Alien: Romulus is heating up the box office, and this is far from the end of the franchise, as Fargo creator Noah Hawley will bring the iconic sci-fi horror franchise to television next year with Alien: Earth. Hawley also seems to have some long-term plans for the series. Set to air on FX in 2025, the first ever Alien TV show will be a prequel set on Earth around three decades before 1979’s Alien, and it will seemingly ignore Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Hawley gave a strong hint about his long-term plans for Alien: Earth. When asked if the series will go beyond one season, Hawley responded, “It could be the next 10 years of my life, for sure”, referring to the reporter’s earlier comment on how Fargo has been running for that length of time. He also revealed the series is in post-production and on track for its 2025 release date. He said:
“We just wrapped. I’m in post, editing away. Obviously, there’s a large visual effects component that takes time. But I couldn’t be happier with the show that we shot. If people wanted a television series based on the world of Alien, I think I’m going to give them something special.”
How Long Will Alien: Earth Run For?
When Hawley says Alien: Earth could be the next ten years of his life, that does not mean the series itself will run for ten seasons. Due to the high budget and heavy VFX nature of the series, there might be year-long gaps between seasons, meaning a ten-year span on Alien: Earth would equal five seasons. Fargo is the best example of this approach, as it debuted in 2014, and Season 2 followed shortly after in 2015, but Season 3 then did not air until 2017. Then, there was a three-year gap to the next season, and another three-year gap before Season 5 aired in 2023.
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Following Alien: Romulus‘s impressive opening weekend box office, anticipation for Alien: Earth has grown significantly. 20th Century Studios could well be looking to green light a follow-up to Alien: Romulus soon, with the hope that Alien: Earth can keep the franchise in the public’s mind in the meantime. It will be curious to see how connected Alien: Earth and Alien: Romulus turn out to be. Alien: Earth has already said it will ignore the events of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, while Alien: Romulus firmly links several Alien movies.
There has been no specific release window announced for
Alien: Earth,
but from a fan perspective, the sooner the series arrives, the better.