Sydney Chandler is cast in the upcoming Alien television series

The FX Alien TV show is slowly starting to come together. First announced in late 2020, active development on a TV series based on the Alien film franchise has been happening for over two years now, and it looks like we’re getting the first real look at the cast.

Alien’s first casting announcement

It’s been announced that actress Sydney Chandler will be the lead of the show, though we don’t yet know the name of the character she will be playing. Chandler, daughter of actor Kyle Chandler from Friday Night Lights, is probably best known for her work in the movie Don’t Worry Darling, which was released last year.

Much of the series is still shrouded in mystery. We don’t know what the series will be about specifically, or how it will relate to the films exactly. One thing that we do know is that the series will take place on planet Earth, something that was hinted at in a teaser trailer for Alien 3 in 1992, before the movie ended up going in another direction.

This will be the first time that any Alien project really focuses on the action taking place on planet Earth, assuming you don’t count the Alien vs. Predator crossover movies. (Come to think of it, is there a possibility that Predators might show up in this series?)

(It’s unlikely, but we can’t rule anything out yet.)

Earlier attempts at bringing Alien to TV

This is far from the first time a series based on the Alien franchise was in production. Attempts to bring Alien to the small screen began as early as 1979, the same year that the first movie was released.

Production on that first series never really got off the ground, and there was only a brief mention of the series in a single magazine from 1980. Instead, the franchise would continue with theatrical releases in 1986, 1992 and 1997.

There was also at least one attempt to create an animated series based on the franchise. The series was in development in the mid 2000s and titled Aliens: War Games, but just like the live action television series, the project ever got off the ground.

There’s still a long way to go before we get to see anything from the upcoming series, as we still don’t have a release date for the show. Original reports suggested that the series would film some time in 2023.

If that timeline holds true, we will hopefully be looking at a date some time in 2024 to find out what this Alien series is all about and who exactly Sydney Chandler will be playing.

Would you watch an Alien TV show? What would you like to see happen in the show?

Share your answers in the comments below!