‘Blade Runner’, ‘Alien’ to be made into live-action TV series

Los Angeles : Ridley Scott, in the news for his biographical crime drama ‘The House of Gucci’, has confirmed that the live-action TV series of two of his most enduring movies, the 1982 Harrison Ford-starrer ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Alien’, made first in 1979 with Sigourney Weaver playing the lead role, are fast progressing, with pilots written for both shows.Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Scott suggested that the ‘Blade Runner’ adaptation is being plotted as a 10-episode series, reports ‘Variety’. “We [have already] written the pilot for ‘Blade Runner’ and the ‘bible’. So, we’re already presenting ‘Blade Runner’ as a TV show, the first 10 hours.”Scott, speaking with the BBC’s Mishal Husain, said ‘Alien’ was getting a “similar” treatment. A pilot is being written along with a ‘bible’ of what transpires in eight to ten hours of the show. The creator of some of Hollywood’s most iconic films hasn’t previously discussed a ‘Blade Runner’ TV show.

News of an ‘Alien’ series was first announced in December 2020. The show is being set up at the cable TV network, FX, with Noah Hawley attached as showrunner.FX boss John Landgraf described the project last year as “the first ‘Alien’ story set on Earth — and by blending both the timeless horror of the first ‘Alien’ film with the non-stop action of the second, it is going to be a scary thrill ride that will blow people back in their seats.”Asked by Husain about blowback from the Gucci family about ‘The House of Gucci’, which tells the story of the ill-fated romance between Patrizia Reggiani (played by Lady Gaga) and Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) that ends in the latter’s murder, Scott said he “doesn’t get engaged with that”.He said: “It was about murder. They forget: He was murdered. One of the brothers went to jail for tax evasion. Don’t talk to me about making a profit. When you do that you tend to become public domain.”