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Ridley Scott reveals show based on Blade Runner, gives update on Alien series

Blair Marnell
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An Alien TV series was officially announced during Disney’s Investor Day last year. Now, the original film’s director, Ridley Scott, has revealed that another one of his iconic movies, Blade Runner, is also getting a television adaptation.

While speaking with BBC Radio 4’s Today, Scott said, “We have already written the pilot for Blade Runner and the bible. So, we’re already presenting Blade Runner as a TV show, probably the first 10 hours. And then Alien is a similar thing. Alien is now being written, a pilot. And when you write a pilot for TV, you also have to write the history. So … you have to write out the bible of what happened in those 10 hours.”

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You can watch the interview with Scott below:

"We've already written the pilot for Blade Runner.. and Alien has now been written for pilot"

Director Ridley Scott, says the Blade Runner and Alien TV shows are in development and they are putting together the 'bible' of both projectshttps://t.co/niPYpaHxfG #R4Today pic.twitter.com/4vTPGyZXtz

— BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) November 22, 2021

Blade Runner hit theaters in 1982 and adapted Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, with Harrison Ford in the leading role as the titular Blade Runner, Rick Deckard. In the alternate future of the movie, it’s Deckard’s job to hunt down renegade synthetic humans called replicants. Ford returned for the sequel, Blade Runner 2049, in 2017. That film featured Ryan Gosling in the leading role as K, another Blade Runner.

Harrison Ford in Blade Runner.

Despite Blade Runner 2049‘s disappointing box office performance, there has been a resurgence of interest in the franchise. Earlier this month, Adult Swim and Crunchyroll premiered Blade Runner: Black Lotus, a new anime series set in the year 2032 of Blade Runner‘s alternate future timeline. A creative team for the new live-action series has not been announced, nor does it officially have a network or streaming service currently attached to it.

However, we do know that Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley is writing and executive producing Alien for FX. In a departure from the feature films that spawned it, Alien will be set on Earth, and it will also explore the issues of class exploitation against the backdrop of the original movie’s blend of sci-fi and horror. The series will also be streamed on Hulu, and Alien is expected to premiere in 2023.

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