Alien: Earth cast explain how hybrids and cyborgs are changing the franchise
Alien: Earth is the first TV series in the beloved sci-fi franchise, and takes the concept into uncharted territory through new melding of man and machine.
Alien: Earth is a new series that’s set in the Alien universe, two years before the events of theoriginal 1979 movie.
you may read ourAlien: Earth review, plus details ofhow to watch the series, as well as our thoughts on why the showmight be Alien’s answer to Andor.
We also spoke to the cast abouthow their characters would react to meeting a Predator, andwhich Alien icons they’d like to see in the show, while below the stars reveal what to expect from Alien: Earth’s new inventions…
The difference between a synth, a cyborg & a hybrid
Alien: Earthrevolves around a new set of extraterrestrial threats, as well ashuman efforts to live forever.
The latter is playing out through artificial beings called “synths,” which have appeared in previous Alien movies via the likes of Ash (Alien), Bishop (Aliens) and David (Prometheus).
But the series adds two new types of human to the mix, “cyborgs,” who are cybernetically enhanced humans, and “hybrids,” who are synthetic beings downloaded with human consciousness.
Words onscreen at the start of Alien: Earth state that whichever technology prevails will determine what corporation rules the universe, meaning these characters are arguably more important than humans and aliens in the new show.
Alien: Earth star Sydney Chandler on playing a 12-year-old hybrid
The ‘ALIEN: EARTH’ cast breaks down their hybrid and cyborg roles in the showpic.twitter.com/Tl8ANx54SS
Sydney Chandler plays Wendy, the very first hybrid created, and when we asked what that means exactly, she explains that: “A hybrid is – in Wendy’s specific case – it’s the mind of a 12-year-old child placed into a synthetic body. So it’s the first try at immortality.”
James Gunn’s DC Universe is doing the same thing as Alien: Earth
Every song on the Alien: Earth soundtrack
The Xenomorph in Alien: Earth has a hilarious name thanks to fans
As for how that transformation makes her young character feel, Chandler says: “It’s quite interesting because I worked with [other hybrids] The Lost Boys on this too.
“The bravery and the feeling of immortality that a kid might or might not have – in this case these kids we’re dealing with they were all very sick – so there’s some give and take there.
“I remember being on the subway in New York and I was sitting down but I was looking up, and all of these adults were standing, and I thought, ‘gosh, all you see is their noses and they look so tall.’
“I looked over and there was a kid who was probably like 9 or 10 standing there next to me and he was just looking up. And I remember locking into that, like ‘oh my gosh, you’re on a totally different plain.’ And so to step into an adult form and see someone eye-to-eye is very empowering.”
Alex Lawther plays Chandler’s older brother Hermit in the show, and at this point in the interview, asks: “Would it be the first time that Wendy had looked at Hermit?”
Chandler responds by saying: “Yes, and you’ve become smaller. You were always like big brother, and now you’re tiny. So yeah, it was really really fun playing into that. And feeling there was a bug inside of her and she couldn’t find it – this itch she couldn’t scratch – which ends up being you [Hermit]. Trying to find you.”
Babou Ceesay says his cyborg wants to be all machine
Babou Ceesay plays cyborg Morrow in the series, whom he describes as “a human with enhancements.”
Which isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds, as Ceesay explains that “there’s a real-life cyborg in the world today – Neil Harbisson. He’s an artist who is color blind and he’s got an addition that comes out of the back of his head that vibrates in sounds so he’s able to see the color – or hear the color – that is in front of him.”
As for how his character feels about being a cyborg, Ceesay says: “I think [Morrow] wishes he was more machine. Wishes he was more [synth] Kirsh. So that he doesn’t have to deal with the problem of emotions, and ideas. Not necessarily ideas, but emotions.”
To see how those emotions mess with Morrow’s head, Alien Earth launches on Hulu in the US today (July 08, 2025), and on Disney+ in the UK from August 13. In the meantime, here’s ourranking of every Alien movie, plushow Predator: Badlands connects to Alien.
