“Alien: Earth” premieres in less than a month. On August 12, the first TV show set in the iconic sci-fi universe arrives on FX and Hulu (or Disney Plus in the U.K.), and to say my hype is reaching intergalactic levels would be quite an understatement.
I’m a superfan of the “Alien” franchise, with the 1979 original ranking as my favorite movie of all time, and the franchise as a whole my favorite in all of media. Naturally, “Alien: Earth” has been on my must-watch list since its initial announcement back in late 2020. It’s been a long five years to get to this point, but finally, after so much waiting and speculating, we’re just a few weeks away.
Now that “Alien: Earth’s” debut is on the horizon, my excitement is certainly increasing, but there are a few pesky voices in my back of my mind preaching a degree of caution. After all, I’ve been burned by the “Alien” franchise before.
So, here’s why I’m very hyped about this show, but also forcing myself to keep my excitement in check ahead of “Alien: Earth” arriving in less than a month.
3 reasons I’m excited about 'Alien: Earth'
It looks like ‘Alien’
Perhaps most importantly, at this pre-release stage, “Alien: Earth” appears to have nailed the distinct look of the Alien universe.
The retro-futuristic aesthetic, which blends advanced technology with grimy industrialism, gives the series a unique look, and I’m glad to see that clearly a lot of attention has been paid to making “Alien: Earth” match this design ethos.
This gives me confidence that even if I ultimately have some problems with the show’s narrative chops (though at this stage, I have little reason to believe that will be the case), at least “Alien: Earth” will always be appealing to my eyes.
Overall, it’s a good sign that the show’s creative team is taking the universe seriously and wants “Alien: Earth” to fit within it from a visual standpoint.
Spotlight on synthetics
Much of “Alien: Earth’s” story is being kept under wraps, and as somebody who doesn’t want too much spoiled before watching, I’m very thankful for this approach. However, the narrative morsels we have received are pretty darn tasty. We know the show will focus on Wendy (Sydney Chandler), a young girl who has her mind implanted within the body of a white-blooded synthetic.
It’s an intriguing setup and feels fitting for the “Alien” franchise, which often explores what it means to be human, especially in Ridley Scott’s divisive prequel duology (Nevertheless, I'm a "Prometheus" defender to this day).
Plus, I’m glad to see “Alien: Earth” appears to be mining fresh material, instead of being yet another tale of deep space truckers who stumble upon a Xenomorph and are stalked through various claustrophobic corridors.
‘Alien’ feels well-suited for TV
Anybody who’s consumed some of the extended “Alien” fiction, such as the various original novels out there, will tell you that “Alien” is well-suited to episodic storytelling. While the movies are the franchise’s core, more meaty stories can be successfully told in this world.
Of course, I love the movies, and thought last year’s “Alien: Romulus” was a phenomenal return-to-form, but with a two-hour runtime, the narrative has to progress at a pretty fast clip.
Therefore, I'm pretty intrigued to see what showrunner Noah Hawley can do with an eight-episode arc. This should allow us to fully connect with its cast before the Alien shows up to wreak havoc, and probably murder more than a few of the characters we’ve grown seriously attached to.
2 reasons I’m worried about 'Alien: Earth'
Will it mess up the lore?
My single biggest concern is how “Alien: Earth” will fit into the series’ established canon. “Alien” and its first three sequels are all about Ellen Ripley’s quest to stop even a single Xenomorph getting to Earth, because in her own words, “If one of those things gets down here, then that will be all!”
Yet, “Alien: Earth” appears primed to tell us that Ripley’s quest to stop the Xenos from finding a way into our big blue planet was seemingly in vain. They already made it, and years earlier.
Granted, it's not like previous “Alien” media haven’t played fast and loose with the series’ previous canon, but I’m hoping “Alien: Earth” finds a satisfying way to fit into the timeline and doesn't totally contradict what came before it.
The Predator in the room
There’s an increasing sense among “Alien” fans that everything is building up to a new “Alien vs. Predator” crossover event.
For example, the latest trailer for “Predator: Badlands” features a brief sight of the Weyland-Yutani logo, and the first “Alien: Earth” preview includes a line about “predatory” creatures, which feels like an explicit wink towards viewers.
I believe that the “Alien” and “Predator” franchises work best standalone, and I would rather the two remain separate going forward. But based on all this teasing, not to mention comments from “Alien: Romulus” director Fede Alvarez, it does appear the two sci-fi titans will be meeting again in the future.
I’m hoping that “Alien: Earth” can be a great “Alien” show first and not just a backdoor setup for a new stab at an “Alien vs. Predator” movie. The “Alien” universe is great enough on its own that it doesn't need added Predators.
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