Summary
Alien: Earthcreator Noah Hawley has shared an unusually optimistic outlook on the future of the show. The upcoming FX series, which is a prequel to Ridley Scott’s original 1979 sci-fi horror classic, will be set on Earth in the not-too-distant future. Theensemble cast of theAlien: EarthshowincludesSugar’s Sydney Chandler,Andor’s Alex Lawther,Mary & George’s Samuel Blenkin,The Babadook’s Essie Davis,The White Tiger’s Adarsh Gourav,Shadow and Bone’s Kit Young, andJustified’s Timothy Olyphant.
The Hollywood Reporterrecently sat down for an interview with Noah Hawley. When the conversation turned towardAlien: Earth, he shared that he is very proud of how the show - which is currently in post-production - is turning out and thathe thinks “it could be the next 10 years of my life.“While he shared that some of that time estimate includes the visual effects requirements of the show, he says that for people hoping to see a show set in the universe of the iconic sci-fi movies, “I’m going to give them something special.” Read his full quote below:
It could be the next 10 years of my life, for sure. We just wrapped. I’m in post, editing away. Obviously, there’s a large visual effects component that takes time. But I couldn’t be happier with the show that we shot. If people wanted a television series based on the world of Alien, I think I’m going to give them something special.
Can Alien: Earth Really Run For A Decade?
The Show’s Longevity Depends On The Franchise’s Audience
Hawley’s hopes that the show could be a part of his life for a long time to come could indeed bear fruit, as theAlienmoviesare continuing to perform well in theaters. At the time of writing, the newest installment,Alien: Romulus, is projected to earn the second-best opening weekend of the entire nine-movie franchise, which will likely lead to it recouping its relatively conservative $80 million budget. If its box office continues to grow and becomes one of the highest-grossing installments in the franchise,it seems like more big screen sequels will not be far behind.
However, audience support forRomuluscould prove to be a double-edged sword for theAlienprequel. If the show runs for one or more seasons alongside multiple sequels playing in theaters,the market could become oversaturated with material from the franchise, resulting in diminishing returns for one or both branches. This approach seems to have already impacted other multimedia franchises, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which has pulled back from releasing too many shows and movies in the same year despite having the benefit of multiple subfranchises following different protagonists and antagonists, something that the sci-fi franchise does not have.
So far, every project in theAlienfranchise has featured the alien Xenomorph exceptPrometheus, though the 2012 prequel did feature a similar parasitic alien creature that has been referred to as the Proto-Xenomorph.
IfAlien: Earthmodels itself after theStar Trekfranchise and continues to expand the science fiction universe around the franchise’s central characters, it could potentially avoid issues with running alongside theatrical movies. However, it will be walking a tightrope, as being too similar to the movies could result in franchise fatigue, while being too different may result in them losing their core audience. Ultimately, it remains to be seen if the Hawley show garners the viewership needed to be renewed in the first place.
Alien: Earth
Cast
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.
