It's a good time to be an Alien fan. With Alien: Romulus earning critical acclaim and a healthy box office profit since its August 16 release, the sci-fi horror franchise's latest entry has seemingly revived interest in the xenomorph-starring movie series.
You would think, then, that now is the perfect time to make people aware that the first-ever Alien TV series is coming soon. Well, that's what FX Networks and Hulu have done, with the duo releasing the first teaser for Alien: Earth, which will land on Hulu (in the US) and Disney Plus (internationally) sometime in 2025.
There's just one slight problem with Alien: Earth's first-look footage. I've tried to be as polite as possible here, but it's quite possible the most underwhelming teaser I've seen in a long time. Think I'm overexaggerating? Watch it for yourself below:
See what I mean? In my view, it does absolutely nothing to sell the forthcoming series to anyone whose not a diehard Alien fan. Heck, it might be a 15-second-long video but, considering five of those precious seconds are devoted to its title card at the end of the teaser, we only actually get 10 seconds worth of footage, which simply show planet Earth reflected in a xenomorph's shiny head before it screams at the camera.
Now, I know what you're thinking: "Tom, the very definition of a teaser is just that! Its only job is to tease more of what's to come." I hear you loud and clear, reader, and it certainly beats the extraneous, overly long teasers we've come to expect from studios that practically outline the entire plot of new movies and TV shows before they've been released. Maybe it's just me, but I was hoping for a bit more than what Alien: Earth's first-look footage offers. Would it have been too much to ask to see something like Alien: Romulus' menacing first trailer, which showed off the Fede Alvarez-directed film's suspense-filled tone and grimy neo-futurisitic vibe? Not in my opinion.
Who is part of Alien: Earth's cast? And what is its story about?
Clearly, the aforementioned teaser – to me, it's nothing more than a TV spot, but whatever – doesn't provide any answers to the above questions but, thankfully, Alien: Earth's official webpage does. Here's the brief plot synopsis that's outlined on its website: "When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat in FX’s highly anticipated TV series Alien: Earth from creator Noah Hawley."
As the story brief confirms, Noah Hawley, whose previous industry credits include Fargo (one of the best Hulu shows), Legion, and Bones, is Alien: Earth's creator, as well as its main writer and director. Chandler, who some readers might recognize from the Olivia Wilde-directed Don't Worry Darling and Disney Plus TV Original Pistol, is the show's lead. Per Deadline, Chandler is playing a character called Wendy, who has "the body of an adult, but the brain and consciousness of a child".
Joining Chandler on Alien: Earth's cast roster are a host of familiar names, including Timothy Olyphant (The Mandalorian, Terminator Zero), Kit Young (Shadow and Bone), Alex Lawther (Andor), Sandra Yi Sencindiver (Foundation), and Essie Davies (Game of Thrones, One Day).
As I mentioned up top, Alien: Earth is only confirmed to launch on two of the world's best streaming services in 2025. Hopefully, we'll learn of an official release date sooner rather than later – and, whenever that announcement is made, I'm expecting a much better trailer to arrive alongside it.
