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You may recall a few months back when Popverse caught something interesting in the teaser trailer for FX's Alien: Earth. Thanks to a blink-and-you'll-miss-it glimpse at a Weyland-Yutani computer, we posited that the evil corporation would be studying not just the infamous monster at the heart of the franchise, the xenomorph, but at least a few other alien species too. Well, we were right; series showrunner Noah Hawley just went on record to confirm that multiple alien species factor into the upcoming horror saga, but he didn't stop there.

Thanks to the frequent FX collaborator, we now even know why the xenomorph is arriving with friends.

The story comes out of a recent interview that Hawley did with Empire Magazine, published this July. In it, Hawley makes a point several times of saying that his process had to be different than telling an Alien story for the big screen. 

"An Alien movie is a two-hour survival story," says the Legion showrunner, "At the end of which, if you're lucky, one person survives [...] A television show can't be that. It has to be multiple characters with conflicts and dynamics that play out over multiple seasons."

(Quick side note - Even though FX has only officially confirmed one season of the sci-fi horror series, Empire does touch on the rumor that there's a five-season plan for Alien: Earth. Again, rumor.)

The "multiple characters with conflicts" Hawley mentions are almost certainly part of the reason he chose to include more aliens than just the xenomorph. However, they aren't the only reason, nor is it just the idea of bringing a big screen story to a small screen format. According to the showrunner, part of the decision to include multiple extraterrestrials was to bring mystery to the show's monsters.

"If I introduce these other creatures," concludes Hawley, "and we don't know how they breed [...] or what they eat, or any of it, then I can make you feel that core revulsion again. Then the onus comes off the Xenomorph to carry the whole story."

As to what those "other creatures" will be like, well, neither Hawley or his interviewers are being very forthcoming. However, we can confirm that there are five (!!) aliens, including the xenomorph, that are in the plans for Alien: Earth. Here's hoping that one of those extra species will be some sort of apex... predator.

Alien: Earth (and a few new species) debuts on FX and Hulu August 12. 

If you love aliens bursting out of chests and hugging your face, then we have all you could want from  Popverse's Alien watch order, details on where Romulus fits into the Alien timeline, and all you need to know  on the upcoming Aliens TV show with Timothy Oliphant.