The social media chatter started almost immediately. ‘I can see my condo!’ one Bangkok resident posted online after the first trailer for Disney+ Hotstar Thailand’s B2.8 billion series Alien: Earth dropped. It’s a sentiment echoing across the city as viewers see their familiar streets, skylines, and alleyways reimagined for the year 2120. Unofficial ‘Alien tours’ are reportedly already a thing. The show, which filmed for an epic 123 days across the kingdom, has done more than just use Thailand as a backdrop; it has woven the city’s very DNA into its futuristic vision.
We sat down with Living Films’ Chris Lowenstein, the veteran producer who has spent nearly 30 years championing the Thai film industry, to discuss how he and showrunner Noah Hawley (Fargo, Legion) transformed Bangkok into the star of the most anticipated sci-fi series of the year.
The blueprint of a future city
It all started with a simple but powerful observation from Noah Hawley. ‘Bangkok looks like the future,’ he told Lowenstein. But this wasn’t just about shiny skyscrapers. The team leaned into a core concept that feels eerily close to home.
‘Part of the original concept was that in the future, the world is run by corporations, and there's more of a divide between rich and poor,’ Lowenstein explains. ‘As the buildings get taller, the richer are in higher levels and the poorer in lower levels. We don't come out and say that in the series, but if you really analyse it, you kind of see that.’
He points to a stunning sequence in episode three, where a single phone call cross-cuts between two wildly different worlds. We see the character Morrow navigating a gritty, ground-level alleyway in the Pratunam area, crossing a bridge as a long-tail boat passes underneath. ‘It’s our Watergate area,’ Lowenstein says, describing the bustling, lived-in feel. On the other end of the line is Yutani’s granddaughter, standing atop the ultra-modern Ashton Asoke - Rama 9 building in Thong Lo, a high-tech marvel with a swimming pool bridge connecting its two towers. ‘It’s so modern Bangkok,’ he marvels. ‘Within one phone call, you see that contrast.’
Of course, building the world of 2120 required some movie magic. When asked how much is real versus CGI, Lowenstein insists, ‘Mostly, it’s real.’ But for the show’s most dramatic set piece – the crash of a Weyland-Yutani spaceship – the team had to create a new reality.
‘The ship is crashing right down Soi Langsuan,’ he reveals. ‘It’s coming over Lumphini Park, past the US Embassy, and crashing into three giant buildings that aren't actually there.’ The visual effects team shot countless plates of the city’s real architecture, allowing them to digitally place authentic Bangkok buildings into the new geography. ‘Often it's not the actual geography of Bangkok, but it is Bangkok.’
The Blade Runner connection
For Lowenstein, this futuristic vision felt like destiny. A long-time fan of Ridley Scott’s work, he saw the aesthetic parallels between the worlds of Alien and Blade Runner.
‘Years ago, I thought, ‘They're going to make a sequel to Blade Runner at some point, and they've got to contact me because Bangkok is the perfect Blade Runner city,’’ he laughs. ‘So I actually made a location deck for Blade Runner so that when and if anybody ever called me, I’d be ready. Over my years here, I would collect pictures of Bangkok in the Blade Runner universe.’
While the team avoided direct imitation, Lowenstein gives us an exclusive reveal that proves the influence goes deeper than just aesthetics, connecting directly to the iconic 1982 film.
‘I know that Timothy Olyphant's character is loosely based on Roy Batty,’ he reveals, linking the show’s complex synth to Rutger Hauer’s legendary replicant.
‘Thank God for Blade Runner,’ Lowenstein admits, ‘because it did make Asia the future, didn’t it? We did embrace that idea that Asia is a dominant continent.’
Forged in Thailand: craftsmanship and climate
The production wasn't just about locations; it was a massive showcase of Thai craftsmanship. When it came time to create some of the franchise's most iconic props, Lowenstein looked locally. The terrifying Xenomorph eggs were built by Second Skin, a Bangkok-based prosthetics and creature workshop.
‘You always want to look locally first,’ he states. ‘Second Skin joined together with WETA Workshop from New Zealand, who I think are the best in the world. What a dream job for Second Skin, to be offered the job of recreating Alien 1979. They had smiles on their faces the entire time.’
This collaboration led to some surreal on-set moments. ‘I remember we had these fantastic meetings, like we had a ‘goo meeting’ with both Second Skin and WETA where you had like 30 kinds of goo on the table,’ he recalls fondly. ‘We're all standing there putting our fingers in them and talking about color and viscosity. Our job is really fun sometimes.’
Of course, filming in a tropical climate with a full-body xenomorph suit presented its own challenges. The main crash site was a massive set built in the middle of the old Neon Market parking lot. ‘You're in the middle of a cement parking lot in the middle of the city, and that is hot,’ Lowenstein says. His long experience in Thailand paid off. ‘Having been here so long, it really plays into the logistics. We have air-con tents and cooling stations, but in the end, it doesn’t really hold us back.’
A blessing in disguise
While many productions were derailed by the pandemic, Alien: Earth faced a different challenge: the 2023 Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes, which caused a months-long hiatus. For Lowenstein, it was a chance to double down.
‘For me as the producer, it was a blessing in disguise,’ he reveals. ‘We kept building in Bangkok. I didn't stop our set-dec, props, and construction teams, which are almost entirely Thai. That really gave us a head start for when we came back.’ The scale was unprecedented for Thailand, and the extra time allowed the teams to refine the intricate logistics of lighting and scheduling movements between the dozens of sets. ‘The union strikes were actually a chance for us to continue to build and make the world even more intricate than maybe it would have been.’
A career high point
For Lowenstein, who has seen the local industry grow from a ‘Wild East’ to a global powerhouse, this project represents the pinnacle of a three-decade journey.
‘Thailand was traditionally very much a location-based country,’ he explains. ‘You have a script that takes place on a beach or in the jungle, and Thailand gets considered. But generally, Thailand wasn't seen as a place where you're going to build very high-level sets.’
Alien: Earth flipped that script entirely. ‘About 80% of our shooting was on stage in studios with sets we built, and 20% was on location. It's such a high point for me because I've known that we have high-level construction and art departments, but I'm not sure the whole world did. I think we're now the hot ticket.’
Beyond Bangkok: exploring the kingdom
While Bangkok is the star, the production ventured far and wide. The stunning island seen in the first episode, known as Neverland, is initially a drone shot of Koh Samui. But the most ambitious location was a hidden lagoon in Krabi, accessible only through a small cave.
‘That entranceway disappears at high tide and opens up at low tide,’ Lowenstein says. ‘We shot an entire sequence there, which you will see in episode seven. It was incredible logistics to time the shooting with the tides.’ The effort required a massive marine unit of 57 boats to ferry crew and equipment in and out. ‘It was the largest marine unit I've ever put together. And it worked, and we got it, and it looks amazing.’
As for what they chose not to show? ‘We kind of avoided anything that has to do with royalty and religion,’ he notes. ‘I think our world is more about corporate power, which was always alluded to in the early Alien films.’
With sets still stored in Bangkok and whispers of a second season, Lowenstein is excited about digging even deeper into Thailand’s diverse landscapes, from its brutalist architecture to the complex alleys of Chinatown.
‘Thailand is often misunderstood, and there are a lot of stereotypes,’ he concludes. ‘I think this kind of show really puts those aside. It shows how world-class Thailand is in terms of its infrastructure and what the Thai film industry is capable of. It will allow people, and filmmakers, to see Thailand in a little bit of a different light in terms of what's possible here.’