I can't be the only one who thinks there's too much "wrong" with what I have heard already to give me any hope that this will be anywhere near good enough and we are going to end up with a convoluted show where the Xeno is secondary to a story arc about religion and artificial intelligence.
Basing it on earth is a massive no-no for me. The fact is that once the Xeno reaches earth, It's game over for the human race.
Basing it on the Ridley Scott movies is also a terrible idea, although I will admit that there are plenty of threads in those films that could be developed into something better. Let's not forget, Ridley neither wrote the script nor the screenplay for the 79 movie, so I don't see why we keep giving him the reins to guide the future of the franchise. Even the inclusion of an android in the original wasn't his idea!
Don't get me wrong, as an artistic director, Scott is untouchable, but as has been proven over and over again, as soon as he gets involved with the plot and screenplay of a project, it goes to pieces, mainly because he's always seeking to inject some pseudo religious arc into the proceedings. Having his son on board doesn't necessarily mean Ridley will be involved, but I do fear his legacy will overshadow the proceedings.
Noah Hawley is a bit of an unknown in science fiction. Yes, he did Legion, which was an interesting take on the X-Men character, And Fargo is up there with Twin Peaks as far as surrealist fiction goes, but if he's basing this on Scott's ideas for the future of the Alien franchise, will lead to "Raised by Wolves 2" meets "Pinnochio" via "Space Jesus".
Preferably, Id like to keep the series about the Xeno's. Reference the Scott Movies if it makes sense, but not as the core premise for the entire show, and keep it as far away from Earth as possible. Marvel/Disney have already written 3 comic arcs since taking on the franchise in comic form, so there are ideas being kicked around aplenty, and If we are going to see Walter/David appearance, then let's resolve that story and establish some ideas that expand the universe rather than try to turn it into some AI fuelled nightmare just because Ridley wants to remake a Kubrik movie.
Personally, I would like to see Hawley establish the Xeno's as "that goddam terrifying" and that the creature that the Engineers "worship" (from the Prometheus screenplay) that led to them making "The Black Goo" is actually one of the space jockey species, rather than just writing that creation off as nothing more than a cool-looking space suit for the big white dudes. Establish ideas for the future, and have lots of existential terror, cosmic horrors and atmosphere instead of shooty shooty "acid for blood " moments
