ALIEN: EARTH Is Set to Explore One of the Franchise’s Most Haunting Questions - "Which Species Is Worse”

If there’s one question that’s haunted every Alien film since Ridley Scott’s original in 1979, it’s this… between humans and monsters, who’s really worse?

That question takes center stage in Alien: Earth, Noah Hawley’s upcoming FX and Hulu series arriving August 12.

We’ve been drip-fed plot details for a while now, but a new interview with Entertainment Weekly finally shines a light on what’s really driving the story, and it's less about acid-blooded Xenomorphs and more about human nature.

The series centers on Wendy, a character played by Sydney Chandler. Wendy’s a new kind of character for the Alien universe as she’s a human-robot hybrid with “a child’s brain in a bot’s body.”

This is a very unique character, and it defines how she interacts with the horrors around her, including both the alien threat and the people supposedly on her side. Hawley explained:

“Sydney’s character is someone who’s trying to figure out what her role is in this world and, on some level, the age-old question of, does humanity deserve to survive?”

He points to Ripley’s iconic line in Aliens, when she asks, “which species is worse,” as a direct influence. He continued:

“This idea of the horrible things that we do to each other,” Hawley continued. “Sydney plays a somewhat innocent character who finds herself trying to navigate two kinds of monsters. One is human and the other is from outer space. We do expand on that idea that it’s going to be up to the audience which species is worse.”

That innocence comes from Wendy’s childlike mind, and that mindset is key to the show’s emotional core. Chandler added:

“Noah took us more into the mindset space. What is the essence of a kid or a young adult? How do their minds work differently than the adult mind?

“Kids are so present and they haven’t been battered by the world as much as an adult. So they trust their gut and they don’t second guess.”

With Alien: Earth, Hawley’s not just unleashing another round of survival horror, he’s challenging audiences to confront the ugliest parts of themselves. The monsters are back, sure, but the real terror might still be us.

In the year 2120, the Earth is governed by five corporations: Prodigy, Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic, and Threshold. In this Corporate Era, cyborgs (humans with both biological and artificial parts) and synthetics (humanoid robots with artificial intelligence) exist alongside humans.

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).

When the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot crash-lands on Earth, ‘Wendy’ 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 Alien: Earth.

In this version of Earth, the future is run not by nations, but corporations, a dystopian twist that aligns well with Alien lore, especially with the ever-looming presence of Weyland-Yutani.

According to previously released details, the series will feature five different monsters, making this easily one of the most creature-heavy entries in the franchise’s history.

Backing Chandler is a stacked ensemble including Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh, Alex Lawther as Hermit, and Babou Ceesay as Morrow, along with Essie Davis, Adrian Edmondson, David Rysdahl, Lily Newmark, and many more.

FX’s Alien: Earth is executive-produced by Hawley, alongside franchise legend Ridley Scott, as well as David W. Zucker, Joseph Iberti, Dana Gonzales, and Clayton Krueger.

Alien: Earth premieres August 12 on FX and Hulu.