The long-awaited Alien TV show is coming in 2025 and is now titled Alien: Earth. After the success of the Predator prequel movie Prey back in 2022 and Alien: Romulus this summer, Disney and 20th Century Studios have started developing more projects based on the Alien and Predator franchises, and they'll be coming to both TV and cinemas.
Alien: Romulus happens in between the first and second original movies, in the far future and away from Earth, director and writer Noah Hawley's Alien TV series will bring the Xenomorph home. This idea was almost the basis for Alien 3, and the two Alien vs. Predator movies explored it, but the goal here is to honor the DNA of the Alien franchise in a different setting while continuing some of the commentary on AI that was already started by Ridley Scott's divisive prequels.
To prepare for the Alien TV show, you should consider watching all the Alien movies in order. If you're still after a Xenomorph fix, then the best Alien video games of all time are not to be missed.
Alien: Earth: Release date
Series creator, showrunner, writer, and director Noah Hawley (Legion, Fargo) confirmed the end of principal photography to The Hollywood Reporter on July 17, 2024. Hawley also stated that Alien: Earth would spend the next several months deep in post-production: "I'm in post, editing away, and obviously there's a large visual effects component that takes time. But I couldn't be happier with the show we shot… If people wanted a television series based on the world of Alien, I think I'm gonna give them something special."
How to watch Alien: Earth online
The original announcement from Disney confirmed that the Alien TV series was being developed as an FX original, also coming to Hulu in the United States.
For international territories, we're expecting it to arrive through Star, the Disney's solution to distribute the more mature content under their umbrella in countries where FX/Hulu aren't a thing.
What is the plot of the Alien: Earth?
Plot details, beyond the near-future Earth setting, are being kept under wraps, but trusty unofficial sources and leaked character details have been painting an interesting picture for Alien: Earth.
Above everything, it appears the show will explore the Alien universe's synths in depth, tackling the matter of AI and the increasingly blurred lines between artificial and human life. Of course, being set in the not-so-far future and on Earth, it could be tricky to make the Xenomorph element work without blowing up the canon continuity (the AvP flicks are traditionally ignored). Still, Hawley has stated that he wants to "open up" the usual Alien premise: "I thought it would be interesting to open it up a little bit so that the stakes of 'What happens if you can't contain it?' are more immediate."
The acclaimed writer-director is also bringing the dark future of the movies closer to our world, exploring the difficult relationship between the working class and corporations looking to maximize profits and control over the population no matter what. This has been a constant in the mainline Alien movies, but it wasn't always the main point. It's reasonable to expect a deeper exploration of these themes thanks to all the extra runtime the TV format allows. As of yet, Hawley's show appears to have no connections, that we know of, to the just-released Alien: Romulus.
As it stands, the expectation is for Alien: Earth to run for longer than just one season, as FX boss John Landgraf said they're "pretty bullish" on Hawley's show: "Alien: Earth is a returning television series, we want him to focus on at least writing two seasons of it before returning to a possible sixth season of Fargo."
Potential spoilers in the paragraph ahead
If you want the scoop on the potential character details of Alien: Earth, then read on below.
The series' protagonist is said to be Wendy, a new type of hybrid "meta-human" who is the combination of an adult with a child's brain and consciousness. The description also mentions she learns to control her now body under the tutelage of Kirsh, a synth, and a human scientist. Another major character is 'Hermit' (maybe a nickname), a young human medic part of the private military of a large corporation.
Alien: Earth trailers
Against all expectations, we've received our first look at Alien: Earth via the 'Coming in 2025' video for Disney Plus released on November 12, 2024. You can watch it below:
When the marketing campaign finally kicks off, we'll update this article with all the details.
Alien: Earth Cast
Most of the main cast for Alien: Earth has been revealed, but we'll surely learn about more cast members as marketing kicks off and ramps up. The cast includes (but isn't limited to) Sydney Chandler ("Don't Worry Darling"), Alex Lawther ("Star Wars: Andor"), Essie Davis ("The Babadook"), Timothy Olyphant ("The Mandalorian"), Samuel Blenkin ("Black Mirror"), Kit Young ("Shadow and Bone"), Adarsh Gourav ("Guns & Gulaabs"), Erana James ("The Wilds"), and David Rysdahl ("No Exit").
Alien: Earth directors, writers, & crew
Noah Hawley, of "Fargo" and "Legion" fame, serves as creator, showrunner, director, and writer on the series. However, it remains to be seen whether he's written the entire first season and has directed all episodes of Alien: Earth, which would be quite the undertaking. He's also executive producing alongside original Alien director Ridley Scott (who's overseen Fede Álvarez's Alien: Romulus too). Scott Free Productions, FX, and 20th Television and are the production companies involved.
Hawley is reuniting with Dana Gonzales for the cinematography after working together on "Fargo" as well as "Legion." As for the (surely striking and complex) production design, it's led by Andy Nicholson ("Gravity," "Captain Marvel").
