Earth By Star Sandra Yi Sencidiver

Alien: Earth star Sandra Yi Sencidiver has discussed Weyland-Yutani’s true plans in the hit sci-fi show. Alien: Earth debuted on FX on Hulu on August 12, 2025, becoming the first-ever TV series in the Alien franchise. Developed by showrunner Noah Hawley, Alien: Earth is set two years before the events of the original Alien movie, and has received universal acclaim.

The show follows a deep space research vessel as it crash lands on Earth, with a deadly extraterrestrial cargo, and the tactical unit, led by a young hybrid woman, sent to retrieve it. Alien: Earth features an ensemble cast, including Sencidiver’s Yutani, CEO of the unscrupulous mega-corporation, Weyland-Yutani Corp, and Sencidiver has weighed in on the company’s Alien: Earth endgame.

In an interview with ScreenRant‘s Grant Hermanns, Sencidiver discussed Weyland-Yutani’s role in the show, and her character’s motivations. She talks about how the company, along with the other major corporations, seek to get the aliens for power and money, and that Yutani is used to getting what she wants, but Boy Kavalier disrupts her equilibrium. Check out Sencidiver’s comments below:

Well, I think with such a big story, and there’s so much story, world building, and he has so many ideas that he’s unfolding with this first season. We didn’t really talk about the lore and what happened before this. Of course, I know something about, like, she’s part of a corporation that has existed for several generations. It’s been driven by women, she has a big legacy after her mother and her grandmother, especially the grandmother who has this special link to Morrow. So, I don’t think that this is a woman that cares that much about her employees, but she does have a high regard for Morrow, because her grandmother spoke so highly of him. So, I think she’s also excited to see this man who impressed her grandmother. And I don’t think that family was impressed by anything, or very much.

SR: That’s very true. And so what do you think she will do if she gets her hands on these creatures?

I think the main goal for all five companies is gaining more power and gaining the next new thing. To be sure that you are making money and you have power in the world. I think that’s the main focus for all these companies. And it’s not necessarily a specific fascination of this one creature, but these are the means to regain your power and keep it.

I’d love to also hear about the mediation scene between Yutani and Boy Kavalier. I love watching you and Samuel sort of verbally spar with one another in that scene. I’d love to hear what it was like finding that rhythm between your characters, given that they’re very specific in their rhythms. You’re more careful and thoughtful, whereas he’s just very rapid fire.

Sandra Yi Sencidiver: I found it to be so natural, because I only joined the cast in the last part of shooting, so they had been going on before the strike. Some of them had been attached for two years. I was only a part of the cast the last three months, and they flew me in early, because there were a lot of makeup and hair and costume tests for Yutani, because they wanted her to have an exquisite look, and really wanted to find the exact look for her. So, I had some time in Bangkok before I even started shooting or rehearsing, and I went to set to see, because I didn’t know, like, “What’s the tone, what are we doing?” What’s new, what’s old?” because I had only my own scene. So, I went to set a couple of times, and then I had the the fortune to experience Sam work, and I was just so impressed with this obnoxious character he had created. [Laughs] And, like Babou, Sam is a very, very different person from his character, and I just love any actor who’s able to transform in such a way. He’s just so equilibristic. I just enjoyed his craft, and also felt a little intimidated. I’m like, “God, I really gotta bring it, because we want a proper fight. We don’t want to know who’s going to win this fight. We want these two to be equal, and not know who’s going to win this battle.” So, it really made me think I have to bring it, especially in that big scene where we have a face off. But it was so natural, because he had already created this character, and it’s just so much the opposite of what she is like. She’s very much the adult, privileged, has been born into power, has been born into money, and he came from nothing. He’s not even grown, he doesn’t play by the rules she makes. She makes the rules, he doesn’t play by them, and how do you react to that? So, it’s very natural to come and be so poised, and be so used to being listened to and defining what we are going to do, and how we are going to do it. And then, to come into that room and be challenged constantly by somebody who doesn’t want to follow the rules. It was a joy, a tiny little play we were playing. I think that was probably my favorite shooting day, doing that scene. Very difficult, very, very hot. And also, we had Ugla, who was the director for this episode, she was very demanding, and rightfully so. She had a lot of great notes, but because it’s such an extremely long scene, she would have so many notes, and smart notes, she’s so observant and had great ideas that we could try off. But you kind of have to also know that when you’re an actor, and you receive notes, if you have one note, you kind of also have to know or feel, “Where does that take me? I’m going to try something new, but everything else that comes after that, it won’t be the same.” If you want to be true to the moment, you have to kind of feel where that goes. So I was like, “I love all your brilliant notes, but you can only give me three, or else it’d be all about hitting the notes rather than hitting the first note, see where that takes me, and then see what happens?”

It’s amazing watching yourself and others take those little notes and run with them in creative new directions. And so I love that you had that experience with her, because I really did not know who was going to come out on top in that mediation. For a second I really thought it was Weyland-Yutani. I was like, Oh, they got this in the bag. They’re gonna win. Prodigy is gonna have to race.

SYS: I just love it when a scene is practically two people just sitting at a table, you’re like, “Oh my god, this is so dramatic. Give me some more of those scenes.” I find it so enjoyable to do.

One thing I wanted to ask about that scene as well is that a good amount of this season has seen Yutani really trying to, obviously, reclaim the Maginot and everything that’s in it. But I’m curious, going into that scene in particular, do you think that her trying to get everything back is a matter of just trying to reclaim her property, or do you think it’s almost a power play of, “Yes, this is on your territory, but I can still have victories on your territory”?

SYS: I hadn’t thought of it that way. I just very much thought about Boy Kavalier actually forces her to be less comfortable, if that makes sense. She’s been so used to leaning back and just wanting something, and then it happens, and she says, “No, this is the way we’re gonna go,” and everybody goes in that direction. And then, because he challenges her and doesn’t want to follow the rules, rules that she’s probably put in place in the first round, she has to lean in and actually decide, “Okay, what am I going to do now?” I think many things have been easy for her. So no, I don’t think necessarily it’s a power play, to see what I can do. I think she’s always just been able to say, “This is how I want it. If I can’t have it, I’ll just pay more money and then I’ll have it.” And he won’t play by those rules, which I find really interesting. So, I think he forces her to get out of her comfortable shell and be more proactive into making strategies, and maybe also breaking some rules in regards to getting what she wants.

What This Means For Weyland-Yutani’s Role Moving Forward

Courtesy of FX

As Sencidiver makes clear from her comments, Alien: Earth is a show about power; who has it, who wants it, and what people are prepared to do to get it. As audiences will be aware, Weyland-Yutani is a company whose reach stretches throughout the Alien movie franchise, and it’s clear that the company will emerge from the events of Alien: Earth in a position of strength.

Her comments reveal that Yutani is a character who does not suffer fools, but her clash with Boy Kavalier feels like a case of the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object, and it’s bound to end badly. Alien: Earth has enriched the franchise, and added a combination of philosophy, action, and social commentary that takes the story forward.

Our Take On Weyland-Yutani’s Alien: Earth Goal

Weyland-Yutani have always been a fascinating entity in the Alien franchise due to the fact that their motivations have always been shrouded in mystery, and their manipulation of characters has been cold and calculating. Their Alien: Earth motivation is as nebulous as ever, but it’s clear they want to harness the power of the alien lifeforms to generate wealth and power.

Based on the other installments in the franchise, it’s likely Weyland-Yutani will compete with the other companies to get more power, and grab the “new thing,” and will be doomed to make mistakes and decisions that will echo throughout the franchise. Alien: Earth still has two episodes to run, and Weylan-Yutani is bound to have a major impact on the story.