Can Fargo Director Save Alien TV Show From Ridley Scott’s Mistakes?

Summary:

• Along with the upcoming Alien: Romulus movie, a new TV show will soon become part of the Alien franchise
• However, the fact that it will be a prequel worries fans, given previous failed attempts to reveal the origin of the Xenomorph
• Noah Hawley, who is in charge of the project, reassured fans that the series will return to the atmosphere of the original films

Fede Álvarez, the director of Alien: Romulus, scheduled for release on August 16, 2024, has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, as his film could be a long overdue redemption for the sci-fi horror franchise, or the final nail in its coffin.

However, it is not the only upcoming project set in the Alien universe, as a prequel TV series under the direction of Noah Hawley, best known as the creator of the Fargo TV series, is also steadily approaching its release.

But the fact that the show will be a prequel has been on the minds of fans for quite some time now, as many of them are still not over how underwhelming the previous attempts to delve into the origins of the Xenomorphs, Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017), turned out to be.

Noah Hawley Knows What Made The Alien Movies Great

In a recent interview with KCRW, Hawley did his best to reassure worried fans, highlighting the ideas he believes are at the core of the franchise and acknowledging the mistakes made by Ridley Scott 's prequels.

He explained that what made the original films so unique was that they were perfectly balanced between two seemingly incompatible themes: the primal fear of flesh-hungry predators and dark futuristic elements such as rogue androids and evil corporations.

The filmmaker then went on to say that by making the Xenomorph "a bioweapon created half an hour ago" instead of the product of millions of years of evolution, the prequels destroyed the mystery behind it and made the monster far less frightening.

The TV Show Will Bring Back Retro-Futurism

In addition, the fact that the technology in those films was somehow more advanced than in the originals (despite being set earlier in time) also severely damaged the atmosphere of the prequels.

With his TV series, Hawley will return to the franchise's roots by distancing himself from Ridley Scott's films and bringing back the signature retro-futurism without any holograms or "beautiful Apple Store technology."

Fans are keeping their fingers crossed, because right now Noah Hawley is saying all the right things about how the Alien franchise should feel, and along with his good track record in the TV field, he seems like the perfect man for the job.

The production of the show was put on hold due to the Hollywood strikes in 2023, but now it is expected to resume shooting soon, although no official release date has been announced yet.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Reddit