During the Disney's Investor Day 2020 call, Disney confirmed an upcoming series based on Ridley Scott's Alien. With Scott returning as executive producer and Noah Hawley (Legion, Fargo) set to helm it, Alien is a pure horror series set in the not-too-distant future, centered on the Xenomorphs finding themselves on Earth.
While most of the plot details remain unknown, especially how it will fit into the established Alien timeline, this plot sounds similar to what audiences expected Alien 3 to be about when an early trailer premiered, advertising that the sequel to Aliens would take place on Earth. Alien 3, with its notoriously troubled production, ultimately took a different path; however, FX's Alien series might offer a pure Alien experience set on Earth, one that goes beyond the Alien vs. Predator franchise.
Alien 3's Trailer Misled Audiences
Alien 3's production woes are infamous among sci-fi fans. The film went through several drafts with numerous writers reworking the whole thing. One of these writers was William Gibson, and his draft focused on the characters from the prior film returning home and bringing with them a Xenomorph egg. The alien would be experimented upon and mutated, resulting in a new breed of monsters. This script would be discarded, but it ultimately became the subject for both an audiobook and comic adaptation.
However, while some scripts took place either near-Earth or on other planets, none of them were on Earth directly. Yet, for some reason, 20th Century Fox released an early teaser trailer for Alien 3, stating, "in 1979, we discovered, in space, no one can hear you scream. In 1992, we will discover, on Earth, everyone can hear you scream.” The teaser is a spin on the original Alien's iconic tagline, but it doesn't go anywhere in the actual film. Furthermore, it is telling that the trailer shows no footage of the movie itself. This is because the script wasn't finalized.
The Promise of Alien 3 in FX's Alien
With FX's Alien taking place on Earth, it might finally fulfill the promise of Alien 3's teaser trailer. It will create an environment where the Xenomorphs will have tons of victims, and there is a wide range of people who could engage with these monsters, from law enforcement, to military forces, to the everyday person.
It should be noted that there were two prior Alien films that did take place on Earth: Alien vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. Because the first film took place in a remote, subterranean pyramid, it felt alien enough that it might as well been off world. Requiem, however, took place in a small town, and while the film is regarded by some as the worst movies in the Alien and Predator franchises, it does illustrate that there is a lot of brutal stuff one can do with Xenomorphs running around Earth.
With this in mind, FX's Alien can achieve what Alien 3 failed to do, bringing the Xenomorphs to Earth and having them wreak havoc. It is impossible to say what the upcoming plot will be or how it will piece into the now incredibly elaborate Alien lore. What is certain is that the people of Earth will have a lot to contest with when Xenomorphs start bursting out of their chests.