MOVIE NEWS – FX’s Alien TV series will take place on Earth some 30 years before Ripley fights the xenomorph.

FX’s upcoming Alien series will take place long before Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, ever fought the xenomorph. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at a Television Critics Association press conference, FX’s John Landgraf revealed a few more details about the Alien series, including that the story will be set around 2092.

“Alien [series] takes place before Ripley.”

“It’s the first story in the ‘Alien’ franchise that takes place on Earth. It takes place on our planet, near the end of this century we’re currently in – 70-odd years from now. All I can tell you is Ripley won’t be a part of it, and neither will any other characters – other than the alien itself.”

For context, the 1979 groundbreaking sci-fi story Alien is set in 2122, which means FX and Fargo writer Noah Hawley’s Alien series will take place roughly thirty years before Ripley throws the interstellar monster into space. One of the biggest concerns among fans is that the series will damage the franchise’s legacy, but Landgraf tried to allay those concerns, praising Hawley for his ability to pay homage while creating something new and fresh, as he did with Fargo.

“Noah has an incredible ability to both find a way of being faithful and showing fidelity to an original creation, like to the Coen Brothers [with Fargo] or to Ridley Scott’s movie and James Cameron’s follow up ‘Aliens,’ but also to bring something new that represents both an extension and reinvention of a franchise at the same time. He’s done a masterful job with ‘Alien’ as he did with ‘Fargo.'”

“There are some big surprises in store for the audience.”

With original Alien director Ridley Scott set to produce the series, Landgraf also revealed that by setting the story on Earth – which is entirely new to the world of Alien – , the series would have to find the right balance between something old and something new.

“I hope [the audience] will feel like it’s faithful to the franchise they love but also a bold and original reinvention of that franchise. Setting it on Earth is really interesting. We have to think forward about the future of the planet in terms of the environment, governance, technology and create and design a version of the planet in the future … Noah wants to do that in a distinctive and original way.”

According to reports, filming on the FX Alien TV series will begin towards the end of 2022 and hopefully air sometime in 2023.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter