Noah Hawley's ALIEN Series Finds Its Lead Actress

Noah Hawley (Legion, Fargo) is gearing up to start production on on his Alien series for FX and we now know who stars in the series. During the latest episode of The Hot Mic Podcast, entertainment scooper Jeff Sneider confirmed that the show will star Sydney Chandler, the daughter of Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights).

Chandler previously starred in the TV miniseries Pistol, as well as the 2022 film Don’t Worry Darling, where she played the character Violet, one of the wives in the film. The casting has yet to be confirmed by Hawley or FX, but the source of the news is very confident in it.

The story for Hawley’s Alien “takes place before Ripley. It’s the first story that takes place in the Alien franchise on Earth.” It’s also been revealed that it will be set near “the end of this century we’re in — so 70-odd years from now.” It will also be the first Alien story set on Earth.

It’s also been shared that it will blend “both the timeless horror of the first Alien film with the non-stop action of the second, it’s going to be a scary thrill ride that will blow people back in their seats.“

Hawley has talked about the series in the past, saying, “It's about how we're trapped between the primordial past and the artificial intelligence of our future, where both [are] trying to kill us. It's set on Earth of the future. At this moment, I describe that as Edison versus Westinghouse versus Tesla. Someone's going to monopolize electricity. We just don't know which one it is."

He went on to say, “It’s a story that’s set on Earth also. The alien stories are always trapped… Trapped in a prison, trapped in a spaceship. I thought it would be interesting to open it up a little bit so that the stakes of ‘What happens if you can’t contain it?’ are more immediate.”

Weyland-Yutani, the massive corporation in the franchise, will play a big role in the series. I’ve got high hopes for this series because of Hawley’s involvement. He’s just such a great storyteller.