One of the big sci-fi properties that Disney inherited in their acquisition of 20th Century Fox was that of Alien. The studio has been mum on what to do with the sci-fi horror series though, which perhaps hasn’t been helped by the franchise not fitting Disney’s family-friendly image and the last few movies turning out pretty terrible.
However, at last night’s Disney Investor Presentation though (as reported by CNet), the studio finally unveiled their first plans for the franchise. And it appears to be tackling both of those aforementioned problems head-on, firstly by moving away from the connection with the recent movies and rather going for a new TV series set in the Alien world instead. It’s a smart move for Disney considering how this has worked for them with Star Wars and The Mandalorian. And it gets even smarter as Legion and Fargo creator Noah Hawley will be taking the reins here. Hawley had previously revealed that he had been developing an Alien TV series but it looked dead after the Disney/Fox merger, now it’s back to bursting of chests again.
Hawley will direct the show as well as acting exec producer. If FX’s “advanced negotiations” conclude well, Hawley will also be working with franchise creator Ridley Scott – who will join as exec producer – to ensure the show remains faithful to the Alien lore. Though you could argue the franchise has never remained faithful to itself anyway under Scott’s guidance.
The series will reportedly be set on Earth and occur “not too far into our future” which could also possibly hint at this series serving as some form of prequel to the movie and further removing itself from the direction the films went in.
We’re moving quickly to bring audiences the first television series based on one of the greatest science fiction horror classics ever made.
…by blending both the timeless horror of the first ‘Alien’ film with the non-stop action of the second, it’s going to be a scary thrill ride that will blow people back in their seats.
Disney is also releasing this series via both FX and Hulu, Disney’s other streaming service, so there is no need to worry about it trying to play family-friendly. That should allow them to ramp up both the horror and the violence to give us that proper Alien terror that fans have been longing for. Given how poorly the last few movies with Scott have turned out, my hopes are not too high for this one, but with Hawley at the helm and with a more focused story, better characters, and time to build up a plot and tension, an Alien TV series could really work for the franchise.
Disney did not reveal any release dates for the project just yet and it’s not clear how far along in development this series is, so we may only get a chance to see our beloved Xenomorphs again in a few years time.
Last Updated: December 12, 2020
