ALIEN: EARTH Production Designer Andy Nicholson Updates Old Futures

by

Alien: Earth has been an exhilarating journey up to now, living up to its franchise and enriching its backstory. However, a hidden strength of the series lies in its production design. It pays homage to the world established by Ridley Scott in 1979, while also catering to modern viewers in 2025. A crucial element in pulling this off is the work of production designer Andy Richardson, whose craftsmanship is Emmy-worthy. The latest episode, “In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream,” displayed a painstaking reconstruction of a spaceship with the original ’70s aesthetic that the franchise introduced. We were fortunate to have a conversation with Richardson about his contributions to the series, as he brings the future as depicted in Alien in 1979 into the present day.

As a designer, have you had experience with renowned franchises such as Jurassic World and the Marvel Cinematic Universe? For this upcoming project, however, you’re tasked with reimagining a classic aesthetic that dates back over 45 years. Despite its age, there are numerous innovations to be found. Can you share your perspective on this challenge, both as a designer and an Alien fan?

Andy Richardson: As a designer, my role involves working closely with the director on elements that are not acted out on screen. This could range from selecting locations or, in this case, designing sets. For this specific show, I had an exciting task – to create based on references. Let me illustrate with an example: if you were designing a World War II movie set on a flying fortress, you’d study the plane meticulously and then design everything about it. In my case, I was responsible for creating the entire look of the aircraft, as well as expanding the world of the franchise to Earth. When designing the show, we weren’t certain about its exact future timeline, which was roughly between 100 and 150 years from the present. We didn’t have a specific date set.

When speaking with Noah Hawley, I found inspiration for several props in the spaceship featured in the movie Aliens. Particularly, I was drawn to the early ’80s furniture design lamps within the ship, and similar elements. There’s an extensive collection of futuristic-looking furniture, such as late ’70s and early ’80s car interiors, and even items like the iconic Sony Walkman, that flat model with a screen and an angle, which originated during that time. These design aspects were prevalent before computer-designed objects became mainstream.

In simpler terms, we drew inspiration from the vision of the future portrayed in films like Alien back then, which seemed to align with our timeline within the franchise. It was a fresh and unique concept that I hadn’t encountered before. Although the term retrofuturism wasn’t commonly used at the time, this style emerged from the filmmakers’ interpretation of what the future might look like in their films. Our starting point was to build upon that vision, evolving it from the props in the Alien spaceship to the entire design of Neverland’s furniture.

This TV show’s design in the year 2200 blends elements from the past and present. Could you explain how certain aspects of this future period were kept traditional, while others needed a modern twist?

Richardson explained that some alterations were due to script requirements, for instance, the MU-TH-UR room had to be adjacent to the impact room in the ship’s layout. Other changes were logistics-based, such as combining certain rooms that were not identical to the Nostromo. For example, the bridge layout was consistent, but its placement on the ship varied. Additional aspects, like a larger cryo chamber for accommodating a larger crew, were necessary due to storyline requirements, contrasting with the Nostromo which had only one small cryo chamber.

In Episode 5, there were more crucial events that needed to unfold, making it a storyline-driven transformation. To pull this off, thorough research is key. One element that remained consistent was maintaining the original design of the Nostromo. The aesthetic was inspired by late ’70s fast food restaurants and the plastic-like appearance of their seating. This same style has been carried over to all of their ships, which is why our ship’s interior follows suit. Since the Maginot is a sister ship from the same fleet or time period, it should also feature similar elements. To put it simply, we got a bit excited and enthusiastic about the details.

It seems to us that the style of late ’70s sci-fi had a timeless quality, which doesn’t feel outdated. The shows Alien: Earth and Andor appear to be prime examples of this. I wonder if they were somehow capturing something unique back then, a quality that you’ve managed to recreate so effectively. What do you believe they may have been tapping into?

Richardson believes the design was deliberately futuristic, characterized by unconventional shapes. They were creating designs towards the end of the drawing era before computers took over. This uniquely influenced the lines. Many early concept artists were engineers who also worked on spacecraft and spaceship aesthetics during the 1970s and early 1980s. Essentially, they were building upon that trend. These designs preceded computer-designed spaceships that you might be familiar with in shows like Andor and Star Wars. The distinctive aesthetics of these worlds can be traced back to the use of model kit parts to construct spaceships, a practice that was so prevalent that even the initial computer models for these spaceships were created using parts from plane kits.

In a simplified and conversational manner,

The design of the Maginot was inspired by a blend of the interiors from two spaceships in the movie Alien – the Sulaco and Nostromo. The resemblance to the Nostromo is particularly strong, as several key rooms like the MU-TH-UR room, cryo chamber, and bridge were directly referenced. Moreover, just like transitioning from a Boeing to an Airbus cockpit where similarities abound, these subtle references serve as Easter eggs for fans who enjoy spotting them. In fact, due to the dark scenes in the movies, some details are hard to make out, but once discovered, they add to the excitement of dedicated viewers. Essentially, at this point, everyone involved became a bit of a movie enthusiast or geek.

Alien: Earth releases new episodes on FX and FX on Hulu every Thursday.

Read More

2025-09-04 22:34