Here’s Everything We Know About Alien: Earth So Far
We’ll finally hear the screaming.
After the runaway success of 2024’s Alien: Romulus, the franchise of chestbursters and facehuggers is spraying the xenomorphs’ acidic blood onto television for the first time. Alien: Earth is one of the most hotly anticipated sci-fi series of the year, and the prequel to the original movie will change everything we thought we knew about this universe.
Here’s everything we know so far about Alien: Earth, from the extensive cast to the story basics, trailers, possible release dates, and how it all fits into the franchise’s complex timeline.
What is the plot of Alien: Earth?
Sydney Chandler as Wendy, a child in a synthetic body.
Set in 2120, two years before Alien, Alien: Earth seems focused on two basic storylines: the crash-landing of a ship containing xenomorphs, and conflicts between various corporations, of which the infamous Weyland-Yutani is just one player. Series showrunner Noah Hawley has said the series is open-ended, and could run well beyond one season. In an early interview, Hawley said Alien: Earth “could be the next 10 years of my life.”
Is There a Trailer For Alien: Earth?
So far, there are two clips of Alien: Earth out there. One is a very brief teaser that depicts what appears to be a facehugger loose on a crashing spaceship. Another depicts Morrow (Babou Ceesay) aboard the USCSS Maginot interfacing with the AI computer known as “Mother.” Morrow appears to be a Synth, as he’s indifferent to the fate of a crewmember (Richa Moorjan) who’s apparently being attacked by a full-grown xenomorph.
FX has also released a trailer that previews several of their upcoming series, including brief clips from Alien: Earth.
Who is in the Alien: Earth Cast?
Timothy Olyphant will headline Alien: Earth.
The cast of Alien: Earth is huge. Here are some of the notable actors confirmed for a regular, guest star, or recurring role, plus what we know about them so far.
- Sydney Chandler as Wendy. Her character is a “hybrid,” which means she has the mind of a child but a synthetically created adult body.
- Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh. He's a “synth,” which means he’s closer to the robots from other Alien movies like David, Ash, and Bishop.
- Sandra Yi Sencindiver. Her character is a bigshot in the Weyland-Yutani Corporation.
- Babou Ceesay as Morrow. Based on one of the clips we’ve seen, this character is a synth working on the USCSS Maginot, a ship destined to crash on Earth.
- Richa Moorjani. A human crewmember on the USCSS Maginot.
- Alex Lawther as CJ.
- Samuel Blenkin as Boy Kavalier.
- Essie Davis as Dame Silvia.
- Lloyd Everitt as Hoyt.
- Dean Alexandrou as Bergerfield.
- Adarsh Gourav as Slightly.
- Kit Young as Tootles.
Where Does Alien: Earth Fit In the Alien Timeline?
The creator of Alien: Earth is Noah Hawley, perhaps best known for his Fargo TV series.
Alien: Earth is set in 2120, just two years before the original Alien. There’s no reason to think there will be any crossover, as the spaceship Nostromo is out in deep space with its crew in hyper-sleep at this point.
Because the series takes place on Earth, the show will also sidestep both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, which take place in 2093 and 2104, respectively. Neither the dates nor the locations of those stories will overlap.
In early interviews, showrunner Noah Hawley said he won’t rely too much on the story Prometheus told about the xenomorphs’ origins, claiming those details were “just inherently less useful to me.” So while Alien: Earth won’t contradict the existing canon, it might not be the dot-connecting Easter egg-fest some fans might have expected.
Does Alien: Earth Have a Release Date?
Despite the fact that Alien: Earth is coming out soon, there’s still no concrete release date. The show will stream on Hulu and will arrive sometime in the summer of 2025, with a few rumors suggesting the series will start streaming in July. There will be eight episodes, although it's unclear if those will air weekly or on another release schedule.
