Is the Beast really cooked? Showrunner Noah Hawley has expressed his goal with his Alien TV series as being a means to remystify the Alien franchise as a whole and its creature - the Xenomorph. As many fans have expressed and debated for years, much of the mystery surrounding the Alien itself has been subdued or lost with the emphasis on the Beast having moved away from a Perfect Organism to more of Colonial Marine canon fodder.
Ridley Scott attempted to add new mystery to the Alien and its origins with his prequel films Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, but with Disney's acquisition of the franchise it appears the goal is to reinvent the Alien in a way a "modern" audience will appreciate. Hawley alluded to the goal of creating a fast-paced story, contrary to the slow-burn suspense of the original film.
Last month Noah Hawley introduced a showing of Alien to the Austin Film Society and during the introduction, Hawley touched on what his plans are with the Alien TV series and how he hopes to remystify the entire franchise and the iconic Xenomorph:
When FX asked me if I was interested in adapting what is now a franchise, but for me was always this film, I had to think about what it was about the movie that inspired originally and would I be able to create that for an audience. Of course, you can only see Alien for the first time once and there’s something so unpredictable to the creature at the heart of it, and so disturbing about it, that after 6 movies you think “well, maybe there’s no mystery left to it.” What’s interesting to me is to try to remystify the franchise. The creature, the story, for a modern audience in the way that my 15-year-old won’t think is slow, is the requirement.
Noah Hawley also mentioned that the Alien series for FX begins filming this summer and is currently eyeing a late 2024 release date window, but no official dates were provided.
Ridley Scott acts as executive producer on the series, so we expect his influence may keep his original intentions for the Xenomorph's origins intact.
Thanks to AvPGalaxy for the news!
If you're a fan of Alien / Prometheus and would like to discuss Alien: Covenant and its upcoming sequel with other like-minded fans, be sure to join in our Alien: Covenant forum! Ranked the #1 Prometheus forum back in 2012 and reigning as the web's top Alien: Covenant fan site, it's a great place to discuss the upcoming Prometheus sequels, dissect details from every trailer and engage with other fans just like you.
The future of Alien
The Alien franchise is taking a dramatic turn at 20th Century Studios, now owned by Disney. Currently there are two major Alien projects in development - a new Alien TV series by Noah Hawley and a new, stand-alone Alien movie being directed by Fede Alvarez. Both of which will be taking the franchise in a new direction - moving away from the Alien prequel direction Ridley Scott set out to pursue back in 2012.
Treat yourself to some Alien Merchandise!
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