Alien TV Show Casts Timothy Olyphant As Synthetic Humanoid

Alien

Justified actor Timothy Olyphant has been cast in the upcoming Alien TV show as a synthetic humanoid.

According to Deadline, Olyphant will play a synth called Kirsh, starring opposite lead actor Sydney Chandler, who takes on a role as a metahuman - someone with the mind of a child and the body of an adult.

Synthetic humans in Alien movies have famously been played by Lance Henrikson in Aliens, and Ian Holm’s Ash in the first movie, Alien.

The Alien TV show is being written by Noah Hawley, who previously worked with Olyphant on Fargo for FX. The show is set around 70 years in the future and is the first spin-off from the franchise to be set primarily on Earth.

Alien was announced back in 2020, but has been slow to move forward with principle photography delayed by the Covid pandemic. Although some filming has taken place with British actors in Thailand, the recent SAG-AFTRA strikes stopped production and it isn’t expected to begin again until next year.

There have been six main entries in the Alien franchise, with a seventh, Alien: Romulus, due in August 2024. As with any successful movie franchise, it has been spun off to include comics and video games, toys, animation and more. Marvel currently has the comic book rights to the movie, and is working on a title in its ultra-violent Black, White and Blood imprint.