Top 10 Things to Remember Before Alien Earth

Top 10 Things to Remember Before Alien Earth

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were looking at narrative and behind-the-scenes details to prepare Alien fans for the franchise's highly anticipated TV debut, Alien: Earth.

#10: The Franchise

In 1979, both sci-fi and horror were changed forever by Ridley Scotts Alien. The high-concept production, claustrophobic aesthetic and unforgettably terrifying visuals marked a singular achievement in visceral filmmaking. There was no missing the screams after that. Following James Camerons equally acclaimed 1986 sequel Aliens, an elaborate multimedia industry exploded. Besides the sequels and spin-offs, this franchise has spawned toys, video games, literature, and so much more. The film series has grossed almost $2 billion at the box office and scored dozens of awards, including three Oscars. And yet, it has never produced a TV show, or even set a film on the futuristic Earth. After 46 years, one of sci-fis most successful brands is landing on FX with Alien: Earth.

#9: The Story

Since its development was announced in 2020, Alien: Earth has slowly unveiled its premise to support hype and intrigue. What we do know is that this is the first time the definitive space horror brand has set an installment mostly on our homeworld. In 2120, a space vessel crash-lands and unleashes something hostile, ostensibly the xenomorph. The ensuing investigation by android synthetics, military personnel and researchers is a quintessential Alien setup. But with the new setting, the stakes are higher than ever for humanity. The storys long-form format opens opportunities to explore the technology, culture and politics of Earth in the distant future. Never mind a mythology thats been almost five decades in the making.

#8: The Lore

The Alien franchise stands out from other high-sci-fi universes for its incremental story development. The first installment didnt overcomplicate the premise of blue-collar astronauts discovering a desolate alien planet, thus infesting their ship with a parasitic lifeform and its monstrous offspring. The follow-ups experimented with themes like space colonization, scientific inquiry, artificial intelligence, and interplanetary corporatocracy. Alien: Earth will surely delve deeper into the heavily stratified societal and social dynamics under the dominion of companies like Weyland Corp. Ridley Scott previously contemplated the complexities of this transhumanist, hypercapitalist society with two prequel films. This includes the idea that human genetics are descended from an extraterrestrial species dubbed The Engineers. But fans polarized response raises big questions about the direction Earth will take.

#7: The Canon

Alien: Earth is set two years before Ridley Scotts original film and 27 years after his Prometheus. Showrunner Noah Hawley has expressed a desire to distance his vision from Scotts prequels as much as possible. The door is still open to connect Earth to these films, as well as the more traditionalist standalone spin-off Alien: Romulus. The bigger dilemma is Alien vs. Predator. Based on a Dark Horse Comics series, this crossover with the Predator franchise presented the xenomorph as a prehistoric invader revived in the early 21st century. As the aliens took their feud to a broad scale in the critically panned Requiem, its been debated whether AVP is canon. The TV series may yet settle all these arguments.

#6: The New Setting

Planet Earth may be a familiar setting for audiences, but not for the Alien franchise. Alien: Earth takes place around the high-tech Prodigy City, named for one of the planets ruling corporations. Its a sleek, massive metropolis to contrast with the suspense that our heroes find in the surrounding area. Noah Hawley has stated his goal to revive the retrofuturist aesthetic of the original film and James Camerons Aliens. This means foregoing the space opera elements of Prometheus and Alien: Covenant to downsize technology, backstory and scope. The premise and production suggest a different idea. To what extent Hawley plans to explore this new world, its unlike anything weve seen before in this cinematic universe.

#5: The Alien

For all the complexities of the Alien universe, its all about the mascot. A xenomorph, originally designed by surrealist artist H. R. Giger, is born from a facehugger latching onto an animals face and implanting an embryo that gestates to the hosts anatomy. The host eventually dies in agony as a chestburster emerges and rapidly matures into a giant hybrid. The predatory creatures corrosive blood, sharp claws and tail, and retractable inner jaw make for a nightmarish killing machine. Prometheus even revealed that the species was created as a bioweapon by the Engineers, then bred for genocide by the synthetic David in Covenant. This contradicts the backstory posited by AVP. However Earth approaches the xenomorph, you need not know much to recognize the threat.

#4: The Production

Its no secret why it took so long to bring Alien to the small screen. The films raised a standard for art direction and special effects that was long considered unachievable for this format. With the Peak TV era featuring productions to rival the biggest movies, Alien: Earth makes up for lost time. Prodigy City is built with sprawling sets that use CGI only to refine the futuristic tech. The show dedicatedly utilizes practical effects as much as possible. That especially goes for the xenomorph, whose terrifying form has been seldom seen in promotions. The prosthetics are applied to stunt performer Cameron Brown, whose physicality and 62 build promise an intimidating villain indeed. But what about the castmates who substantiate the suspense?

#3: The Cast

Alien: Earth features a massive acting ensemble of all-stars and rising talents. Sydney Chandler makes her headliner debut as Wendy, an experimental synthetic that contains the consciousness of a dying human. The daughter of veteran actor Kyle Chandler first broke out on FX with her charismatic portrayal of future rockstar Chrissie Hynde on the biographical miniseries "Pistol." Her on-screen mentor Kirsh is played by fellow FX veteran Timothy Olyphant of "Justified," among many other acclaimed productions. And Wendys brother Hermit is played by Alex Lawther of The End of the F***ing World fame. Now hes facing a proper apocalyptic scenario. With Samuel Blenkin, Essie Davis, Adarsh Gourav and others also bringing an international fanbase, theres enough prestige in front of the camera.

#2: The Crew

If nothing else instills hope for the show, it's the showrunner. After a writing and producing stint on Fox's Bones, Noah Hawley adapted the Coen brothers classic Fargo into one of the best and boldest shows on TV. Such rich experimentation with genres and storytelling extended to Legion, a surreal psychological thriller loosely based on a Marvel character. Hawley is bringing an incredible résumé to another franchise reimagining for FX. Accompanying him are frequent collaborators like director-cinematographer Dana Gonzales, writer Bob De Laurentiis, and score composer Jeff Russo. Hawleys clearly extensive creative control is a testament to FXs faith in him. So too is Ridley Scott giving his blessing as an executive producer.

#1: The Future

In the five years since Alien: Earth was first announced, very little of its concept and production has been revealed. Never mind its future, be that the planned number of seasons or the narrative connection to other installments in the franchise. Still, fans are very eager to see the visionary talents push boundaries with both the lore and the art of television. The eight-episode first season airs on FX, where available, starting on August 12th, 2025. Each episode will be simultaneously released for streaming on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally. Keep up with reminders, since you might not be able to hear any screams. Granted, were not in space anymore.

What are some other details that you want to know or are excited about going into Alien: Earth? Burst into the comments below.