Noah Hawley Talked to Ridley Scott Before Making ‘Alien: Earth’ Series: He Was ‘Respectful of the Fact That I Seem to Know What I’m Doing’
When it comes to adapting beloved film properties into prestige TV shows, nobody has a better track record than Noah Hawley. The multi-hyphenate rose to prominence for creating “Fargo,” using the Coen brothers’ iconic film as a loose jumping off point for a sprawling anthology series that just keeps getting better. He found similar success turning “Legion” into arguably the darkest Marvel project to date, and is hoping for a hat trick with his most ambitious undertaking yet, “Alien: Earth.” The upcoming FX series will serve as a prequel to Ridley Scott‘s original “Alien,” taking place on earth several decades before its events. Given the passion that fans still have for the original film and the divisive response that many recent sequels have received, expectations for the show could be unlike anything Hawley has ever faced.
Speaking to IndieWire on the red carpet of the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, Hawley opened up about his process of turning films into TV shows. He explained that rather than recreate the stories told by the films, he searches for ways to make up new plots that elicit the same emotions as their predecessors.
“When I adapt a film, which I’ve now done a few times, what I do is I rewatch the original films and I try to figure out what it makes me feel and why. And then try to create those feelings in an audience by telling you a totally different story,” Hawley said. “So you might have the feeling of young Newt in danger, but I’m not gonna do it the same way. You’ll feel that element with a child later, but in a different capacity. It’s about tone for me as well, and really drilling down on what the tone of the first movie is, and the second one, which were the two that I was really engaged with.”
Hawley confirmed that he spoke to Scott during the process of making “Alien: Earth,” but said that the godfather of the franchise was largely content to let him march to the beat of his own drum.
“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,” Hawley said. “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.”
When the conversation turned to “Alien: Romulus,” Hawley confirmed that he enjoyed Fede Álvarez’s latest addition to the franchise. But he explained that the film will have little in common with his show, as the expanded format of television requires him to eschew contained survival stories in favor of longer character arcs.
“I thought ‘Romulus’ was great. It’s a thrill ride,” Hawley said. “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?’”
