The more we hear about Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth series, the more eager we are to start watching it ASAP. Alas, August 12 is a decent chunk of time to keep waiting, but at least we’re continuously learning new tidbits about what to expect. Earlier this month, FX and Hulu shared concrete details about the show’s plot for the first time; today, we’re learning more about its main character, a human-robot hybrid played by Sydney Chandler, and central themes. The latter won’t surprise anyone who’s watched any of the Alien movies. At the show’s heart will be a question that’s threaded through all the entries since Ridley Scott’s 1979 original: of all the monsters in the universe, are humans actually the worst? “Sydney’s character is someone who’s trying to figure out what her role is in this world and, on some level, the age-old question of, does humanity deserve to survive?,” Hawley explained in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly. The series creator said he took direct inspiration from Ripleywondering “which species is worse” in 1986’s Aliens. “This idea of the horrible things that we do to each other,” Hawley continues. “Sydney plays a somewhat innocent character who finds herself trying to navigate two kinds of monsters. One is human and the other is from outer space. We do expand on that idea that it’s going to be up to the audience which species is worse.” Chandler’s character, who is named Wendy, is innocent because she’s literally a child: according to EW, she has “a child’s brain in a bot’s body.” That makes her and her fellow hybrids’ interactions with the show’s Xenomorphs unique. “Noah took us more into the mindset space,” Chandler told the magazine. “What is the essence of a kid or a young adult? How do their minds work differently than the adult mind? Kids are so present and they haven’t been battered by the world as much as an adult. So they trust their gut and they don’t second guess.” Alien: Earth arrives August 12 on FX and Hulu. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #alien #earth #will #explore #one