It’s looking like the gears are finally turning on that long-gestating Alien series from Noah Hawley. It was back in 2020 when it was first announced that the plan for Alien was to revive the franchise on the small screen as a TV series at FX. It was noted at the time that Hawley, who created Fargo and Legion, was on board to create this new Alien series with original movie helmer Ridley Scott executive producing.

Now, Deadline reports that a new update has come in on Alien: The Series, and it’s going to start filming here before long. FX Boss John Landgraf shed some light on the production at TCA, revealing that Hawley has started pre-production on the project. The plan at this point is to get cameras rolling sometime in 2023.

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“Noah is currently in production on the fifth season of Fargo but he’s in active preproduction on Alien, he’s written scripts,” Landgraf said.“I think he’s meeting with his production designer in Austin this weekend, gearing up for production this year after he completes the fifth season of Fargo.”

While there’s not a lot known yet about the plot of the series, the initial report about its development described Hawley’s Alien show as the “first Alien story set on Earth.” It was also intended to blend the “timeless horror” of the first Alien with the “non-stop action” of its sequel, Aliens. The series doesn’t appear to be a complete reboot, though it’s very unlikely we’ll see any of the same characters as in other films.

Ripley Won’t Be a Part of the Series

     20th Century Fox

Landgraf has also confirmed that fans shouldn’t expect to see Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley appearing in the show. He said in a prior interview that the series takes place around the year 2092, before the events that happen in the first Alien movie. This meant that Ripley would not be featured, nor would anyone else from Alien and presumably all of the other films in the series.

“Alien takes place before Ripley,” Landgraf said of the FX show. “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.”

A release date hasn’t yet been set for the Alien series.