Alien: Earth Trailer Reveals Sci-Fi Threats That Go Beyond The Xenomorph

We've been patiently waiting for the day we would stop getting endless 30-second teasers for "Alien: Earth" and finally get a proper glimpse at what Noah Hawley and his team have been cooking within the world created by Ridley Scott back in 1979. Thankfully, reader, a full-length trailer for the first "Alien" TV show is finally here, and there is nothing else to say except, "Hell yeah!"

Though still brief and vague, the trailer does clarify some hugely important things. First of all, it confirms the series takes place in the year 2120 on a research island called Neverland. That means the story can have stakes while still being isolated enough that the entire planet isn't at risk. Most importantly, the trailer gives us a look at the threats we'll encounter ... and there's more than one.

Sure, the beloved Xenomorph is alive and well and apparently about to annihilate yet another twink played by Alex Lawther (Nemik in "Andor," the unsung hero of the Rebellion), but it's not alone. We also learn here that the research spaceship that crash lands on Earth is carrying not one but five different alien specimens "from the darkest corners of the universe." Unsurprisingly, none of them is friendly, though one is definitely cute.

Every entry in the "Alien" franchise introduces something new and fascinating to the mythology, even if it's just a rather cool visual like a mutant Engineer (aka The Offspring). For "Alien: Earth," the central innovation seems to be the addition of four new alien species about to unleash unspoken terrors on unsuspecting puny humans.

We see one of them in the trailer, and it does something unique in the franchise — it gives us an adorable killer alien. Indeed, there's a brief, blink-and-you-miss-it shot of what looks like an octopus-like creature with giant eyes. It's cute as hell and probably extremely deadly. But given that the Xenomorph is the only other-worldly creature we've met in the entire "Alien" franchise (not counting the Engineers), this is an exciting prospect and one that should set "Alien: Earth" apart from its predecessors.

There's also the curious idea of humans turning into synthetics, as the trailer begins with a little girl undergoing a procedure that can transfer her consciousness to a synthetic body. We don't know what this will mean for the rest of the show, but at the very least it could make for some nifty imagery in which characters "die" over and over simply to get their synthetic bodies repaired.

We'll find out more when "Alien: Earth" drops on Hulu August 12, 2025.