Alien TV Series Likely Won't Air Until 2025

More than 40 years after Ridley Scott's Alien was unleashed in theaters, the franchise is set to expand into uncharted territory with a TV series from Noah Hawley, but fans shouldn't expect to witness the series anytime soon, as Hawley offered an update that it might not debut until 2025. The delays are due to this year's writers' and actors' strikes, and while the writers' strike has been resolved, it's entirely unknown when the actors' strike will be resolved, with it being possible that production is delayed even further. Luckily, a new Alien film has already wrapped production and is expected to debut in 2024 to hold audiences over.

"We're all just waiting for the strike, and it will end," Hawley shared with TheWrap. "The plan right now is to go back in January and be shooting in February, and looks like shoot until July or so, which puts the air date somewhere in the first half of '25."

Production on the TV series was set to kick off back in 2022, though the coronavirus pandemic delayed those plans, with shooting ultimately starting this past July. The shoot was able to continue longer than other productions despite the strike, as it was only impacting SAG-AFTRA members, allowing British cast members to continue shooting.

"I was able to complete filming most of the first hour. That said, I wasn't able to film anything with my star [SAG-AFTRA member Sydney Chandler]. So I still have the bulk of the show to film, and we have seven more hours to shoot," Hawley admitted. "I certainly would have loved to get the show in front of people as quickly as possible."

Since the inception of the franchise, Alien has largely focused on various intergalactic researchers encountering incarnations of the monstrous xenomorph, though as proven with Fargo, Hawley has managed to reimagine source material yet honor its spirit.

"It's very exciting that I get this opportunity, with films like Fargo or Alien, to live within the world that was created by these directors and storytellers. It raises the hair on the back of your neck in a good way to walk onto a set where you feel like you're on the Nostromo," the filmmaker shared. "You're like, 'Oh, my God, I'm in the movie.'" 

The new Alien movie, rumored to be titled Alien: Romulus, comes from Fede Álvarez and has an August 16, 2024 release date. Stay tuned for updates on the Alien franchise.

Are you looking forward to the new series? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!