FX’s "Alien: Earth" Cast Reflect on Fright, Freedom, and Filming in Bangkok at NYCC

New York Comic Con audiences got to experience the premiere episode of FX’s Alien: Earth on the big screen before a half-hour conversation with the cast and executive producer David W. Zucker. Moderated by veteran TV critic Alan Sepinwall, the panel gathered Sydney Chandler (Wendy), Alex Lawther (Hermit), Babou Ceesay (Morrow), Samuel Blenkin (Boy Kavalier), and Zucker to discuss bringing Noah Hawley’s expansion of the Alien mythology to television. While the group mentioned a second season multiple times, FX has not yet announced a renewal, though the cast’s enthusiasm suggested they’re ready to return to the infested corridors of the franchise’s newest chapter.

Sepinwall began by asking who among the cast were lifelong Alien fans, and it quickly became clear that Sydney Chandler wore her fandom proudly. “I used to have night terrors as a kid, and it was Gollum and the Xeno," she laughed, recalling how she saw the film far too young. Babou Ceesay and Samuel Blenkin shared similar stories of illicit childhood viewings, each terrified but enthralled. Alex Lawther fondly remembered watching Alien with his mother (“She had a crush on Sigourney Weaver, and I had a crush on John Hurt") and said he revisited it before production, inspired by Noah Hawley’s goal of recapturing “that textural world of the first film."

Becoming Wendy: Sydney Chandler’s Leap of Faith

Chandler described her casting journey as “surreal," marked by equal parts ambition and risk. After reading the first three scripts, she impulsively booked a flight to Calgary to ask Noah Hawley to dinner to discuss the role. “For some reason, he said yes," she laughed. “We had a great talk, I went home, did the audition, and found out two weeks later I got the part. Then I realized Noah lived five minutes away from me in Austin."

Portraying Wendy, a girl in an adult body struggling with identity and agency, required deep imagination. “You can’t research something like this," Chandler said. “I thought about what being a child means — observant, instinctual, brave — and tried to approach every line with genuine belief." She and her castmates bonded in between takes by “playing musical chairs, painting rocks, and learning to kill people in stunts," she joked.

Ridley Scott’s Message from London

Executive producer David W. Zucker shared that Ridley Scott, who launched the Alien franchise in 1979, sent a surprise message of congratulations to the cast for the New York Comic Con audience to hear

“Congratulations to Noah, the cast, and team on the massively successful foray into the Alien universe with Alien: Earth," Scott wrote. “When I created this world almost 50 years ago, I could never have imagined that it would continue to resonate so strongly… It’s particularly satisfying to see how Noah has embraced these trademark elements while bringing something new. Noah has kept the beast alive and dripping to scare the hell out of us for some time longer. Scream away — no one will hear you."

The note drew cheers from fans and applause from the cast, who called it the “Ridley Scott seal of approval."

The Eyeball, the Sheep, and the Joy of Practical Effects

The conversation soon turned to Alien: Earth’s memorable creatures — including the viral “eyeball" (eye midge) design. Lawther described filming with “a puppet and a man with a retractable wand waving it in my face." Seeing the rendered version later, he admitted, “Thank God, they made me look much better than I thought."

Chandler praised the production’s commitment to practical effects. “We worked with very real, physical things. Cameron, our xenomorph performer, was there in the flesh. It makes all the difference."

One particularly popular scene involved a sheep — actually a real animal named Victoria, according to Blenkin. “She’s the best actor I’ve ever worked with," he joked, describing how handlers used a long pole with a glove to massage her belly to keep her still. “It was terrifying, honestly, but so effective." At other times, an animatronic sheep was used.

A Family Affair: Babou Ceesay and the Bangkok Shoot

Ceesay, who plays the cybernetic Morrow, revealed that Alien: Earth’s fifth episode — one of the show’s most pivotal — was explained to him verbally by Hawley ahead of filming. A script wasn’t yet ready due to the writer’s strike. “I tried to take notes, but two lines in, I just gave up. I thought, I’m getting story time from Noah Hawley, just lean in and listen."

He also shared that his character’s daughter is played by his real-life daughter, who joined him on set in Bangkok. “She saw this massive set and said, ‘Dad, I want to be in this!’ A few weeks later, Noah came up and asked what I’d think about casting her. She was over the moon."

Filming in Thailand brought both challenges and inspiration. “It was hot — over 100 degrees with 80% humidity," Blenkin noted. Chandler praised the Thai crew: “They were so hardworking and warm. Everyone brought their A-game every single day."

Designing Boy Kavalier and the Techno-Villain Archetype

Asked if he drew inspiration from real-world tech figures, Blenkin demurred: “No, no one comes to mind," he deadpanned. “I got a lot of freedom from Noah to explore Boy’s quirks — his obsession with Peter Pan, never wearing shoes. It was my job to focus on those and let the writing speak to what’s happening in the world."

Honoring Ripley, Evolving the Franchise

Chandler reflected on the legacy she’s stepping into, nearly five decades after Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley defined cinematic resilience. “It’s humbling, I don’t have the words," she said. “You can’t recreate Alien. You shouldn’t. It’s perfection. What Noah did was honor its essence while creating something new."

The cast’s awe at working on sets that recreated the Nostromo’s “Mother Room" and corridors was palpable. “Everyone regressed to being ten years old," Ceesay said. “We were all pressing buttons and giggling, until we remembered we were supposed to be terrified."

As the crowd cheered the idea of another season, Chandler smiled: “We came of age in Bangkok. I’d do it all again."

FX’s Alien: Earth is now streaming on Hulu.