Noah Hawley Gives Alien: Earth Updates On The Emmys Red Carpet

Alien: Earth showrunner Noah Hawley spoke about the upcoming Alien FX series on the red carpet of the Emmys yesterday, where the writer had been nominated for 15 awards over the course of the series, including another 2 nominations in 2024.

While the timeline choice and decision to set the series on Earth has caused some contention among the fandom – the decision to set any Alien story on Earth is often seen as a detriment to Ripley’s entire arc in the main Alien films – the series creator is excited about the prospect. Talking to Deadline on the red carpet, Noah Hawley told the outlet that:

“It’s an epic production. 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.

Hawley also teased a little about the approach Alien: Earth would be taking with this incarnation of the Xenomorph’s design.

“What was really fun for me was to really engage with the creature, bring some of my own thoughts to its design while not touching the silhouette, because that’s sacrosanct. But some of the elements as we know, whatever the host is, informs what the final creature is. I just wanted to play around a little bit to make it as scary as it should be.”

Variety also spoke to Hawley while he was on the red carpet and grilled him about what we could expect from Alien: Earth.

“It delivers everything that a great ‘Alien’ movie delivers, and then there’s a whole other world to it. Because, of course, the movies are survival stories and that’s great for two hours, but if you’re coming to make 30, or 40, or 50 hours of it there’s got to be a larger dramatic story.”

When asked about the pressure he felt while adapting such an iconic piece of the cinematic landscape, Hawley revealed the scope of the series, explaining that it was the most expensive he’s worked on and that the series even shot with a nautical unit.

“It’s a huge production, probably double the budget of anything I’ve ever made. We’re filming in Thailand. We had a nautical unit at one point. It’s a big big endeavor. But I heard Denis Villeneuve say that he could never have made ‘Dune’ unless he’d made every other thing before ‘Dune,’ and I feel similarly. You’re just scaling the problems up, but you’ve solved them all before.”

Variety also asked if Hawley had spoken to Sir Ridley Scott or Sigourney Weaver about Alien: Earth and he confirmed he had spoken to both. When asked about whether they had given their blessing, Hawley elaborated that:

“As much as we’re building upon their work, the extended storytelling means that we can do something different with it.”

Elaborating further with IndieWire, Hawley talked about Scott had left him to his own devices while working on Alien: Earth and had respect Hawley’s creative vision.

“I talked to Ridley. His company, Scott Free, is a producer on the show. And you know, Ridley is the man. He’s the creator of this franchise, he’s come back to it later in his career. But you know, like the Coen brothers, he was very respectful of the fact that I seem to know what I’m doing, and I have my own take on it. That’s the thing with these films, is that they take on a life of their own. And at a certain point, you have to take a step back and let them be what they want to be.”

The Hollywood Reporter also had the opportunity to catch up with Hawley, where he told them he was currently working away editing the episodes.

“I’m editing right now. I haven’t seen all of them yet, but we’re wrapped and it’s looking great. The cast is phenominal and you can’t go wrong with some Aliens. I’m very happy with how it turned out.”

Hawley was also asked about what route Alien: Earth would be taking with the realization of the Alien effects, something that has caused some concern due to the CG Alien in the recent teaser trailer.

“Mostly practical. I prefer that. Obviously there’s some CG, but I always want to feel it in the space and have the actors reacting to real things. I had a guy in a rubber suit. I had WETA working for me. It’s so exciting.”

Alien: Earth is expected to release on Hulu in 2025. Information about where and when it will see international release is not currently known. A teaser trailer for the series was unveiled in front of screenings of Alien: Romulus in the United States before being released online earlier this month. If you haven’t already, you can check that out here!

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