The recent full-length trailer and subsequent teaser clips for the upcoming FX television show Alien: Earth have revealed that the legendary Xenomorph XX121 will not be the only deadly creature featured in the show. The spaceship Maginot has collected samples of five of the deadliest species in the galaxy, and when the ship crashes into Prodigy City, the creatures escape and all hell breaks loose.
While we don’t yet know the details on all these monsters, the trailer reveals a creature bio for a parasitic organism called T. Ocellus; the monster apparently removes the host’s eyeball from the socket and fills in the space with its body. From there it wires a connection to the brain through the optical nerve and can control or influence the host. (See the image below.)
Image: FX Networks
T. Ocellus will serve as a welcome contrast to the Xenomorph as it is small and cerebral by nature, lacking the same physical size and force. It will be interesting to see how the Xenomorph competes against it. For example, can T. Ocellus affect a Chestburster inside an infected human host and somehow control it once it breaks out? Will T. Ocellus use human solider hosts to stalk and hunt down the Xenomorph? Of course, the XX121 lacks eyes, making it a natural predator and rival to T. Ocellus, one on a completely different evolutionary track.
Presumably the other creatures yet to be revealed will likewise compete against the Xenomorph by relying on abilities honed along different evolutionary trees. Some, I imagine, will be just as big and powerful, while others may rival the Perfect Organism’s ability to hunt by stealth.
After forty plus years of storytelling, the Xenomorph XX121 is quite familiar to audiences; consequently, the fear and mystery have somewhat faded from science-fiction’s most legendary monster. Noah Hawley’s decision to include other monsters in Alien: Earth is sure to make fans nervous, but perhaps it is exactly the right way to draw out the unparalleled qualities of the Xenomorph. Fans will get to see more than just Colonial Marines wasting bugs in massive acid sprays or space crews blasting them “out the damn airlock.” The Xenomorph will fight, claw, and out-hunt the other beasts to prove once and for all that it is indeed king of the monsters.
I’ll be seated with popcorn for the show.
Tell us what you think! Are you worried about the inclusion of other monsters in Alien: Earth or are you optimistic about how the show will handle these clashes? Share your reactions in the comments below or join the conversation in Boss Rush Network’s Discord, Facebook, and Twitter.
Featured Image: FX Networks
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