‘Fargo’ Director Noah Hawley Says His ‘Alien’ Series Is ‘Not A Ripley Story’

Noah Hawley has opened about his upcoming FX Alien series, explaining that “it’s not a Ripley story” and will instead focus on unresolved inequality and the class divide.

“She’s one of the great characters of all time,” the Fargo director told Vanity Fair, referring to Sigourney Weaver‘s iconic heroine from the Alien movie franchise. “And I think the story has been told pretty perfectly, and I don’t want to mess with it.”

Instead, Hawley wants to dive deeper into the issues that come up in the films, such as inequality, especially in regards to the people “you send to do the dirty work” and “the people who are sending them.” These are the topics that made the Alien features more than just great monster movies and Hawley hopes to take that ethos forward in his TV adaptation.

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“You will see what happens when the inequality we’re struggling with now isn’t resolved,” he explained. “If we as a society can’t figure out how to prop each other up and spread the wealth, then what’s going to happen to us?”

The series is expected to begin shooting next spring and Hawley has already written “the first two scripts.” The story is set on Earth in an effort to explore these topics a little deeper. “The Alien stories are always trapped… Trapped in a prison, trapped in a spaceship,” Hawley said. “I thought it would be interesting to open it up a little bit so that the stakes of ‘What happens if you can’t contain it?’ are more immediate.”

Noah Hawley of ‘Fargo’ attends the FX Networks’ Star Walk Winter Press Tour (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Elsewhere in his Vanity Fair interview, the Legion director was also asked if there will be another season of his popular FX crime drama, Fargo. “Yeah, I think so,” he answered. “I don’t have it yet.” The fourth season of Fargo, which starred Chris Rock in the lead role, wrapped up this past November.