Timothy Olyphant Joins The Most Anticipated Sci-Fi Series
Timothy Olyphant will be taking on a significant role in the upcoming Noah Hawley Alien series, according to Deadline. Though the plot and casting for FX on Hulu series are very much shrouded in mystery at this point in time, it has been rumored that the Justified star will be starring opposite Sydney Chandler’s Wendy character. Deadline speculates that Olyphant will be playing a character named Kirsh, but no official statement has been made at the time of this writing.
Timothy Olyphant’s Character
If the rumors are proven to be true, then Timothy Olyphant’s Kirsh character will be a meta-human (or “synth”) with the mental capacity of a child, but the body of an adult.
It’s worth noting, however, that we’re dealing with a fair amount of speculation. Timothy Olyphant is involved in the series, and will presumably take on a lead role. But FX has not confirmed or denied Olyphant’s role as Kirsh, who will reportedly serve as a mentor to Wendy’s character, who is a hybrid.
The Cast
In addition to Timothy Olyphant and Sydney Chandler, the upcoming series will also feature Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkin, Essie Davis, Adarsh Gourav, and Kit Young. Set on a earlier timeline, Alien will take place three decades before the events that took place in the original 1979 film of the same name. In other words, the series will mark the first time that Sigourney Weaver doesn’t take on the role of Ellen Ripley, as her character wouldn’t be born yet on this timeline.
Where You’ve Seen Timothy Olyphant Before
This isn’t Timothy Olyphant’s first time starring in an FX series. Over the last 15 years, the star has made a name for himself with his lead role on the iconic long-running series, Justified, with his portrayal of Raylan Givens. He also made recurring appearances on iconic FX series like Fargo and Damages.
Filmings Set To Resume
Production for Alien was originally scheduled to begin in March 2022 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production resumed on July 19, 2023, in Thailand in the midst of the SAG-AFTRA strike because the primarily British cast was working under a separate Equity contract. When Sydney Chandler’s involvement was announced in August, production halted once again because she is part of the SAG-AFTRA union, who finally made a tentative agreement with the AMPTP just a couple of weeks ago.
Now that the strike has come to an end, Sydney Chandler, Timothy Olyphant, and the rest of the cast are expected to resume filming in January 2024. One hour of footage was filmed before the most recent production delay, meaning that a bulk of the series still needs to be captured on camera. If all goes according to plan, production should wrap sometime in July, and we’re looking at an early 2025 release date.
A Welcome Addition
It goes without question that Timothy Olyphant will be a worthy addition to the Alien cast, and it will be interesting to see him take on a role that’s less human than what we’re used to seeing him portray in the past. A character like Kirsh is definitely a far cry from Raylan Givens, so it will be interesting to see how everything plays out when Alien debuts on FX. In the meantime, we’ll have to wait for more updates as production continues, and more details about the series emerge.
