(Left) Peter Dinklage stars in ‘Roofman’. Photo: Paramount Pictures. (Right) FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Photo: FX and Hulu.
Preview:
Peter Dinklage will be part of the cast for ‘Alien: Earth’s second season.
Noah Hawley created the show.
The new season will start shooting next month in London.
With ‘Alien: Earth’, the TV spin-off of the xenomorph-heavy sci-fi movie franchise, Noah Hawley proved he has a knack for creating shows based on movies, following his work on ‘Fargo’.
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Sydney Chandler as Wendy. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
The first season kicked off with the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-landing on Earth, and introduced us to Wendy (Chandler), among the first group of a new breed of synthetic humans who make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.
As the finale dawned, Wendy was more in control of her abilities, but the wider story included the various powerful corporations battling it out for control of the new species that the ship brought to our world.
Hawley and co. will kick off filming the new season next month at London’s Pinewood Studios (where the 1979 original ‘Alien’ was shot), a switch from the first run of episodes’ Thailand locations.
Where else can we see Peter Dinklage?
Dinklage has roles in the movies ‘Wicker’ (which has yet to lock in a release date) and ‘Idiots’, which will be on cinema screens on August 28.
Peter Dinklage at the San Diego Comic-Con panel for ‘The Toxic Avenger’, in July 2025.
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Sydney Chandler as Wendy. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
Preview:
‘Alien: Earth’ will return for a second season.
Creator Noah Hawley has signed a new deal with FX.
The new season will start shooting next year.
As one of the biggest, buzziest TV hits of the year, you might have expected an announcement about a second season of Noah Hawley’s ‘Alien: Earth’ to happen a little sooner.
Still, cable channel FX is making sure that Hawley and his show is not left in limbo long, locking the creator down to a rich new development deal and flashing the greenlight for a new season of the series.
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Here’s what Hawley had to say on the new development:
“I’m thrilled that this expanded deal opens the door to new opportunities across all of Disney Entertainment Television. FX has always supported bold, character-driven storytelling. From the very beginning with ‘Fargo,’ they’ve encouraged me to take creative risks and follow the story wherever it leads. I’m grateful to continue exploring the world of ‘Alien: Earth’ alongside our partners, cast, and crew as we begin the next chapter.”
Related Article: TV Review: ‘Alien: Earth’
What’s the story of ‘Alien: Earth’?
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Babou Ceesay as Morrow. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
Set before the events of the original 1979 ‘Alien’ movie, ‘Alien: Earth’ follows what happens when a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, putting a mysterious young woman (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers into a situation and a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.
As for what will happen in the second season? Unlike ‘Fargo’, which tends to be an anthology series with loose connections, Hawley has said that ‘Alien: Earth’ will continue to follow the story of Chandler’s Wendy who (spoiler alert in case you’ve yet to watch the first run of episodes) ended up overtaking the Prodigy facility where her hybrid body was created, and bonding with one of the Xenomorphs.
The season left plenty of dangling questions to be answered about the situation, so we’re happy Hawley and his team will get the chance to answer them.
When can we expect the second season of ‘Alien: Earth’?
That’s the disappointing part of the news: the new season doesn’t kick off shooting until next year –– with production moving to London after the first shot in Thailand –– so we wouldn’t expect to see the show return to our screens until 2027 at the earliest.
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Sydney Chandler as Wendy. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
Director Fede Álvarez at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
Preview:
Director Fede Álvarez is stepping away from the ‘Alien: Romulus’ sequel.
But he will produce the movie with franchise overseer Ridley Scott.
The hunt is on for a new director.
The ‘Alien’ franchise is enjoying a real resurgence of late –– ‘Alien: Earth’ is getting good reviews and solid viewing figures on Hulu, while last year’s ‘Alien: Romulus’ did more than $350 million at the worldwide box office.
You might think, then, that ‘Romulus’ co-writer/director Fede Álvarez would be eager to jump back in for the sequel to that movie. Yet despite previously indicating so, and talking up kicking off pre-production, he’s now stepping away, moving to simply produce the next outing.
“We just finished the script, actually, for a sequel for ‘Romulus’. But I’m gonna pass the torch on this one as director. I’m going to produce it, with Ridley Scott, we’re gonna produce it together and we’re right now trying to find a new filmmaker to come in. I think that’s usually what has happened, except for Ridley, filmmakers come, you make one and you pass the baton to the next one. But we wrote the story because we really love what we started with ‘Romulus’ and we want to continue the story. We love the story and now we just want to find a director that really wants to go for the jugular.”
‘Romulus’ was the story of a group of young space colonists who are looking for a way off the mining colony moon they call home.
While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, they come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
As for the sequel’s story, those details are being kept inside a Facehugger’s egg for now. But talking to The Hollywood Reporter in October last year, 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell had this to say:
“We know there’s going to be aliens. We know there’s going to be great horror set pieces. But I fell in love with both of them [Álvarez and co-writer Rodo Sayagues, who have crafted the story for the next movie] and I want to see what their story is.”
