The Alien TV series is gestating…and growing…
Ridley Scott–the filmmaker behind the 1979 horror-s/f classic Alien–had some good news for fans this week regarding the planned FX adaptation of the iconic film, according to a report on Variety.
The pilot is now being written, Scott said, and plans call for the series to run from eight to 10 hours. That likely means from eight to 10 hour-long episodes, but that still remains to be confirmed.
The Alien series on FX–announced here in Horror News Network about a year ago–has Noah Hawley (Legion, Fargo) on board as writer and showrunner, with Scott acting as producer.
John Landgraf, president of FX Network, said the series will probably debut sometime in 2023, allowing the creative team to “take whatever time it takes” to get it right. Landgraf added that Hawley is “very grounded” in the Alien legacy, but fans will see “some inventiveness and originality that is uniquely Noah.”
One of the primary differences in the TV series, Hawley stressed, is that Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley character will not appear. The series, he said, “is not a Ripley story. She’s one of the great characters of all time, but I think her story has been told pretty perfectly, and I don’t want to mess with it.”
The original Alien–from director Scott and screenwriter Dan O’Bannon–follows the crew of the space tug Nostromo, who have a violent encounter with the galaxy’s meanest alien. Alien–which gave birth to a media franchise that includes movies, novels, comic books, video games and countless collectibles–grossed more than $106 million on an $11-million budget.
Keep reading Horror News Network for the latest on the Alien series on FX.
