Alien: Earth creator Noah Hawley has explained his reason behind one of the biggest changes to the popular science fiction horror franchise.

Based on the terrifying 1979 film by Ridley Scott, the eight-part drama serves as a thriller to the iconic space thriller that introduced the world to the deadly Xenomorphs.

When a valuable research vessel crash lands on Earth, a group of hybrids, synthetics with the consciousness of humans, embark on a rescue mission that puts them face-to-face with the most dangerous species in the galaxy.

However, unlike previous entries in the Alien series, the Xenomorphs won’t be the only entity posing a threat to humanity’s survival.

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Speaking at the show’s premiere in London, showrunner Hawley reveals fans will get to know four additional extraterrestrial lifeforms they’ve never seen before.

While details about the species themselves won’t be revealed until the show airs, Hawley says: “I can tell you why I introduced them.

“Which is, in adapting these films the first thing that I do is I try to figure out what the movies made me feel and why, and then create those same feelings in you by telling you a different story."

Hawley is best known for his television expansions of Fargo and the X-Men universe in Legion, both on FX, which explore the themes of the original stories with exciting new characters and settings.

In the first live-action TV series set in the Alien universe, Hawley continues the trend of enhancing the original material with his trademark inventive storytelling and dark humour.

However, for an eight-part series to remain fresh, the Emmy-winning writer needed to introduce a number of new elements which could prove divisive amongst Alien purists.

“The one feeling you can’t produce in an audience is the discovery of the life cycle of the Xenomorph,” he explained.

“We all know it, right? And so that genetic revulsion that you felt at every stage is a little muted.

“So, the only way to produce it is to create new creatures that you don’t know how they breed, or what they eat. Every moment, seeing it crawl down the back of your shirt or in your helmet, the feeling comes back that’s such a seminal part of Alien.

“So, that’s why I introduced them. It was almost function over form.

“We spent a lot of time in the writers’ room just trying to gross each other out as to what was worse. The one-upmanship was profound.”

Of course, the iconic Xenomorph is expected to take the spotlight for the most part, but fans will soon find out the universe is home to many other horrors that could lead to humanity’s extinction.

Alien: Earth premieres Wednesday, 13th August on Disney+.

For a limited time only, witness the first stage of the life cycle of the Xenomorph up close with a thrilling new display at London’s Natural History Museum.

Visitors can touch real pieces of the solar system at the Museum’s blockbuster exhibition, Space: Could Life Exist Beyond Earth?, and discover more about one of pop culture’s most iconic and frightening creatures just by the entrance until Friday, 22nd August.