Four things we noticed from the new Alien: Earth trailer

(Image credit: Hulu / Disney+)

published 6 June 2025

Noah Hawley is back behind the camera, creating an all-new epic Alien adventure which will give you trouble sleeping. Months before it premieres, Alien: Earth has shared its first official trailer.

If you’re getting deja vu, we get it, because this new TV series is based on the original franchise. It’s an eight-part series premiering on Wednesday, 13th August on Disney+. And it’s a sort of buy-one-get-one-free as Disney are dropping the first two episodes on the 13th, while the following episodes will drop every Wednesday.

According to the logline, "In the year 2120, the Earth is governed by five corporations: Prodigy, Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic and Threshold... 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 with Prodigy City, 'Wendy' and the other hybrids encounter mysterious life forms more terrifying than anyone could have ever imagined."

Want to know more? Here's four things to get you excited / terrified about Alien's TV debut.

FX’s Alien: Earth | Official Trailer | Disney+ UK - YouTube

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1. It's a prequel

The savvy among you may already know that this series is set to be a prequel to the films, taking place two years before the events of the 1979 Alien film. This is a pretty impressive feat considering the series is set in 2120, an era with monstrous, robots, hybrids and more. Is Alien heading for a Star Wars-esque franchise expansion treatment? Looking likely…

2. It’s even more dystopian than the films

an image of a dystopian creature on top of five locked vaults which are glowing yellow

Not to say the other films haven’t been dystopian in their own way - sci-fi invariably taps into the spectrum of dystopian all the way from the Mike Flanagan futuristic light-touches to the really, bloody weird. However, from the trailer, we know that there are human bodies inside synthetic ones (cyborgs), and synthetics - humanoid robots with artificial intelligence - which exist alongside humans. On your marks, get set, go crazy.

3. There are more monstrous species than ever

The biggest thing we noticed about the series from the two-minute trailer is how much Noah Hawley is upping the stakes. Whereas before we had a singular terrifying life form (albeit in different stages of its life cycle), this new series sees five very dangerous species let loose on the crashed spacecraft. Scary…

4. It's got a stacked cast

Does it go without saying? Maybe. Sydney Chandler is leading the cast as Wendy, a woman who has the body of an adult and the consciousness of a human child. Timothy Olyphant is also starring as Kirsh, Wendy’s synthetic mentor and trainer. It’s also got a fair few familiar British faces, including Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkini, and Lily Newmark.

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Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.