. FX chairman John Landgraf has said the show will take place “right near the end of this century,” which would put it “a few years before Prometheus,” which Hawley has previously said he has chosen not to acknowledge. But, according to IGN, the setting is 2120, which is just a couple of years before Alien. Hawley decided to set the show on Earth because “The alien stories are always trapped… Trapped in a prison, trapped in a space ship. I thought it would be interesting to open it up a little bit so that the stakes of ‘What happens if you can’t contain it?’ are more immediate.“ Variety noted that the Alien TV series will “explore the formation of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation and the race to create android life.”
Alien: Earth has the following synopsis: When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat. During the time the story takes place, five corporations – Prodigy, Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic and Threshold – wield the power of nations, and proprietary advancements in technology provide the promise of a new tomorrow.
Sydney Chandler’s Alien: Earth character is the meta-human Wendy, who has the body of an adult, but the brain and consciousness of a child. Her co-stars include Essie Davis (The Babadook) as Dame Silvia, Alex Lawther (The End of the F*cking World) as a soldier named CJ, Samuel Blenkin (Black Mirror) as a CEO named Boy Kavalier, Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger) as a character named Slightly, Kit Young (Shadow and Bone) as a character called Tootles, and Timothy Olyphant (Justified) Kirsh, a synth who acts as a mentor and trainer for Wendy. Babou Ceesay (Guerrilla), Jonathan Ajayi (Wonder Woman 1984), Erana James (The Wilds), Lily Newmark (Sex Education), Diêm Camille (Washington Black), Adrian Edmondson (The Young Ones), Moe Bar-El (The Peripheral), and David Rysdahl (Fargo season 5) are in the cast as well, but no details have been revealed about their characters. Sandra Yi Sencindiver of Foundation will be playing “a senior member of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation” in multiple episodes, and her role could be expanded as the series continues.
Richa Moorjani (Never Have I Ever), Karen Aldridge (Severance), Enzo Cilenti (Game of Thrones), Max Rinehart (Unforgotten), Amir Boutrous (The Crown), newcomer Victoria Masoma, Tom Moya (Midsomer Murders), Andy Yu (Mid-Love Crisis), Michael Smiley (Bad Sisters), Jamie Bisping (Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power), and Tanapol Chuksrida (The Green Deal) have guest roles.
Are you looking forward to Alien: Earth? Check out the Earth Day teaser, then let us know by leaving a comment below.
