It’s a good time to be a fan of the “Alien” franchise. “Alien: Romulus” has successfully brought the series back to life, and is the best-received movie in the franchise in almost 40 years. Next up, the Xenomorph will be taking a trip to the small screen in the upcoming FX and Hulu show “Alien: Earth” — which is easily my most anticipated TV event of 2025.
Details on this first-ever “Alien” TV show have been relatively thin since its announcement in late 2020, but finally, we have something tangible to digest. The very first teaser trailer for the show has just dropped (alongside an official logline), and while it’s a mere 15 seconds long, and doesn’t include any actual footage, it’s still been met with fan intrigue.
The trailer opens with an outer space view of Earth before a camera zooms back to reveal the planet reflected in the shiny black dome of a terrifying Xenomorph. There’s then a quick jump scare as the creature shrieks and dashes toward the viewer, before a quick cut to the show’s title card, and that’s the whole trailer. You can watch it for yourself down below.
‘Alien: Earth’ — what we know right now
While much of the fan attention has been on the “Alien: Earth” teaser trailer, arguably the more significant update is the official logline, which reads: “When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat in FX’s highly anticipated TV series Alien: Earth from creator Noah Hawley.”
Alongside this FX has confirmed the show’s core cast, which will include Alex Lawther, Timothy Olyphant, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, David Rysdahl, Adrian Edmondson, Adarsh Gourav, Jonathan Ajayi, Erana James, Lily Newmark, Diem Camille and Moe Bar-El.
That’s a whole lot of names, but I’m most excited about Alex Lawther being involved as I consider “The End of the F**king World” one of the best shows ever made.
I’m hyped and concerned about ‘Alien: Earth’
I currently have mixed feelings about “Alien: Earth”. As an “Alien” superfan (I’ve already seen “Alien: Romulus” four times in theaters, with a fifth viewing booked), I’m always hyped for anything related to the Xenomorph — and I have the pre-order receipt for “Aliens: Colonial Marines” on PS3 to prove it — but at the same time, an Earth-set series has me a little bit concerned.
A huge part of Ellen Ripley’s journey across the first three “Alien” movies is her desperate attempts to stop the deadly creatures from reaching Earth. But this prequel series, set 30 years before the events of 1979’s “Alien”, appears set to reveal that those efforts were entirely in vain as the Xenomorph had been on Earth already some three decades before Ripley first encountered the perfect organism.
I also have my doubts that the sci-fi thrills and general sense of oppressive atmosphere that the franchise’s best efforts rely on will translate very well to the medium of television. However, I’m certainly comforted by the creative team FX has assembled. Noah Hawley is the creator of “Fargo” and “Legion” both of which were phenomenal with the critical acclaim to match.
At this early stage, I’m approaching “Alien: Earth” with cautious optimism. I’m putting my faith in the impressive creative team working on this show, and while the extremely brief teaser trailer doesn’t have enough substance to properly satisfy, it does at least set the type of mood I want to see in the final show.
Fingers crossed, our next look at “Alien: Earth” is a little meatier, and removes all of my lingering concerns. But to be honest, even if the show is garbage, I know I’ll be binge-watching every single episode at the first opportunity. As for when that'll be, as of now, the only release information we have is that it's "coming in 2025."
