Mile spoilers below for anyone who hasn't yet watched Alien: Earth on FX or with a Hulu subscription.
FX’s Alien: Earth has finally landed on the 2025 TV schedule, bringing with it a new chapter in the Alien movie timeline spearheaded by Fargo’s Noah Hawley and the show’s impressive cast. While it seems like the new sci-fi series will deviate from the canon somewhat, there is one aspect of Ridley Scott’s original classic that came back this time: practical Xenomorphs.
Ahead of the new Hulu arrival’s debut, CinemaBlend sat down with members of the Alien: Earth cast to talk about what it was like sharing the screen with one of the scariest movie monsters of all time. When asked if there was a period of adjustment working with an actor in a Xenomorph suit, star Alex Lawther (who plays soldier and medic CJ “Hermit") opened up about how wild it was going from seeing the Xenomorph as something trying to kill his character to a guy from New Zealand hanging out on set:
There's something, you know, you say action, and I'm running away from this Xenomorph. It is frightening. But then you say, cut, and he takes off his helmet, and he's a guy from New Zealand, in a suit.
Running from a deadly stowaway on the space vessel Maginot after it crash lands on Earth one moment and then bumping into “a guy from New Zealand” the next? I'd say that had to be totally trippy.
Adding onto this experience of the stuntman playing the Xenomorph, Sydney Chandler, who plays a hybrid human/synthetic and CJ’s sister, recounted how “calm” and “casual” the guy looked between takes:
Nibbling a celery stick. And so calm, so casual. It's like he was at the grocery store.
The mental image of a Xenomorph chomping down on a celery stalk is something that’s now stuck in your head. Though they didn’t say one way or another, I'm sure you're wondering the same thing we are: if the creature’s iconic piston-like inner mouth popped out to grab the stalk from the veggie tray.
Having a Xenomorph played by an actor could make things awkward in craft services and all, but taking the franchise back to its roots in this regard is one of several nice touches by Noah Hawley and company. You may recall that Ridley Scott cast Nigerian visual artist and actor Bolaji Badejo to play the original alien back in Alien, and that helped make it one of the best sci-fi movies of all time.
How Alien: Earth will stack up to the movies is anyone’s guess at this point, but critics have had great things to say about the FX on Hulu series so far. In fact, it was still rocking a 94 % on Rotten Tomatoes on the day of its premiere.
The first two episodes of Alien: Earth are now streaming on Hulu, and the remaining installments will be released every Tuesday until the Season 1 finale in late September. We won't get to see a Xenomorph eat a celery stick (or watch a Facehugger latch to a meat plate), but we can expect some intense sci-fi horror.
