UPDATE: Its working title is “Alien: Neverland.” Here are first plot details:
In ALIEN: Neverland we are introduced to the characters on Earth set 30 years prior to Ridley Scott's 1979 Alien film. Characters are caught in a conflict with the beginning of AI intelligence and the competition among developers and users.
EARLIER: Many have been wondering what is going on with Noah Hawley’s “Alien” series. It was greenlit four years ago, but there have been constant delays, mostly due to COVID, recasting and last year’s strikes.
What we know about the series is that it’s a prequel to Ridley Scott‘s 1979 original and that it’s supposed to premiere sometime in 2025 on FX/Hulu. Curently shooting in Thailand, Hawley has remained mum about the whole thing.
Guesting on the “Crew Call” podcast, Hawley is teasing that FX has really liked what they’ve seen of Hawley’s creation, so much so that “their hope is to put a season two as close to season one as possible.” Hawley additionally mentions that Ridley Scott is not creatively involved in the show. “In the four years it’s taken me to launch this show, he’s made how many movies?”
However, Hawley does mention something he told Scott while preparing for the series. “What I said to Ridley is ‘I’m adapting your movie,'” Hawley continued. “I had to make a decision — retro futurism or “Prometheus”? And I chose retro-futurism. When I close my eyes and you say “Alien” to me, I see that green Ascii text. You know, I hear that sound. I see that keyboard with the weird Egyptian ruins on it. I see those hallways.”
Hawley had already confirmed that his show would be more influenced by Scott’s “Alien” and Cameron’s “Aliens” than “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant.” The show is said to be a “story of humanity trapped between its primordial, parasitic past and the A.I. future, and they’re both trying to kill us, so there’s nowhere to go.”
Set 70 years before “Alien,” Hawley’s series focuses on the emergence of the franchise’s corporate juggernaut, Weyland-Yultani Corp. There are rumors of the story tackling the Xenomorph having been initially created as a bioweapon.
Hawley has completed production, but production is supposed to resume through July for additional VFX work. It’s set to star Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Adarsh Gourav and Samuel Blenkin.
The film has just picked up the audience award at the London Film Festival, adding to a collection that already includes audience prizes at Toronto, San Sebastián, Busan, Sydney and Middleburg.