What else is Fede Álvarez working on?
(Right) Director Fede Álvarez at the San Diego Comic-Con 2024 ‘Alien: Romulus’ panel. Photo: Disney.
Álvarez is one of those filmmakers who always has something in development. Right now, he has the likes of video game adaptation ‘Dante’s Inferno’ bubbling away alongside ‘Incognito’, about a super-villain in the witness protection programme.
He admitted to TooFab that he had something in mind to make next, but is keeping specifics close to his chest:
“I want to work on a personal project that me and my co-writer, we’ve been keeping on the back burner for a while and we feel it’s the right time to go and work on an original. But I can’t tell you anything about it.”
Spoilsport!
When will the ‘Alien: Romulus’ sequel be on screens?
Since it’s now in a holding pattern awaiting a new director, don’t expect to learn a release date for the currently untitled sequel until a team is in place.
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Sydney Chandler as Wendy. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
‘Alien: Earth’ receives 9 out of 10 stars.
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Launching on FX and Hulu on August 12 with the first two episodes (six more debut once per week after that), ‘Alien: Earth’ is the latest attempt to get more mileage out of the venerable sci-fi/horror franchise birthed by writers Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett, alongside director Ridley Scott back in 1979 with ‘Alien’.
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Alex Lawther as Hermit. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
The ‘Alien’ franchise is one that can be truly hard to get a handle on. Following Ridley Scott’s genre-busting mash-up of sci-fi and haunted house movies in 1979, James Cameron blew the doors off the movie series with the superlative ‘Aliens’ in 1986, but since then it has been on something of a slippery slope –– David Fincher’s divisive ‘Alien³’ has its defenders, but even Scott’s more recent revisitation of the xenomorph universe headed into ponderous pretension.
Fede Alvarez’ 2024 effort ‘Alien: Romulus’ had better luck, but even that was derided for one or two choices (not the least of which was the dreadful application of a classic ‘Aliens’ line).
Now, here comes Noah Hawley, who has worked wonders mining established source material for new TV output, including Marvel’s ‘Legion’ and especially ‘Fargo’, which has evoked the Coen brothers’ movie while existing as its own beast.
He pulls off a similar trick here, respecting what has come before (or, er since this is a prequel, what will come after) with intensity, style and a healthy dose of humanity amongst the creature chaos.
Script and Direction
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
Hawley, leading an accomplished writing team that has worked on shows including ‘WandaVision’ and his own ‘Fargo’, treads the line between evoking what has gone before –– including thematically –– and invention, deepening and layering the story.
The ‘Alien’ franchise is ripe with subtext beyond the xenomorphs, and Hawley and his team take full advantage of the stories’ exploration of artificial intelligence and giant corporations (both could not be timelier).
And TV running times mean there is much more scope to take time with the characters, the initial beats of the first episode graceful and almost operatic, fully tuned into the working class “space-trucker” vibe of the original movie. It’s always compelling and never dull, interspersed with dynamic moments of horror as a deep-space vessel’s crew discovers that transporting weird creatures never works out in humanity’s favor.
There is also a welcome, skillful approach to exposition, bringing those who might not be familiar with the storylines up to speed.
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Adarsh Gourav as Slightly. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
Hawley also directs the first episode (Dana Gonzales handles the second and the lion’s share of the season), kicking things off with real style and epic feel for when the space ship comes roaring back to Earth, out of control.
The horror sequences of people being stalked by creatures (xenomorphs and some lethal new friends) really work well, delivering intensity while not losing focus on the performances.
Cast and Performances
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Essie Davis as Dame Sylvia. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
Sydney Chandler, as Wendy a “Hybrid” (a human consciousness transferred into a synthetic body) is our main way in as the show starts, and Chandler brings a healthy blend of emotion and levity to the show. She’s compelling and watchable, and leads her ragtag band of fellow “Lost Boys” (and girls –– ‘Peter Pan’ is another thematic touchstone here) as they are drawn into the wider story, including a link to her past.
Alex Lawther as Hermit, a military medic working off his contract with the sprawling, powerful Prodigy corporation (one of franchise stalwart Weyland-Yutani’s big competitors and the funding/science behind the programme that created Wendy), gives a soulful, nuanced performance.
On the Prodigy front, company founder and resident genius/trillionaire Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) is also good value, a sort of Mark Zuckerberg type who is endlessly frustrated that no-one is on his level.
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured: Babou Ceesay as Morrow. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
Elsewhere, Babou Ceesay is great as Morrow, the cyborg security chief of the crashing spaceship, whose concerns once things get out of hand are certainly not the safety of his crewmates, and he puts you in mind of Ian Holm‘s Ash from the original movie.
While what the production has done to Timothy Olyphant’s normally lustrous locks might be more horrifying than being stalked by a slavering beast, he’s typically excellent as the synth scientist at Prodigy who has become a father figure to Wendy.
Final Thoughts
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’. Pictured (L to R): Samuel Blenkin as Boy Kavalier, Ade Edmondson as Atom Eins. Photo: Patrick Brown/FX.
