‘Alien: Earth’ Premieres August 12: Essie Davis, Erana James Reflect on Franchise Legacy & Co-Stars

The Alien franchise is evolving once again. With Alien: Earth premiering on August 12, 2025, stars Essie Davis and Erana James open up about stepping into Ridley Scott’s iconic universe — and bonding with Indian actor Adarsh Gourav over music and cinema.

🚀 A fresh chapter in the Alien saga

For decades, Alien has terrified and thrilled fans worldwide. Alien: Earth, an eight-part sci-fi action series, brings new characters and high-stakes drama to the screen while staying rooted in the original vision. Davis plays Dame Silvia, a brilliant yet dangerous scientist, while James portrays Curly, a synthetic caught in humanity’s escalating battle with extraterrestrial threats.

Speaking about the experience, Davis said: “It’s been an honour. It’s super exciting and fun because we’re with such a lovely, talented group of actors. The crew has been amazing. It’s actually been pretty special.”

🧬 Synthetic human hybrids take center stage

The series introduces “Lost Boys” — synthetics with the consciousness of children in adult bodies. Davis’ character, a top geneticist and psychologist at Prodigy, engineers these hybrids. “They explore both the dream of human immortality and the dangers of AI,” she explained. “Synthetics are a wonderful creation that may or may not go the way their creators intended.”

James added that season one lays massive groundwork: “There’s so much room to grow. What’s established here is huge — real world-building that sets up future stories.”

🎶 Bonding with Adarsh Gourav

The cast also includes India’s Adarsh Gourav (The White Tiger, Extrapolations) as Sightly, another synthetic. James recalled, “I had weeks — even months — of training with him to find the inner child in these characters. We played instruments, we played music, it was just… a lot of play.”

Davis shared a personal connection: “One of my favourite films ever is Lagaan, so we bonded over that on day one. He sang beautiful Indian music to us. He’s a fantastic actor, a beautiful singer, and a super delightful man.”

When asked if Gourav introduced them to Indian sci-fi, Davis joked: “No! I’m going to have words with him about that!”

🌌 Expanding the universe

The show’s plot follows a young woman and a tactical squad after the space vessel Maginot crash-lands on Earth, unleashing humanity’s greatest threat. With Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Timothy Olyphant, Babou Ceesay, and more joining the ensemble, Alien: Earth aims to broaden the franchise’s mythology while exploring artificial intelligence in deeper ways.

Episodes air every Tuesday through September 23, 2025.