The finale of Alien: Earth has ended one chapter in the story of xenomorphs, eyeball monsters, and hybrid synthetic life. But will this cliffhanger lead to more of this gripping series, or is Episode 8, “The Real Monsters,” the ending of the story? According to a new interview with showrunner and creator Noah Hawley, the answer is a little bit of both.
Spoilers ahead.
“Obviously, I had to plan and execute a story that’s going someplace,” Hawley tells The Hollywood Reporter in an interview that was published just after the finale aired. But he also emphasizes that Season 1 of Alien: Earth is a “proof-of-concept experiment to see if enough people on the planet want to watch an Alien TV show.” So, as of right now, that means Season 2 is not guaranteed, but Hawley notes that because enthusiasm for the show is strong, he expects to “get some kind of sign from them [FX] as to whether I should get another job or get back to work [on Alien: Earth Season 2].
Hawley also notes that the ending of the Alien: Earth finale isn’t necessarily what fans might think. The show ends with Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and the other hybrids in full control of the Prodigy island installation, complete with a full-grown xenomorph and a baby xenomorph as bodyguards. Wendy says declaratively, “Now we rule,” but Hawley points out that whatever happens in Season 2 will unpack the next moments after that statement.
“This chapter is closed, but Yutani troops are landing,” Hawley says. “ The last line of ‘Now we rule’ is triumphant and uplifting. But cut to 10 minutes later … what is going to be happening?”
Fans may note that it's telling that Hawley mentions the “Yutani troops.” Although a Weyland-Yutani ship, the Maginot, was central to the story of Alien: Earth, we didn’t get as much information about Yutani herself as we might have wanted. While the 2011 Alien prequel, Prometheus, introduced Peter Weyland (Guy Pierce), Alien: Earth is the first time we’ve met a human representative of the Yutani part of the company. Played by Sandra Yi Sencindiver, Yutani’s presence in Alien: Earth was brief, but fierce. “I’d love to know more about her family’s legacy myself,” Sencindiver recently told Inverse.
So, is Hawley suggesting that Yutani — both the company and the woman — are a bigger part of Alien: Earth Season 3?
For now, the overall storyline that exists in Hawley’s head for future seasons is unclear. But there are plans. When and if Alien: Earth Season 2 gets the greenlight, Hawley probably won’t be making things up as he goes along, and “the Lost Boys” are almost certainly in for a shock.
