On September 3rd, FX Networks released a brief, sixteen-second teaser trailer for Alien Earth to their YouTube channel. The teaser featured little more than a shot of planet Earth and a Xenomorph. In titles, the teaser featured a projected cast, release date, and streaming platform. While not much else is known about Alien Earth, there are several exciting confirmed details we can share.
A Story Predating “Prometheus”
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In a 2022 IndieWire interview, FX Chairman and self-proclaimed Alien fan John Landgraf shared that Alien Earth would take place at the end of the 21st century. If his estimate of 70 years in the future is to be interpreted literally, that would put Alien Earth in 2092, just one year before the events of Prometheus (2012) in 2093. To date, Prometheus occurs first in the Alien timeline. Following Prometheus, the films in chronological order would be Alien: Covenant (2017) in 2104, Alien (1979) in 2122, Alien: Romulus (2024) in 2142, Aliens (1986) in 2179, Alien 3 (1992) in 2179, and Alien: Resurrection (1997) in 2381.
Despite being a prequel like Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, however, director Noah Hawley shared that he would be taking Alien Earth in a different direction. The futuristic tech of the other two prequels didn’t sit right with Hawley. In response, he turned to the beloved retro-futurism of Alien and Aliens for inspiration. As a result, fans are likely to see a futuristic aesthetic that more closely resembles that of the 70s and 80s.
In the same IndieWire interview, John Landgraf shared that Alien Earth is to be purely Hawley’s voice. While other Alien films have revolved around the megacorporation Weyland-Yutani, Alien Earth will only tangentially refer to it. Instead, the series is to take place in a territory owned by a different corporation of Hawley’s creation.
An All-Star Cast and Crew
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Alien Earth will be helmed by Noah Hawley, known for creating and writing popular TV shows like Fargo (2014-present) and Legion (2017-2019). Hawley got his start writing and producing for television series like Bones (2005-2008), The Unusuals (2009), and My Generation (2010). The series will also bring on famed Alien creator Ridley Scott as a producer. Scott filled the same position on Fede Alvarez’s Alien: Romulus, guiding rather than leading the production.
Sydney Chandler, known for her debut film role in Don’t Worry Darling (2022), was cast as Wendy, the meta-human protagonist of Alien Earth. Alongside Chandler will be Alex Lawther (Black Mirror, The Imitation Game) as a soldier named CJ, Samuel Blenkin as CEO Boy Kavalier, and Timothy Olyphant (Scream 2, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood) as Wendy’s synth mentor Kirsch. In July of 2023, it was reported that Essie Davis (The Babadook, Game of Thrones) and Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger) would join the cast. A month later, Kit Young (Shadow and Bone) was announced as the newest addition to the cast.
Several other undisclosed main roles have been cast as well. These include David Rysdahl (Fargo, Oppenheimer), Babou Ceesay (Guerilla), Jonathan Ajayi, Erana James (The Wilds), Lily Newmark (Sex Education), Diem Camille, and Adrian Edmondson (The Young Ones). In addition, Moe Bar-El and Sandra Yi Sencindiver have been confirmed as recurring roles in Alien Earth. Noah Hawley wanted to avoid bringing in legacy characters, unlike Alien: Romulus. His fresh-faced cast reflects this claim, as we won’t be seeing any returning characters from other films in the franchise.
A Rocky Production Schedule
In February 2019, horror entertainment news site Bloody Disgusting announced that a live-action Alien series could be in development. At that time, Ridley Scott, Hulu, and FX’s involvement were nothing more than rumors. Nearly two years later, on December 10, 2020, Disney confirmed the television series would be helmed by Noah Hawley. Finally, two and a half years later, John Landgraf revealed that pre-production was in full swing and production would be starting up later that year.
Principal photography had been scheduled to begin in March 2022, with filming to start soon after. However, the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in these plans, and they were forced to postpone. Filming finally began in Thailand in July 2023 but became complicated with the start of the SAG-AFTRA strike. For a short while, production with the British cast was allowed to continue under an Equity contract. However, when the need for their American cast arose, production was forced to halt only a month later. In the meantime, the crew continued to prepare sets for the eventual return to filming.
Eight months later, in April 2024, production was finally able to resume. Filming wrapped two months ago. Based on this schedule, Noah Hawley projected that Alien Earth would be released sometime in the first half of 2025. This was confirmed by the teaser trailer released last Tuesday.
Final Thoughts
It’s been an exciting time for Alien fans of late. Last month saw the release of the highly anticipated Alien: Romulus. In 2025, Noah Hawley and Ridley Scott’s television series Alien Earth will make its debut on FX and Hulu. This announcement comes as a relief following Covid-19 and SAG-AFTRA strike-related delays. Fans should look forward to a brand new take on the Alien universe and mythology, with a nostalgic return to the retro-futurism of the first two films.
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