AvP Galaxy Visits Alien: Earth Wreckage Site Experience at SXSW

While we are mere months away from the release of the first Alien TV series, Alien: Earth has kept us wondering about its look and feel for years. We first reported on Noah Hawley’s series back in 2019 as a pitch, rejected by 20th Century Fox at the time. Now, after the transition to 20th Century Studios, Alien: Earth was greenlit, has been shot, and is just now beginning its major marketing push.

After a series of short teaser trailers, the first major piece of marketing for the series was a large crate sent out to various outlets, including Alien vs. Predator Galaxy. This case was apparently sent to us by the Prodigy Corporation, to examine several items that had been “recovered” from a Weyland-Yutani spaceship wreckage site. This “wreckage site” would be teased within the case itself, with FX saying:

This is just the beginning. The journey continues with a USCSS Maginot Wreckage Site activation at SXSW, where fans can immerse themselves further in the world of FX’s Alien: Earth.

I was hyped when I first heard that Alien: Earth would have an interactive experience at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, TX. Those of you who follow our reporting may have read my piece on our recent visit to Survios, which had an incredible themed space. I noticed the term “activation” in this announcement, which I was unfamiliar with in this context. I found a definition upon searching:

An event activation is a location-based experience, produced by a brand, with the purpose of creating memorable, in-person connections with its target audience. Also called brand activations, these events are often part of an experiential marketing campaign designed to achieve specific business goals. -Bridgewater Studio

Whatever this wreckage would be, I knew I had to go check it out, so I booked my flight to Austin and travelled out there to see what FX had in store. Once I arrived in downtown at the Austin Convention Center to retrieve my credentials, I immediately noticed one of the nearby buildings had an enormous Alien: Earth banner sporting the key art from the series. I walked over via skybridge to get a better look and then see it up close.

Out of curiosity, I walked over and saw the event venue. It was right under this large banner, in between this hotel and an event center next door. The entire wreckage site setup was outdoors, and I could see a path through the ship parts strewn through the space. A few hours passed, and a line had started to form.

After passing the entrance from the sidewalk line, there was another smaller queue featuring Weyland-Yutani branded crates flanking a screen which showed the previous teaser trailers for the series. Waiting for me around this bend was a Prodigy Corporation official sporting a grey jumpsuit. She explained to us that Prodigy has control over the wreckage site, but that some specimens may have gotten loose, and we’d have to be scanned for parasites before being granted entry.

After this initial briefing, another member of Prodigy staff in a full yellow hazmat suit instructed us to stand in front of him and spread our arms. He waved a scanner device over me before instructing me to turn around. This scanner he was holding looked quite similar to the X-Ray torch featured in Alien: Romulus.

The Prodigy officials were sporting the company logo, featuring a wild looking teddy bear wearing a chain necklace. I asked one of the officials if I could photograph their patch to which they said “Of course, company pride is important!”

The ambient rumbles and Alien-computer noises helped add to the ominous atmosphere in the space, selling the illusion of a starship smashing down right into a metropolitan area. Something I’m quite looking forward to seeing in the actual series.

After I was determined clean, I entered the main space. To my left I could see the most prominent part of the ship wreckage, sticking up like a spire with the branding of the USCSS Maginot on its side. At a table to our right was a Prodigy Corporation registration area, where I collected my ID badges and scanned them into a tablet station.

After this I was grouped up with other attendees and a guide would have us scan our badges again at a Prodigy survey camera. One of our badges would grant clearance, and a monitor among the rubble would play a message from Weyland-Yutani, featuring the classic green computer screen text:

Status update from security officer USCSS Maginot
Navigation compromised
Cargo containment has failed
Specimens are loose

Survival of cargo is top priority. 
Acknowledge. 
Acknowledge. 
Acknowledge or security officer will take command.

