Alien Fans Are Not Happy With Series Release
If you’re excited about finally getting to watch the upcoming Alien series, then don’t shoot the messenger, because you’re going to have to wait over a year for a proper release, according to The Wrap. But by the sounds of it, we’re going to be witnessing some of Noah Hawley’s best work upon its early 2025 premiere. As of this writing, only one hour of the show has been filmed, meaning the remaining seven hours will pick up production sometime in January, and in an ideal world, filming will conclude sometime in June.
Noah Hawley’s Alien Series Isn’t Expected Until 2025
Writer and Director Noah Hawley stated that although he would have loved to have gotten the Alien series out sooner, there were a number of production issues that simply could not be circumvented.
The first obstacle that had to be acknowledged came in the form of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed production from March 2022 until July 2023. At this point in time, we’ve heard so many similar reports about several other series and movies, and it’s just a reality that we have to accept.
The Actors Strike Delayed Production
But post-pandemic, the Alien series commenced production, and filming began in Thailand in July 2023. At this time, lead actress Sydney Chandler was not needed for the first hour of production. Since a majority of the British cast works under an Equity contract and not under the SAG-AFTRA umbrella, the first hour was able to be filmed without Chandler.
In other words, Chandler’s involvement with the Alien series would lead to a production halt in late August because she’s part of the SAG-AFTRA union, which had been on strike all summer. Now that the SAG-AFTRA union has reached a tentative agreement with the AMPTP this past week, we can all hope that we won’t see any more production delays. It’s worth noting, however, that the SAG-AFTRA board needs to approve the deal this coming weekend.
The Series Will Premiere On Hulu
Hawley has stated that if everything falls in place without further delays, the Alien series that he’s writing and directing will pick up production this coming January, and film between February and July. If this timeline holds true, it’s safe to say that the series will see its FX on Hulu premiere sometime within the first half of 2025. We don’t have an exact premiere date at the time of this writing, but if every single moving part lines up, the current projection seems promising.
The Series Is A Prequel Story
The Alien Series will serve as a prequel to the original 1979 film of the same name, and mark the first time in franchise history that Ellen Ripley is not a featured character because she wasn’t born yet on this timeline. Set 70 years before the original movie, the Ridley Scott-produced series will also be the first story within the Alien universe that’s set on planet Earth.
Alien: Romulus Premieres August 2024
As disappointing as the updated release schedule for the Alien series may be for die-hard fans, the timing actually couldn’t be better. Not only are we going to further explore and expand upon the canon that was established in 1979, Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus is currently slated for an August 16, 2024 release. Though it’s been confirmed that the upcoming movie will be unconnected to previous films in the franchise, it’s still another Ridley Scott production that will give us the horrific Xenomorphic violence that we all so desperately crave.
