FX is launching a series of immersive experiences ahead of the summer premiere of “Alien: Earth,“ and it all begins with an activation at SXSW that lets attendees explore a mysterious wreckage site. Ahead of the festival, Bloody Disgusting was sent mysterious footage from that ill-fated ship that offers intriguing new clues on the highly anticipated series.
Watch the excavated footage below and scour for hints at what’s ahead.
In the 2120-set FX series from creator Noah Hawley, “When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.”
What’s extremely worrisome is that the footage is courtesy of Rascal, a long-haired orange cat with a camera attached to its collar as it roams freely aboard the USCSS Maginot, the Weyland-Yutani ship that crashes on Earth. The ship’s name itself is an ill-omen, as it likely refers to a Maginot Line, defined as “a defensive barrier or strategy that inspires a false sense of security.”
Historically, the Maginot Line, coined by French Minister of War André Maginot, was an expensive array of defenses that France built along its border with Germany in the 1930s meant to prevent invasion. Instead, it became a symbol of failure when German forces simply went around the Maginot Line during World War II. Considering what the USCSS Maginot will unleash on Earth upon its crash landing, the moniker fits.
The “Alien: Earth” footage also unveils the series’ most exciting clue in the very first video, ending on a directive from the ship’s MU/TH/UR that reads familiar to Alien fans.
In Ridley Scott’s 1979 horror classic, the ships AI gives the Nostromo’s science officer (Ian Holm) a top secret directive: “Priority one: Insure return of organism for analysis. All other considerations secondary. Crew expendable.“
The first video ends with a seemingly small but critical shift on this directive: “Priority one: Acquisition and safe return of all organisms for analysis. All other considerations secondary.”
In other words, it’s not just one alien lifeform aboard the USCSS Maginot.
The third video further supports this with footage that seems benign as crew mates gather in the mess hall for a game of gin, where Rascal’s owner asks the science officer, “Flora or Fauna?” She responds, “Not sure, maybe both. Still running tests.”
Video four confirms multiple samples as Rascal makes his way into the Zoo Lab and darts across a lab desk filled with a row of Weyland-Yutani branded canisters. The grainy camera footage moves too fast to get a peak at what may be inside, though.
The second video feels like a callback to the franchise’s blue-collar origins, as Rascal’s owner details how the passage of time in deep space thanks to cryosleep has meant that his children have grown much older than he. Further highlighting the passage of time is the reference to Arcturus when an offscreen crewmate answers that he’d head there if they were ever to return to Earth. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation, visible from Earth, and means “Guardian of the Bear.”
That this star holds great cultural and mythological significance may hold further clues to unlocking what transpired on the Maginot and what’s ahead.
The final video uncovered from Maginot’s wreckage sees Rascal venturing into the cryochamber to observe a sleeping crewmate named Morrow (Babou Ceesay). It’s the type of imagery that this franchise has conditioned us to anticipate; Morrow may be already harboring a xenomorph in his chest cavity.
Before we can dwell on this, though, the emergency alarms sound when a fire breaks out somewhere on the ship.
The origin of Maginot’s impending doom, perhaps? More importantly, will Rascal follow Jonesy’s lead and survive?
Bloody Disgusting will explore the wreckage this weekend at SXSW to uncover more clues, but did we miss any additional clues or Easter eggs in the mysterious new footage?
“Alien: Earth” premieres this Summer on FX on Hulu.