Alien: Earth is ready to hit screens at last this summer, and we've finally got a date and first look at it!
In the annals of sci-fi movies, Alien is one of the standards of the genre. 1979's Alien was a masterpiece, as Ridley Scott directed the tale of a starship crew member who discovered a huge alien ship. They end up finding the Xenomorphs, twisted monsters who can lay eggs inside humans and grow into horrific, multi-clawed and toothed figures with acid for blood.
The movie was a hit, with James Cameron's 1986 sequel, Aliens, even bigger. It boosted Sigourney Weaver to stardom and continued with numerous sequels, including 2024's Alien: Romulus. Now, after years of talk, we've got a date and first look at the long-awaited TV adaptation Alien: Earth that finally brings the creatures to our world!
Alien: Earth release date, synopsis, and cast
The series is set to premiere on Tuesday, Aug. 12, with the first two episodes coming to FX at 8/7c and Hulu at 8/7c. The eight-episode series will drop weekly on Tuesdays after that.
It's a big move for Hulu and FX as the show was hit by delays due to the 2023 Hollywood strikes. However, it's finally coming with new images that look to bring the saga to a new medium!
The series is set in 2120, two years before the events of the first Alien film. The storyline shows Earth now controlled not by nations, but five major corporations who are pushing synthetics, humanoid robots and a new hybrid called "Wendy" ready to change the game.
However, the discovery of another lifeform may lead to a new threat and call into question how much Earth truly knew about the Aliens before the movies.
"In the year 2120, the Earth is governed by five corporations: Prodigy, Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic and Threshold. In this Corporate Era, cyborgs (humans with both biological and artificial parts) and synthetics (humanoid robots with artificial intelligence) exist alongside humans. But the game is changed when the wunderkind Founder and CEO of Prodigy Corporation unlocks a new technological advancement: hybrids (humanoid robots infused with human consciousness). The first hybrid prototype named 'Wendy' marks a new dawn in the race for immortality. After Weyland-Yutani's spaceship collides into Prodigy City, Wendy and the other hybrids encounter mysterious life forms more terrifying than anyone could have ever imagined."
That promises to fit well into the Alien timeline while also answering questions on the creatures and the rise of synthetics in this universe.
The series stars Sydney Chandler as Wendy with Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh, her synth trainer. Also in the cast are Alex Lawther as soldier CJ aka "Hermit," Essie Davis, David Rysdahal, Samuel Blenkin, Adarsh Gourav, Babou Ceesay, Jonathan Ajayi, Erana James, Lily Newmark, Diêm Camille, and Adrian Edmondson. The cast looks to mix it up between the corporations, spaceship crew workers, colonists and some secret characters.
Who won't be appearing is Sigourney Weaver. While the film is set before the first Alien film, there seems to be no plan to have Ripley be part of this story and rather focus on the wider world.
That's a good idea as there's plenty of mythology to explore. The movies never touched on Earth or what it was like and the political games between these corporations should provide plenty of drama. That will be a good balance to the inevitable action and scares we've come to expect from the Alien series.
We still need to see a full trailer, but the images hint that Alien: Earth will expand the franchise to television for what is likely going to be a dark summer ride!
Alien: Earth premieres Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 8/7c on FX and Hulu.