Alien: Earth – release date, trailer, confirmed cast, story synopsis, and more about the Hulu and Disney+ show's debut

Alien: Earth is gearing up to make TV fans scream. FX's sci-fi horror series, which is the first TV project set in the Alien universe, will wrap us all in the warm embrace of a face hug on August 12 (US) and August 13 (UK and Australia). The countdown is on, then, towards its streaming debut.

Before it emerges from its slimy cocoon, you'll want to read about all things Alien: Earth. To that end, I've rounded up the latest intel on the forthcoming Hulu and Disney+ TV show, including its trailer, confirmed cast, plot specifics, and more.

Light spoilers follow for the program's cast and story, so proceed with caution if you're avoiding them ahead of release.

Alien: Earth release date

As mentioned, FX's small-screen offering will leap onto TV sets on August 12 in the US. and August 13 in the UK and Australia (NB: readers outside of these nations can use these dates to work out when they'll be able to watch it).

Its launch date was a closely guarded secret until recently. Indeed, Alien: Earth's official release was only confirmed on May 13. Nonetheless, it's good to hear we'll have something to be scared silly over this summer (that's winter for southern hemisphere dwellers)!

Alien: Earth trailer

It took a while, but Alien: Earth's official trailer was finally unveiled on June 5 and it teased threats that may be even more dangerous than the franchise's horrifying xenomorph.

When I say the show's first full-look teaser has been a long time coming, I mean it. FX revealed the very first teaser for Alien's inaugural TV show last September and then waited eight months to birth another, slightly longer Alien: Earth teaser. Six weeks before its official trailer was released, Disney posted another round of footage (see the Instagram post below) that teased the alien creatures that were further revealed in its most recent trailer.

Alien: Earth confirmed cast

Here's the full, confirmed cast list for Alien: Earth:

• Sydney Chandler as Wendy
• Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh
• Alex Lawther as Hermit
• Samuel Blenkin as Boy Kavalier
• Babou Ceesay as Morrow
• Adrian Edmondson as Atom Eins
• David Rysdahl as Arthur Sylvia
• Essie Davis as Dame Silvia
• Lily Newmark as Nibs
• Erana James as Curly
• Adarsh Gourav as Slightly
• Jonathan Ajayi as Smee
• Kit Young as Tootles
• Diêm Camille as Siberian
• Moe Bar-El as Rashidi
• Sandra Yi Sencindiver as Yutani

Chandler's Wendy is the protagonist of the piece. Previously, we learned she was an adult woman with the mental age of a child. However, Alien: Earth's official trailer and story brief confirm that, as a kid, Wendy's consciousness was transferred into the body of a hybrid, aka a humanoid imbued with an actual person's consciousness. Presumably, this is done because Wendy has a terminal illness, which appears to be the case in said trailer.

Every other actor's role is still a mystery, but I'll speculate on how some of them factor into proceedings in this guide's story section.

Well, everyone apart from Sencindiver. She's confirmed to be playing Yutani, which, surprising no-one, is one of the individuals most associated with the ruthless, capitalist company that bears the name Weyland-Yutani in the Alien franchise.

It seems, then, that Alien: Earth will finally introduce us to the other major founders of this profiteering conglomerate – the first, of course, being Peter Weyland, who was played by Guy Pearce in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. While you're here, see where these films sit on our ranking of the best Alien movies.

Alien: Earth story synopsis and speculation

Potential spoilers follow for Alien: Earth below.

Here's the official plot brief for Alien: Earth: "In the year 2120, 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). The first hybrid prototype, named Wendy, marks a new dawn in the race for immortality. After Weyland-Yutani’s spaceship collides into Prodigy City, Wendy and the other hybrids encounter mysterious life forms more terrifying than anyone could have ever imagined."

As the story synopsis alludes to, Wendy won't be the only hybrid who'll appear in this show. Indeed, with names like Curly, Slightly, Tootles, and Nibs, it seems she'll be joined on the humanoid front by a whole host of prototypes.

There'll be plenty of real humans who'll further popular this series, though. Prior to the official story brief's unveiling, FX released a much shorter synopsis that read: "When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet's greatest threat. In 2120, Mother Earth is expecting."

It seems, then, that Wendy will have to join forces with armed personnel to deal with the incredibly dangerous aliens that are presumably brought to our planet by the aforementioned Weyland-Yutani space vessel.

As for what most of those creatures are, I've no idea about them because they appear to be original creations for this Noah Hawley-created project. How much of a threat they post to our world is up for debate.

One thing is clear, though: we will see at least one Xenomorph in Alien: Earth. Speaking to Deadline, Hawley said of the terrifying organism: "There's something about seeing a Xenomorph in the wilds of Earth with your own eyes that is truly chilling to think of it moving here among us."

Asked about the Xenomorph he's created for his small-screen offering, Hawley added: "What was really fun for me was to be able to engage with the creature and bring some of my own thoughts to its design while not touching the silhouette because that's sacrosanct. But, some of the elements of it as we know, whatever the host is, informs what the final creature is."

As for Alien: Earth's wider ties to the franchise, FX chief John Landgraf told THR: "All I can tell you is Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) won't be a part of it, and neither will any other characters – other than the alien itself."

"Noah has an incredible ability to both find a way of being faithful and showing fidelity to an original creation," Landgraf added. "Like [Hawley did for] the Coen brothers with Fargo, or to Ridley Scott's movie and James Cameron's follow-up Aliens, but also to bring something new that represents both an extension and reinvention of a franchise at the same time."

Will there be an Alien: Earth season 2?

FX hasn't officially announced anything yet but, last January, Collider reported on the prospect of future installments, with Hawley teasing: "I knew that their [FX and Disney] desire was for a recurring series, not a limited series, and I had an idea that I was excited about, that I could see the escalation of it from one year to another."

Of course, much will depend on how Alien: Earth is received and performs on two of the world's best streaming services. If it's big enough to warrant a spot on our best Hulu shows and best Disney+ shows, it'll have done something right. Until mid-August rolls around, though, we have no clue if it'll be back for at least one more season.

For more Disney TV-based coverage, read our guides on Only Murders in the Building season 5, Shōgun season 2, The Bear season 4, and Daredevil: Born Again season 2.