The terrifying Apex Alien in ‘Invasion’ Season 3 is a lot cuter in real life (video)

published

14 October 2025

‘This is a special gig for me.’ Puppeteer Keith Arbuthnot displays his expert performance capture skills that bring the extraterrestrial to life in this behind-the-scenes featurette.

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Invasion — Bringing the Apex Alien to Life in Season 3 | Apple TV – YouTube

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Apple TV’s “Invasion” Season 3 is counting down to the final two episodes of the year as Trevante (Shamier Anderson), Mitsuki (Shioli Kutsuna), Aneesha (Golshifteh Farahani), and Jamila (India Brown) all converge at the Dead Zone with the gung-ho WDC commandos to try and board the colossal crashed mothership.

As we saw last week in Episode 8, “Life in the Dead Zone,” Mitsuki developed a rather unique relationship with one of the evolved alien intruders that formed the basis of an interesting interspecies pairing (no, not that type of “pairing!”) that just might surprise veteran viewers who’ve stuck with this addictive sci-fi series created by Simon Kinberg and David Weil.

To highlight the crew’s special fusion of visual effects magic, we’re presenting this exclusive featurette titled “Meet the Apex Alien,” which showcases the combination of talents behind bringing to life these strange translucent creatures from beyond the stars. Also, we get to see the gangly suit that Keith Arbuthnot wears when bringing the Apex Alien to life, complete with adorable and hilarious angry eyes.

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Performance artist Keith Arbuthnot on set in “Invasion” Season 3 (Image credit: Apple TV)

In this behind-the-scenes peek, the Apex Alien Puppeteer Keith Arbuthnot shares his performance capture experience on the set of “Invasion” Season 3, discussing the creative ways he emotes and sustains an emotional connection with the actors while filming.

“For production, I made this head that goes on top of the rig, which takes me up to six-and-a-half feet,” Arbuthnot explains in the video. “But for the actors, I also added a little something for them to be able to focus on. Actors really appreciate having whatever it is in the space. It allows people to feel how it might feel to have something as large as the Apex Alien in the same shot.”

“Invasion” Season 3 streams exclusively on Apple TV with new episodes dropping each Friday until the finale airing Oct. 24, 2025.

Watch Invasion on Apple TV:
All three seasons of the excellent alien invasion thriller are on the streaming service, along with other hit sci-fi shows like Severance, For All Mankind, Foundation, and Silo. It’s low-key the best streaming service for sci-fi these days.

Apple TV costs $12.99 per month, but there is also a free 7-day trial for new members who want to check out the service without committing.

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Jeff SprySocial Links Navigation Contributing Writer

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

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‘Something is wrong!’: ‘Invasion’ Season 3 clip reveals shocking discovery at the mothership containment wall (exclusive)

The terrifying Apex Alien in 'Invasion' Season 3 is a lot cuter in real life (video)

The terrifying Apex Alien in ‘Invasion’ Season 3 is a lot cuter in real life (video)

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