Posted in: FX, Movies, TV | Tagged: alien: earth

Alien: Earth Season 2 Update; Dinklage Set for "Major Role": Hawley

Alien: Earth showrunner Noah Hawley offered a Season 2 update (more "world-building") and teased Peter Dinklage's "major role."

When it comes to FX Networks and Showrunner Noah Hawley's Sydney Chandler-starring Alien: Earth, we've been getting some very interesting updates over the past month or two. In March, Chandler shared that Season 2 would be getting underway at London's Pinewood Studios this May, and then the news hit earlier this month that Emmy winner Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones, Dexter: Resurrection) was joining the cast as a new series regular (though no details on his character were available). Now, Hawley is stepping into the spotlight to offer some updates on a number of his projects, speaking exclusively with Deadline Hollywood ahead of his "Guest of Honor" appearance at Canneseries. Here are some of the highlights (followed by some previous insights from the series creator and showrunner) – including the news that Hawley has a co-showrunner and will not direct a Season 2 episode due to the number of projects he has in various stages of development and production. In addition, Hawley shared that "most" of the second season is already written.

"Alien: Earth" Season 2 Filming This Summer: "What I can say is we start [shooting] this summer. We're getting close. I did a stage walk today past the props and costumes. Things are being built. It's always exciting to see it. We had a great experience in Thailand, but for a couple of reasons, London is a better home for us long-term." The FX Networks series moved its production from Thailand to the UK's Pinewood Studios, the home of the original Alien film.

"Alien: Earth" Season 2 Will Feature "More World-Building": "It's a bigger show, more world-building, and I can't think of a better place for taking on that bigger challenge," Hawley shared, adding that the new season "certainly expands on the promise of the first.

"Alien: Earth" Beyond Season 2? Hawley Hopes So: "It's my hope – I have a place that I'm going, but I don't know how long it will take me to get there. Assuming that the price of execution and the audience stays commensurate, we could go for as long as we want. If we nurture them, these franchises can give back for a very long time."

Hawley on "Alien: Earth" Season 2 Casting, Teases Peter Dinklage's Role: Noting that the season is "really about to start casting up," Hawley had this to say about Dinklage's character: "Obviously, this franchise has a lot of iconic roles in it. I am, for better or worse, an ensemble writer who has never met a character I didn't like, but he's got a major role, and people are going to feel it's a worthy role for him."

Alien: Earth Season 2 Brings "Problems" for Wendy & Friends: Hawley

Previously, Hawley offered some insights into where he wants to take things and what he wants to explore in future seasons. Regarding Wendy's (Chandler) final words of empowerment at the end of the first season finale, Hawley shared that it's now about showing the reality of what that means – and how there are a lot of folks looking to get in her way. "That moment of, 'Now we rule,' is such an exhilarating moment for the audience. And then the question is… well, it was an exhilarating moment when Dustin Hoffman ran out of the church and they got on the bus [in The Graduate]. But what comes after?" Hawley shared with Empire. "The [Weyland-Yutani] ships are coming, and all they have is problems."

Speaking of Weyland-Yutani, Hawley would also like a chance to dig deeper into his future Earth's societal structure and how corporations have become the new political parties. "I'm interested in exploring the corporate politics of it. As we've seen, there's an irresistible gravitational pull toward monopoly that corporations and billionaires have. There's a bit of 'Game of Thrones' to the corporate world that feels interesting to me," he shared. But at the center of the series is Wendy and the team, though viewers can expect the series to live up to its global name. "I do think this story of these children's autonomy continues to be the heart of the show, but 'Alien' is always about levels of containment. The island is a level of containment, and what happens when you expand past that level? Ultimately, the show is called 'Alien: Earth.' I know that, given the canon, I can't blow up the Earth, but I do think that containment is going to be very hard to maintain," Hawley revealed.

Set in 2120 (two years before the events of the classic 1979 film), five corporations – Prodigy, Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic, and Threshold – wield the power of nations, and proprietary advancements in technology provide the promise of a new tomorrow. When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a horrifying discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet's greatest threat. As members of the crash recovery crew search for survivors in the wreckage, they encounter mysterious, predatory life forms more terrifying than they could have ever imagined. With this new threat unlocked, the search crew must fight for survival – and what they choose to do with this discovery could change planet Earth as they know it.

The FX and Hulu series stars Chandler, Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkin, Essie Davis, Adarsh Gourav, Kit Young, Timothy Olyphant, Sandra Yi Sencindiver, David Rysdahl, Babou Ceesay, Jonathan Ajayi, Erana James, Lily Newmark, Diêm Camille, Adrian Edmondson, Richa Moorjani, Karen Aldridge, Enzo Cilenti, Max Rinehart, Amir Boutrous, Victoria Masoma, Tom Moya, Andy Yu, Michael Smiley, Jamie Bisping, and Tanapol Chuksrida.

In addition, FX's Alien: Earth stars Babou Ceesay (Guerrilla, Damilola), David Rysdahl (Fargo), Jonathan Ajayi (Wonder Woman 1984, Noughts and Crosses), Erana James (Uproar, The Wilds), Lily Newmark (Pin Cushion, Sex Education), Diêm Camille (Washington Black, Alex Rider 3), Adrian Edmondson (War & Peace, A Spy Among Friends), and Moe Bar-El (The Peripheral, Tehran).

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