After this message played, the Prodigy officer told us the area was no longer safe, and sent us to a hazmat tent. Another Prodigy official requested we examine four specimens in illuminated yellow containment tubes which looking similar to the ones from the med-lab in Aliens. It was difficult to make out the creatures inside as the glass was pretty obscured. Hazmat suits hung from a rack next to containers of supplies. A screen was near the center displaying an animated Prodigy Corporation logo with the motto “We Protect Your Future.”

Before we continued forward, we were given small blue flashlights, which we were told could save our lives. We were encouraged to open their little Alien: Earth branded boxes and test them out.

Moving forward we passed more of the wreckage, with additional containment tubes strewn about, these ones broken, with pooled slime around them. There were more monitors within the ship wreckage, these seemingly showing navigational data with failure warnings. The next team member asked us to examine this area. Up ahead was a familiar sight – open Xenomorph eggs, the door to their containment unit lying on the ground. There was no sight of its facehugger occupants.

Next to them was another containment unit, this one still mostly intact. Within the obscured glass was something moving around. Another creature, looking quite insect-like. This may have been the same critter we caught a glimpse of in the recent “Destination” teaser trailer.

These containment units were being overseen by another member of the Prodigy hazmat team, who asked if we knew what these were, encouraging participation from our group in figuring this whole thing out. Unlike the exposition dumps these experiences can sometimes have, we were expected to know more than the Prodigy team on site, and we were there to lend our expertise.

Yet again we were handed off to another team member who led us into a section of the fuselage of the ship – a largely intact section of hallway. This hallway section of the Maginot definitely evoked vibes of the Nostromo, and there was a door with a window at the end showing the hallway continue further. We were asked to investigate the area with the flashlights we were given earlier.

Suddenly an alarm went off, the main lights going dark as red warning lights started flashing. The Prodigy official told us there should be a code somewhere we needed to find, and suggested we look in two open utility boxes on the walls. My blue flashlight illuminated the hidden code: 0426. I punched the numbers, and something suddenly started crawling towards us on the ceiling in the hallway beyond the window. We were told to help secure the door and moved closer to the window.

The creature dropped to the floor, and I found myself almost face-to-face with an adult Xenomorph, separated only by the glass. The Alien began to bash the glass with its head, and as the glass started to crack, there was a blast of smoke and the official yelled “Containment breach! Everyone run, hurry!” After being rushed out of this final scare, we were given some swag including, a sticker, pin, and postcard. Check them all out below:

This event was really immersive and well executed, and I have to hand it to the marketing teams at FX and Civic who put this together. This sort of viral build up that brings in an actual physical experience to visit is a great way to promote the series. It seemed to garner quite a bit of interest, as the line was long all day and into the night.

I didn’t fly all the way to Texas to go through this thing once, so throughout the day I did the experience a few more times. As I walked past the line, someone called out “RidgeTop!” I perked my head up and said hello to the guy who recognized me. He introduced himself as Thomas Kane (yes, that’s his real name), one of our Patreon supporters, and we briefly chatted about the event. Some of the staff even poked fun at the number of times I went through, one saying “I know you’re familiar with our procedures.”

As the sun went down, I wanted to see how this whole thing looked at night, and I wasn’t disappointed. This space really came alive when it got dark, with multicolored lights creating a moody atmosphere. This was the ideal way to experience this setup. I met up with another community member, Cosmic Incubation, for this last go-through. We had fun venturing through the site with the particularly eccentric group we were paired up with.

The monitors around the crash site were a little easier to see at night, and I noticed quick flashes of images which would glitch on the screen. I managed to catch one of what appears to be a crew member of the ship screaming in terror. Another hidden image showed a scorpion.

Thanks to Alien vs. Predator Galaxy’s intel about the series, we’re aware that the scorpion has some relevance in an early episode of the show that isn’t known about yet. Keep an eye out!

The event would continue onto the next day, during which showrunner Noah Hawley and series star Sydney Chandler would stop by to see it. We’re aware of two more on-site events coming to promote Alien: Earth, the next one being in Las Vegas on May 16th & 17th. For now, I’m glad to have made it out of the infested crash site in one piece.

For AvP Galaxy, this is RidgeTop, signing off.