If Noah Hawley had embraced Ridley Scott’s original idea for the 1979 film Alien, in which Ripley dies, the pilot episode of Alien: Earth would have been dramatically different. This unexpected concept, involving Ripley’s death and the Xenomorph mimicking her voice en route to Earth, was ultimately rejected by Hawley while developing the new show.
Scott’s original vision provoked fear and tension, but Noah Hawley chose instead to develop Alien: Earth with fresh ideas and creatures to establish a retro-futuristic atmosphere apart from previous Alien narratives.
The Creeping Fear of Body Snatchers That Nearly Shaped Alien: Earth’s Premiere
Body snatcher concepts have long unsettled audiences in science fiction, and Scott’s idea to kill Ripley and let the Xenomorph impersonate her over the radio taps into that uneasy fear. Had this ending been used, it could have shocked fans and altered the franchise’s trajectory.
Noah Hawley spoke about this in an interview with Yahoo News, revealing,
“There was a moment, Ridley told me that what he wanted to do was that he wanted to have the xenomorph kill Ripley and then get on the radio and mimic her voice and then head off to Earth.” —Noah Hawley, Show Creator
He added,
“He didn’t do that, but he had that thought, and so I think there is something to that idea. That sort of invasion of the body snatchers idea is still really scary.” —Noah Hawley, Show Creator
This chilling scenario would have introduced a haunting twist, unsettling both creators and viewers alike. Instead, the original film ends with Ripley defeating the Xenomorph, setting a hopeful tone as she pilots her shuttle toward Earth while logging her survival.
Had Scott’s idea been integrated into Alien: Earth, it might have resulted in a similarly disturbing series finale, perhaps with a beloved character’s death and the alien imitating them to deceive humanity. This notion gains weight given the show’s current setting, where the Xenomorph reaches Earth following a crash on New Siam in Prodigy City.
How Alien: Earth Carves Out Its Own Identity Beyond Scott’s Vision
To make Alien: Earth unique, Noah Hawley reimagined the franchise for television, adding new layers distinct from the original films. Instead of relying on Scott’s proposed haunting ending, Hawley introduced several new species with different methods of victim control, including one that takes over its prey via their eyes.
Hawley emphasized the show‘s character-driven approach, creating a more nuanced narrative. He described the Xenomorph lifecycle as more complex than before, involving four stages: from an egg to a face-hugger, then a bursting embryo, combining to form a terrifying progression.
Additional creatures debuting in the show include an eye-controlling octopus, a goat, and a feline reminiscent of Jonesy, the cat familiar to fans. Visually, the Xenomorph itself has been redesigned with a “cockroach brown” coloration and a torso that leans toward a crustacean appearance, distancing its look from past films.
Rejecting existing film storylines, Hawley built Alien: Earth on a foundation of retro-futurism and deliberately moved away from the bioweapon backstory prevalent in some earlier works. This decision aligns with the more ambiguous origins of the Xenomorph introduced in Ridley Scott’s original vision.
As Alien: Earth explores this new direction, viewers are invited to consider how these creative choices reshape the franchise’s mythology and whether the show’s early episodes resonate with fans used to the original movie‘s tone and lore.
Alien: Earth is currently streaming on Hulu in the United States.
