James Whitehead
There is currently a Mission Impossible film in theatres, a Predator film on the way and even a trailer for a new project in the Alien franchise. I’m not sure what decade we’re in, but I do know that I love what I’m seeing from the first full trailer for FX’s Alien: Earth series.
Coming to Disney+ and Hulu on the 12th of August, Alien: Earth is set two years before the original 1979 Alien film and will show us the cultural climate of Earth at that time of its first encounter with the Xenomorph race. Watch the new trailer for Alien: Earth, below.
The 8-episode series is coming from showrunner Noah Hawley and original Alien creator Ridley Scott will have executive producer credits. The trailer gives us our first in-depth, terrestrial look on Earth, removing the confined spaces of a ship, whilst keeping the terror and looming threat synonymous with any Alien project. The dystopian and corporate feel of the Earth sets up the scale of the Weyland-Yutani enterprise, which has been the driving force behind the entire franchise.
Clearly in their earlier, more experimental days, we see them dabbling with hybridising humans and synthetics, giving us our first look at Wendy, played by Sydney Chandler. It’s our first experience of a synthetic with a human consciousness in the series, presenting a fresh and unique dynamic, especially when introduced to her mentor Kirsh. A full synthetic character. Played by Timothy Olyphant.
I love the tone of this first trailer. It feels unique and fresh for the franchise whilst also hitting the right levels of nostalgia and aesthetic compatibility from the first films, which becomes even more important when you set it so close to the original film’s timeline. The depiction of Earth has a clear Blade Runner influence. A clear nod to Ridley Scott’s work and an attempt at trying to recapture that similar feel and aesthetic. For the trailer at least, this has achieved to great effect.
The first two episodes drop when the series premiers in August, with the following six episodes releasing weekly after that. For more updates on the series, be sure to check out TV and Film News section on the Hits Player, for all the latest stories in entertainment.
