Bloody Hell, They Remade The Original *Alien* Trailer: And This Time, Earth's The Egg (Plus, That Poor Cat Again)
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
FX just dropped a new trailer for *Alien: Earth* that's a brilliant, chilling homage to the original *Alien* movie trailer, complete with a terrifying Earth-as-egg visual and a new cat that suffers an iconic, yet horrifying, fate. The show, from *Fargo* creator Noah Hawley, is set just before the original film and promises a return to the franchise's grimy, terrifying roots, even sidestepping some of the prequel lore.
Right, so remember that utterly iconic *Alien* trailer from way back when? The one that perfectly blended existential dread with a slowly forming title, that eerie silence, and a cat that surprisingly made it to the end credits? Well, buckle up, mate, because FX just pulled a move that’s part nostalgic spell, part cheeky homage, and all *Alien*.
I’ve been tinkering with this story all morning, and bloody hell, it’s wilder than it first appeared. With *Alien: Earth* launching today (or tomorrow for us folks across the pond, give or take a time zone), FX has dropped a new trailer that’s a near shot-for-shot, sound-for-sound remake of Ridley Scott’s seminal 1979 classic. You know that feeling when you cast a spell and it works a bit too well, perfectly mirroring an earlier enchantment? That’s what they’ve done here.
The original trailer, in all its chilling simplicity, showed the word ‘Alien’ appearing bit by bit as a Xenomorph egg came into terrifying view over a desolate, alien landscape. The egg cracked, accompanied by those spine-tingling sounds, cutting to frantic glimpses of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley and the *Nostromo* crew looking increasingly desperate, before closing out on the ship itself and that legendary tagline: "In space no one can hear you scream."
This *Alien: Earth* trailer is, quite frankly, uncannily similar. It kicks off with the words ‘Alien Earth’ materialising in that familiar piecemeal fashion, but here’s the kicker – Earth itself is the egg. Yeah, you heard me. Our very own blue marble cracking open with the same chilling visual effect. If that doesn’t scream "we’re utterly doomed," I don’t know what does. From there, we’re plunged into similarly frantic footage from the show. Where Ripley was legging it down a spaceship corridor, we now see the new *Alien: Earth* star, Sydney Chandler, playing Wendy – the first hybrid, apparently – doing pretty much the same frantic dash. It’s a clever bit of visual storytelling, instantly connecting this new series to its terrifying roots.
But what does this mean for us, the curious gamers and sci-fi devotees? It’s a clear signal that Noah Hawley, the maestro who gave us *Fargo* (and clearly knows a thing or two about building oppressive atmospheres), is dead serious about respecting the original material. This isn’t some loose adaptation; it’s a deep bow to the legacy, something genuinely exciting for fans who've felt the franchise has, at times, drifted a bit off-course.
And then there’s the cat. Oh, that poor, poor feline. If you’ve seen the original trailer, you know Jonesy, the *Nostromo’s* furry, four-legged survivor. He had a pretty rough time, but ultimately made it to the end credits, becoming a beloved (if slightly traumatized) companion. This new trailer, however… let’s just say it’s a whole new level of 'never mess with a Xenomorph's snack time.' Without giving away the gory details (because honestly, some things are best experienced with a mild sense of horrified wonder), it hints at a fate for this new kitty that’ll make you hug your own pet a little tighter. It’s a classic *Alien* move, really – ground you with something familiar, then rip it to shreds. A cruel, brilliant bit of marketing, that. The new trailer then signs off with a chillingly succinct new tagline: "We were safer in space." Fair dinkum, if that doesn’t sum up humanity’s prospects, I don’t know what does.
Now, about the show itself. Hawley’s reportedly aiming for a scale even bigger than FX’s critically acclaimed *Shogun*, which, let’s be honest, is quite the claim. That’s like saying your new spell will not only fix reality but also make you a perfect cup of tea simultaneously. Ambitious, mate. The premise revolves around the mysterious deep space research vessel USCSS Maginot (another subtle nod to *Alien* lore, perhaps?), which crash-lands on Earth. Wendy, our aforementioned first hybrid, along with a group of tactical soldiers, makes a "fateful discovery" that puts them squarely face-to-face with the Xenomorphs we know and… well, don’t exactly love. But apparently, there are also a number of never-before-seen alien species joining the party, some of which are described as “disgusting.” Sounds about right for the *Alien* franchise’s sci-fi horror roots, doesn’t it?
What’s particularly intriguing is the timeline. *Alien: Earth* is set just a few years before the events of the original *Alien* film. At this point, Earth is governed by five mega-corporations: Weyland-Yutani (of course), Prodigy (who own the city where the *Maginot* crashes), Lynch, Dynamic, and Threshold. Cyborgs and synthetics are coexisting with humans, but then the boss of Prodigy goes and invents hybrids – humanoid robots with human consciousness. Wendy is the first prototype, tying directly into the established push for immortality that’s been a running, rather terrifying theme throughout the *Alien* saga.
And what’s really got my curiosity antennae twitching is Hawley’s approach to the broader lore. He’s apparently sidestepping the backstory provided in *Prometheus* – you know, the one with the Engineers and the black goo that, for some of us, felt a bit like a fanfic gone wild? – and sticking firmly to the 'retro-futurism' of the original films. And honestly? Good on him. Sometimes you just gotta acknowledge the path less taken was less taken for a reason. He even chatted with Ridley Scott, the OG wizard himself, about "many, many elements" of the series, including its ties to the prequels, before deciding to cut loose and carve his own path back to that terrifying, grimy, original vibe. It’s a bold move, but one that could very well pay off by grounding us back in the pure, unadulterated horror that made *Alien* legendary in the first place, rather than getting bogged down in convoluted alien genesis stories.
So, *Alien: Earth* drops its first two episodes today, August 12th, on Hulu at 8pm ET, and on FX and Disney+ at 8pm PT/ET (August 13th for us in the UK and internationally on Disney+). New episodes of the eight-episode season will then appear each following Tuesday. If the trailer is anything to go by, we’re in for a return to the chilling, visceral horror that made us fall in love (and scream our lungs out) with the *Alien* universe in the first place. Just, maybe keep your pets out of the room, eh? This article is based on reporting by IGN South Africa.
Tags: sci-fi horror, TV series, trailer analysis, Alien franchise, pop culture
Original article: IGN South Africa