Alien: Earth Is Fully Replacing The Xenomorphs

Published Oct 17, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

Craig began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016 and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. After previously writing for various outlets, Craig's focus turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally became useful. Craig has previously been published by sites such as Den of Geek.

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It's a strange and unknown creature clouded in mystery. A frightening abomination from the bowels of Lovecraftian lore that hunts victims with ruthlessness and intelligence. It's so deadly a threat, just one of them can doom an entire city. Most surprising of all, it isn't a Xenomorph.

For almost half a century, the Xenomorph (not always identified as such) has been as much an icon of cinema as Brad Pitt and Marilyn Monroe. That distinctive form, designed by H.R. Giger to combine intimidation, efficiency, and beauty, has outgrown the Alien franchise itself in terms of recognition and cultural impact.

Naturally, then, the Xenomorph has remained the crux of Alien storytelling for decades. Even when taking a backseat, as in Ridley Scott's Prometheus prequel, the specter of the Xenomorph hangs high in the air, and Alien: Earth is no exception. Noah Hawley's series has reinvented the franchise and delivered Alien's most subversive offshoot yet, but still cannot drop the long-headed predators completely.

Alien: Earth may not be removing the Xenomorphs, but it's doing a fine job of replacing them.

Alien: Earth Has A New Apex Predator That Beats The Xenomorphs At Their Own Game

Among Noah Hawley's many surprises in Alien: Earth season 1, an entire menagerie of extra-terrestrial life forms joined the fun. For a franchise that has been exclusively populated by Xenomorphs, humans, and synthetics beforehand, the addition of so many other species gave a sharp jolt to this aging IP.

While the metal-chewing flies and ominous orchids certainly captured the imagination, they were still support acts to Alien's reigning mascot. But as Alien: Earth's debut season unfolded, it became very clear that all the fright, intrigue, and horror usually reserved for the Xenomorphs was being directed toward another creature entirely: ol' Ocellus, the eye octopus monster.

Whether on the big screen or small, Alien has suffered the same problem for years; that being the diminishing returns of the titular monsters. Ridley Scott's original movie succeeded because it featured an enigmatic killer stalking the shadows, completely unknown to both the Nostromo's crew and to viewers. The gut reaction of horror upon first glimpsing that creature, the stunned shock upon first discovering what face-huggers do, the sense of this enemy being nigh-on indestructible... Such tricks would only work once.

James Cameron skirted around the issue by asking, "Yes, but what if there were LOTS of them?" Every release thereafter has struggled desperately to capture the luster and prestige the Xenomorphs once held.

Rather than ignoring the Xenomorphs, giving them new powers, or making them hybrids, Alien: Earth secretly started from scratch by having its eye octopus do everything the Xenos were doing back in 1979. An aura of mystery sits around how and why it kills, and its visual design looks like nothing seen onscreen before. The cunning savagery with which the eye hunts can be compared to the Xenomorph skulking its way through the Nostromo, and its flailing tentacles pay homage to the same Lovecraftian inspirations.

Going into Alien: Earth, no one expected to be enraptured more by this ocular terror than by the show's Xenomorphs. It happened naturally, with viewers deciding for themselves that this new creature was worth keeping an eye on.

Heading into Alien: Earth season 2, it's this new nightmare that carries the most weight. The prospect of Wendy continuing to train Xenomorphs like a robotic Ash Ketchum is merely a side story at this point, whereas the eye creature's motivations and next steps dominate inter-season discussion. For the first time since Alien began all those years ago, the franchise's title no longer feels like it belongs to the Xenomorphs alone.