Chalk another win up to Hawley’s list of TV shows you thought might not work, as ‘Alien: Earth’, at least on the basis of its initial episodes, is a triumph. Dread drips into emotion, the effects are top notch and the writer/director has mined something special here.
It’s not hyperbolic to suggest that this is a better extension of the ‘Alien’ universe than many previous attempts. Perhaps the xenomorphs are better off on the small screen for now.
Be careful watching it with friends, though –– everyone will hear you scream.
What’s the plot of ‘Alien: Earth’?
When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.
Chris Pine plays Edgin in ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ from Paramount Pictures and eOne.
Preview:
Chris Pine is to lead ‘Nowhere Fast.’
He’ll play a small-time crook in the new thriller.
‘Fargo’ boss Noah Hawley is writing and directing the movie.
Chris Pine, it would appear loves a good Texas-set crime thriller where characters get in over their heads in a dangerous situation.
He played a desperate rancher-turned-bank robber in 2016’s ‘Hell or High Water’ and, per Variety, now he’s landed the lead role of a small-time crook in new thriller ‘Nowhere Fast.’
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And there are further connections beyond the locale and the (relatively) recent time period –– while the 2016 effort was scripted by Taylor Sheridan, currently the overlord of rugged television thanks to his ever-expanding ‘Yellowstone’ franchise and other projects, this new film comes via Noah Hawley, no stranger to small screen success himself thanks to ‘Fargo’ and ‘Legion.’
And ‘Nowhere Fast’ certainly feels fairly locked into Pine’s wheelhouse –– while he has done some bigger movies, he’s often found in smaller titles that give him a chance to stretch himself.
Chris Pine in ‘Poolman’. Photo: Vertical Entertainment.
With Hawley writing and aiming to direct, the film will follow a criminal who inadvertently kills the nephew of his boss in Texas.
Sounds to us like Pine will be a man with a decent core who has turn to crime and ends up confronting, the arrogant, violent spawn of his overseer. Isn’t that usually how these things end up going? Plus he might try to get away, but the movie’s title suggest he won’t have too much luck.
Hawley will also produce via his 26 Keys Productions with the funding coming from 30West, which financed Pine’s ‘The Contractor,’ looking to co-represent the U.S. rights for ‘Nowhere Fast’ alongside CAA Media Finance. AGC International, the international sales arm of independent studio AGC Studios, will represent the foreign rights.
What else is Chris Pine attached to?
Chris Pine in 2009’s ‘Star Trek’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Pine has been somewhat quiet in the last year –– his only efforts recently have been a BMW ad and narration duties on an upcoming short about birds.
Before that he impressed as the seemingly benevolent-but-secretly-scheming king in Disney’s ‘Wish’ (which didn’t exactly set the box office aflame) and also tried his hand at writing and directing himself in the poorly-received ‘Poolman.’
Currently, the actor is at work on a new drama called ‘The Kidnapping of Arabella’ about an Italian woman named Holly who is convinced she’s the wrong version of herself until meeting a 7-year-old girl changes her perspective. That one is written and directed by Carolina Cavalli.
But perhaps what most fans want to know is whether Pine will finally return alongside his castmates for another ‘Star Trek’ movie set in the “Kelvin Timeline” established by J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot of the classic sci-fi show in big screen form.
When asked by Business Insider about the status of it, Pine had this to say:
“I honestly don’t know. There was something in the news of a new writer coming on board. I thought there was already a script, but I guess I was wrong, or they decided to pivot. As it’s always been with ‘Trek,’ I just wait and see.”
The fourth ‘Trek’ outing with Pine and co. is listed as in pre-production on the IMDb, but like them, we’ll have to see if that pans out into an actual movie.
You might wonder how Hawley has time for a movie project given how much TV work he’s involved with. While it’s certainly less than Sheridan’s sprawling empire, it’s not nothing.
In addition to the ongoing crime calamities of ‘Fargo’ (inspired, of course, by the Coenbrothersclassic and using an anthology format per season with the occasional link to tell stories of bungled robberies etc.), he’s also been busy overseeing an ambitious extension of another franchise.
This summer will see the launch of his new FX/Hulu series ‘Alien: Earth,’ which is set closer to the present day than any of the movies about rampaging xenomorphs.
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With ‘Alien’ director (and franchise gatekeeper) Ridley Scott giving the project his endorsement as an executive producer the new show tracks what happens when a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth. A young woman and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.
“There’s something about seeing a Xenomorph in the wilds of Earth with your own eyes. That is truly chilling to think of it moving here among us, and so I can’t tell you under what circumstances you’ll see that, but you’ll see it — and you’re going to lock your door that night.”
When will ‘Nowhere Fast’ be in theaters?
With the movie still at the casting stage and rights on sale, there is no word yet on when this new crime thriller might be making its way to theaters.
We’d guess it could start shooting –– even given Hawley’s packed schedule –– this year and could potentially be out by awards season, but seems more likely to arrive in 2026.
