Noah Hawley Gives a Surprise Twist to Ridley Scott’s Franchise with Prequel Series ‘Alien: Earth’ — Watch Trailer

Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Timothy Olyphant, and Adarsh Gourav star in the FX Hulu show.

Noah Hawley is trading “Fargo” for a more out of this world location: space. Hawley is the showrunner for “Alien” franchise prequel series “Alien: Earth,” which is set in 2120. The eight-episode series takes place prior to the events of Ridley Scott’s “Alien.” Sydney Chandler leads the show, along with Alex Lawther, Timothy Olyphant, Adarsh Gourav, Essie Davis, Kit Young, and Samuel Blenkin.

The official synopsis reads: “When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, Wendy (Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat. In the year 2120, the Earth is governed by five corporations: Prodigy, Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic, and Threshold. In this Corporate Era, cyborgs (humans with both biological and artificial parts) and synthetics (humanoid robots with artificial intelligence) exist alongside humans. But the game is changed when the wunderkind Founder and CEO of Prodigy Corporation unlocks a new technological advancement: hybrids (humanoid robots infused with human consciousness). The first hybrid prototype named Wendy marks a new dawn in the race for immortality. After Weyland-Yutani’s spaceship collides into Prodigy City, Wendy and the other hybrids encounter mysterious life forms more terrifying than anyone could have ever imagined.”

FX’s “Alien: Earth” was created for television and executive produced by Hawley. This is the first TV iteration of the long-running sci-fi franchise, which spans nine films (the most recent of which is Fede Alvarez’s “Alien: Romulus”).

Hawley told IndieWire that he spoke to auteur Scott while making “Alien: Earth.” Scott’s Scott Free banner produces the series as well.

“Ridley is the man. He’s the creator of this franchise, he’s come back to it later in his career,” Hawley said. “But you know, like the Coen brothers [with ‘Fargo’], 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.”

Hawley added of the recent “Alien” film, “I thought ‘Romulus’ was great. It’s a thrill ride. These movies are always survival stories. And the challenge in television is, that’s great for two hours, but for 20 or 30 or 50 hours, survival isn’t enough. You need to tell a larger story that engages you with characters and emotions and is not just about ‘Who is the last one standing?’”

“Alien: Earth” premieres August 12 on FX and Hulu. Check out the trailer below.