The upcomingAlienprequel showAlien: Earthhas introduced a new ship to the franchise, and the early facts about it paint a fascinating picture and a symbolically rich double meaning. AsAlien: Earth’s August 12 release date draws nearer, we’ve learned quite a bit about the upcoming series. Some of those details includeAlien: Earth’s castto its place intheAlientimeline.
Now, thanks to an interviewAlien: Earthshowrunner Noah Hawley did withVanity Fair, we have a wealth of information about the show’s new spaceship, theMaginot. We know fromAlien: Earth’s trailerthat theMaginotwill crash-land on Earth while carrying severalnew and hostile alien species inAlien: Earth. We also now know that there’s much more to theMaginotthan just that.
What Happens To The Maginot In Alien: Earth
The Maginot Was Sent To Gather Alien Specimens, But It Crash-Lands On Earth & Releases Them
We now know that theMaginotis owned by Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindiver), the co-leader of the infamousAlienvillains, Weyland-Yutani. According to the article,Yutani’s grandmother commissioned theMaginotover 65 years prior to the events ofAlien: Earthto discover alien species and bring back live specimens. Yutani considers those specimens a “family heirloom.”
While holding sentimental value to Yutani, the creatures on board theMaginotalso hold financial value.The alien species on theMaginotare the “key to wealth-generating biological innovation,” which is why Prodigy CEO Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) sends the “Lost Boys” to retrieve them. Whichever corporation recovers the Xenomorphs will have a huge advantage over the others and a fast pass into the next major industry of the future.
The crew of theMaginotare also going to play a role inAlien: Earth. The article revealed thatthe crew of theMaginotwas in cryogenic sleep during their mission, and that they’ll have to grapple with a world that has passed them by during their 65+ years in space. Additionally, since theMaginotwill crash-land early on, it’s unlikely many of them survived.
The Name Of Alien: Earth’s Ship Was Inspired By WWII
The Maginot Line Famously Failed To Protect France From German Invasion In WWII
Any World War II history aficionados have likely already identified howAlien: Earth’s new ship connects to real life.In WWII, France famously built up a series of fortifications along its border with Germany that was named the Maginot Line, just asEarth’s ship is named theMaginot. The Maginot Line was intended to delay a German invasion until French troops could mobilize (viaEncyclopedia Brittanica).
Though the Maginot Line was quite well-built and effective, it was also a complete failure. France’s northern neighbor, Belgium, declared neutrality in the years prior to WWII and didn’t allow France to stage its troops there.Germany then violated Belgium’s neutrality and circumvented the Maginot Line entirely, rendering it useless. In a matter of weeks, France was overrun and had surrendered to the Nazis.
It’s much more complicated than that, butthe Maginot Line has become a symbol of a false sense of security and foolish preparations. France spent billions of francs on the Maginot Line only for it to be ignored by the invading Germans. The Maginot Line was also seen by most of the world as the first line of defense against the Nazis, though it clearly wasn’t.
Noah Hawley also directly confirmed thatAlien: Earth’sMaginotwas directly inspired by France’s Maginot Line.When asked about the connection, Hawley said that “[t]he Maginot Line is the hubris of infallibility.“Obviously, Hawley used the name Maginot for its multiple implicit meanings.
Noah Hawley Has Confirmed That The Maginot Has Several Meanings
Like The Maginot Line, Alien: Earth’s Ship Has Symbolic Meaning
TheMaginotis seemingly the perfect name forAlien: Earth’s ship, especially considering what France’s relative blunder has come to mean colloquially. As previously mentioned,Hawley believes the Maginot Line symbolized the “hubris of infallibility,” andAlien: Earth’s ship will likely do the same. Yutani’s state-of-the-art research vessel is far from invulnerable, as a crash landing will prove.
The nameMaginotmay also hint at just how bad things are going to get inAlien: Earth. Hawley also said that he picked the nameMaginotbecause “It seemed like a good name for the ship. It definitely has a meaning of ‘famous last words.'“Hawley’s comments seem to indicate that Yutani and the rest of the characters ofAlien: Earthare going to overestimate themselves into early graves.
Hawley believes the Maginot Line symbolized the “hubris of infallibility,” and Alien: Earth’s ship will likely do the same.
Additionally, one of the reasons the Maginot Line failed is because it didn’t take into account how warfare technology like planes and tanks would evolve between 1929 and 1940.Yutani’sMaginotwas seemingly sent on its mission decades ago, and the outdated technology on board may be the reason the Xenomorphs and other aliens escape.
Everything Else We Know About Alien: Earth’s Maginot
The Maginot Is A “State-Of-The-Art” Ship, But It Still Bears A Resemblance To Alien’s Nostromo
Vanity Fair’s article also revealed some other miscellaneous details about theMaginotinAlien: Earth. For instance, we know thattheMaginotis considered “state-of-the-art” and is much more technologically advanced than theNostromowas. TheNostromowas described as a cargo ship, while theMaginotis a scientific research vessel.
While theMaginotis more advanced than theNostromo, the ships also bear a striking resemblance.The article explained that theMaginot’s dining area is almost the same as theNostromo’s, which was the site of the initial chestburster scene inAlien. Evidently, theMaginotis supposed to feel just as claustrophobic and terrifying as theNostromodid.
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We also know of at least one non-alien survivor of theMaginot’s crash.Morrow (Babou Ceesay), a “cyborg security chief,” was on board theMaginotwhen it crashed. It’s not clear what “cyborg” means in this context and whether Morrow is a synthetic or an earlier experiment in implanting humans with cybernetics. However, we know Morrow doesn’t want to give up the aliens he captured.
The last thing to know about theMaginotis what it means to Yutani the character. Yutani’s grandmother sent theMaginoton its trip, and Yutani will welcome it back, but only after merging with Weyland.TheMaginotwill likely be a symbol of Yutani’s failure and a huge embarrassment to both her and the company. In essence, theMaginotwill be full of bad surprises inAlien: Earth.
