Alien: Earth Trailer Brings The Classic Sci-Fi Horror Series To Streaming

Our new look at Noah Hawley's TV series "Alien: Earth" is here, and while the teaser trailer is pretty dang brief (about 30 seconds long, with nearly half that much time devoted to the FX and Hulu logos at the end), it still promises plenty of sci-fi squelchiness and scares in line with the original 1979 Ridley Scott-directed sci-fi horror film classic and subsequent franchise follow-ups.

The show will function as a prequel of sorts, one that its official synopsis describes as revolving around "a young woman and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers" who make a dangerous discovery when an other-worldly vessel crashes on Earth. "As members of the crash recovery crew search for survivors among the wreckage, they encounter mysterious predatory life forms more terrifying than they could have ever imagined," the synopsis continues. The upcoming series stars Sydney Chandler ("Don't Worry Darling"), Alex Lawther ("The End of the F***ing World"), Essie Davis ("Game of Thrones"), and "Justified" star Timothy Olyphant, who we hope will somehow be playing a space cowboy. (Although early reports indicate he's playing a synthetic. Perhaps he'll be an android space cowboy?)

Hawley, the creative mastermind behind such great FX shows as "Legion" and "Fargo," is a thrilling addition to the "Alien" directorial stable, though this new look doesn't exactly offer us many clues about what to expect from "Alien: Earth." The show is likely still in post-production after wrapping filming in July 2024 (per a chat Hawley had with Variety), so this early preview is less about the series' character or plot and more about teasing its connection to the larger franchise and the Xenomorphs' small-screen debut. (A short-form "Alien" series, it should be noted, was released on IGN back in 2019.)

"In 2120," an ominous voiceover proclaims in the promo, "Mother Earth is expecting." In the context of the "Alien" franchise, this line is pretty dang ominous, especially since the movies have always had a pretty gruesome relationship with pregnancy. The original Chestburster scene was presented almost like an emergency childbirth, and earlier this year, "Alien: Romulus" featured a gnarly human-Xenomorph hybrid birth sequence. Whatever Mother Earth is expecting, it can't be good. The shot of the Earth is soon revealed to be reflecting off the glistening head of a Xenomorph, which opens its maw with a roar.

The rest of the promo offers super-quick glimpses of imagery from the series, accompanied by some nasty sound effects that are part technological, part reptilian, part gooey and organic. There's a shot of some mucus-like goo, a shot of the eye of a white animal (maybe a horse or sheep?), and an extremely brief image of a human face screaming. Could we be dealing with some good, old fashioned alien livestock mutilation here? Only time will tell. 

FX's "Alien: Earth" debuts on Hulu in the summer of 2025.