‘Alien Nation’ Update: Jeff Nichols Turned His Film Remake Into A 10-Episode TV Pitch
By Ben Pearson/Jan. 25, 2021 12:30 pm EST
According to Nichols, he has converted his movie screenplay into a series of scripts for a 10-episode television show, and Disney is currently deciding if they’re going to move ahead with this version of the story instead of the movie. Read his quotes below.
Nichols and his cinematographer Adam Stone were guests on a recent episode of the Team Deakins podcast, in which Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins and his wife and collaborator James Deakins interview fellow filmmakers, and Nichols was asked if he would ever work on a TV show or miniseries. “[Alien Nation] is a possible series that might happen in the near future,” Stone butted in, and Nichols followed up with some more detail.
That happened in 2019, but since then, the folks at Disney have evidently had a change of heart.
“But they came and said, ‘Would you consider turning this into a series, potentially?’” Nichols continued. “So I have taken it and broken it into ten episodes, and it’s under consideration right now. Who knows, people in far more powerful positions than me are deciding that. One of the tricks is, I want to shoot it like a giant film, and I’m not sure if we’ll be able to get away with that.”
The 1988 film was set in Los Angeles after a spaceship carrying 300,000 extra-terrestrial refugees lands on Earth. After spending three years in quarantine, the so-called “Newcomers” begin to integrate into human society. The film follows the L.A.P.D.’s first alien cop (Mandy Patinkin), who’s partnered with a cop played by James Caan who does not like the idea of the aliens intermingling with his species. It sounds like Nichols’ take wouldn’t be a straight remake, but would still provide him the opportunity to comment on refugees, immigration, fear-mongering, xenophobia, racism, and several other key themes that have been brought to the forefront during the past four years in the United States. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that Disney+ announces Alien Nation will be coming to the streaming service soon.
