Interview with Victor Martinez: Early / unused Alien Earth concepts!

While season 1 of Alien Earth made its debut last year, the Alien TV series by Noah Hawley was actually in development since before the Covid-19 pandemic hit! Victor Martinez was one of the concept artists who worked on Alien Earth during its very early stages. The show underwent some significant design changes following the pandemic however and Victor agreed to answer some questions for us about those changes! Below is our exclusive interview, enjoy!

Chris for Scified: You recently revealed some incredible concept art you created for "The Ring" – a massive space station which at one point was going to feature in Alien Earth. What can you tell us about it? Was this meant to be a Prodigy or Weyland-Yutani station? Or something else entirely?

Victor Martinez: Actually, that space station did make it into the final show - just with a different design that more closely resembles a circular ring. We see it in the first episode as the USCSS Maginot comes hurtling towards Earth on its collision course. It clips the space station, and we get a brief glimpse inside as the Maginot goes flying by, taking out pieces of the space station with it!!

What was the purpose of The Ring in the early draft for Alien Earth? 

It was just a brief mention in the script (that I saw)… I think it was mostly there to establish just how massive in scale these crafts are and for dramatic effect and to build tension - I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a big outer space explosion as a massive craft comes in like a missile towards Earth! 

The station itself has a triangular shape, why was it dubbed "The Ring"? 

The Production Designer I was working with at the time (Mark Digby - Ex Machina) had the interesting idea to make it triangular in shape - wanting to echo some of the more angular shapes of current day aircraft carriers and Stealth Fighter jets - giving it that militaristic look. But if you look at it from the top - there is a ring… just more of a hexagonal ring… clever, clever!

What other concepts / ideas can you recall from the original Alien Earth draft which also went unused? 

The version I worked on was just as Covid hit, and unfortunately was shut down to allow for the world to sort itself out. By the time it started back up - a year or so later - the show had a new Production Designer and entirely new Art Department. I think in the end, everything I had known about/worked on initially, ended up in the final version - just redesigned in the end.

We've seen other vehicle concepts you made for the series which went unused – the tactical dropship one looked awesome, as well as a rover. What other pieces did you provide for Alien Earth and are there any which stand out as personal favorites of yours? 

Like the space station, those vehicles I worked on ended up in the final screen version, but again, underwent extensive design changes under the final Production Designer. But we see the tactical airship as well as a tactical ground vehicle - mostly in the first episode if I recall. But back with I was on the project, I had worked with two previous Production Designers who had me try several different takes on those vehicles… all part of the design process as we were fleshing out the world.

How much did the show change throughout its development? Is what the series eventually became close to what the original story was or did it evolve dramatically in a different direction?

I’m sure a lot changed since I worked on it. To be honest, I only had access to the script for Episode 1 - so not much was known to me, or fleshed out yet for the remaining episodes. This is typical for early pre-development work, as you’re simultaneously designing and pitching ideas in tandem with story and script development.

Overall what did you think of Alien Earth? 

I’m interested to see where it goes after Season 1.

Is there anything from the early version of the show you worked on that you wish would have been included in the series?

Good question… but, often times, it’s hard to see the forest through the trees, so to speak - so, back when I was working on it, the entire project hadn’t fully fleshed out - which afforded me the opportunity to watch it “for the first time” when it finally aired.

You've created some masterful work for a variety of science fiction films in recent years, Blade Runner 2049, The Predator, Terminator Salvation, to name a few. Did you get to work on Predator: Badlands at all?

Thank you - I’ve definitely had some great projects to sink my teeth into over the years! I didn’t work on Predator: Badlands - but I know the Production Designer and a number of the Concept Designers - all top notch!

What's next for you? Are there any upcoming sci-fi projects you're currently involved with or will soon be, that you can tell us about?

There are a couple big ones on the horizon… I wish I could spill the beans, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy… one in particular I’m dying to talk about - but you’ll just have to stay tuned!…but if you’re a fan of robots, mecha, or muscles - secure your socks - they’re about to be knocked the eff off!!

Again, thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us about this! I look forward to more interviews in the future. Keep up the amazing work. We wish you the upmost success!

Thank you! I appreciate the chance to peel back the curtain a bit. Of course, there’s only so much I can say sometimes - but hopefully this has been informative and fun!

Victor Martinez is a renowned and talented concept artist, providing artwork for a variety of high profile blockbusters including Blade Runner 2049, The Predator, Terminator: Salvation, as well as major television shows like WestWorld and Stranger Things! You can see more of his work on his website!