Earth will not break the alien timeline

Key takeaways

• Alien: Earth will be the first Alien series, returning to Earth for a new origin story.
• The series will explore the evolution of the Xenomorphs and show them as an earlier threat, diverging from previous interpretations.
• Alien: Earth could address unanswered questions from previous films, potentially weaving together the franchise's complex history.

A new species hatches from a dog's egg Alien IP, and fans are still reeling from the horror Alien: RomulusThe franchise is about to go in a very different direction. Coming to FX Hulu in 2025, Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth Ready to go somewhere Alien Movies Always Afraid to Go: Humanity's Home Planet.

Besides being the first Alien tv series, Alien: Earth will chart a different era of the franchise's history and take audiences even further back than before to set the original story on Earth. While this won't necessarily serve as an origin story for Xenomorphs, it will instead look at how humanity ends up in the sorry state it was in during Ridley Scott's original. Alien.

Where does Alien: Earth take place in the Alien timeline?

when Alien Arriving on the scene in 1979, everything was quite simple, and from there, the franchise moved forward from the year 2122. There was already a time jump between the original and James Cameron. AliensEllen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) was rescued in 2179. David Fincher's underappreciation Alien 3 Replay kept it simple straight after when Fiorina crashed to 161 AliensBut in another giant leap, Alien: Resurrection The original series closes with Earth destroyed in 2381.

Seeing promise in the early days of Xenomorph development, Scott went back to the beginning and delivered. prometheus, A prequel set 29 years before the doomed voyage of the Nostromo in the first movie. There will be events leading up to the plans for the four prequels Alien. Although A Alien: Covenant A sequel was abandoned, elements of which can be seen thanks to the Replay Easter Egg Romulus. but, Alien: Earth Ignores all of this and goes further back Prometheus.

Happened in 2092 Alien: Earth land some time ago Prometheus. Because that doesn't matter Prometheus Mainly LV-223 took place on the Moon, while (as its name suggests) Alien: Earth takes place on earth. There may be some crossover, eg Prometheus It opens with Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) finding a star map in Scotland. Still, Holly promises that her series will tell its own story. Speaking to Variety in January 2024, the director explained how he's taking it Alien: Earth Return to the decadent retrofuturism of 1979 Alien than the strange future sense of Prometheus:

“There's something about that that doesn't really count for me. I prefer the retro-futurism of the first two movies, and that's why I chose — there's no hologram. That cool Apple Store technology feature isn't available to me.”

in spite of Alien vs Predator Movies that take place on Earth, are not considered canon due to new events Alien and hunter movies. Although Hawley's series is expected to slot into the convoluted Alien timeline, Alien: Earth Stepping into new territory means he's more independent than in movies.

Alien: Earth teases a different origin for the Xenomorphs

Scott was criticized for diving too deeply into the origins of the Xenomorphs, with both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant revealing new types of aliens and implying that David (an android played by Michael Fassbender) was their creator. The Engineers have graffiti of Xenomorphs on the walls of their black goo bioweapons facility, suggesting they are a very ancient race that David engineered from just an offshoot.

Hawley is leaning into this wiggle room, and has confirmed the Xenomorphs are already a threat. Alien: Earth. This was then confirmed by the short November 2024 sizzle reel. Again in a Variety interview, Hawley said that he and Scott have discussed logistics:

“For me, and for many people, this 'best life form' – as it was described in the first film – is the product of millions of years of evolution. […] At some level, the idea that this is a bioweapon created half an hour ago, that's inherently less useful to me.”

The first trailer showed a shot of Earth reflected in a Xenomorph's skull, hinting that the series would follow the species arriving on the planet. Instead of focusing on the Xenomorphs, Hawley has teased Alien: Earth Will dive further into the rival Weyland-Yutani Corporation's obsession with developing artificial intelligence. This may tie in with the casting of Timothy Olyphant as a synth called Kirsch.

Showing Xenomorphs on Earth

The official summary for Alien: Earth The above confirms some and gives some serious Aliens (1986) vibes without giving too much away:

“When a mysterious spaceship crashes on Earth, a young woman and a group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that brings them face to face with the planet's greatest threat.”

Hawley doubled down on Earth's unique setting, stating the time frame:

“There's something about seeing a xenomorph in the jungles of Earth, with your own eyes, that's really cool.”

He said that while he could not confirm under what circumstances that would happen, there was an implication that the aliens would escape from their corporate cages as soon as the Weyland-Yutani inevitably captured them. In fact the movies don't mention Earth being overrun by Xenomorphs meaning it might just be a minor or temporary transition.

Special edition of Alien: Resurrection Ripley and Winona Ryder's Cal were shown arriving at the ruins of Earth in 2381. In the same movie, Ron Perlman's character refers to Earth as a 'sh*thole'. Meanwhile, Ma contract, David says that the human race is a 'dying species' that is leaving the earth in search of resurrection. While Hawley seems to undo some of the xenomorph lore teased by Scott's prequels and possibly reveal the status of planet Earth, the fact that he's in contact with the franchise's overlord suggests that it's all woven together.

Despite its non-canon status AvP In the movies, Hawley could also revisit the idea that the Xenomorphs spread across the galaxy as part of a predatory hunting ritual. after all, Romulus' Fede Álvarez discusses the new idea Alien vs Predator movie Anyway, those who are disappointed contract's dangling plot threads may find answers to some of their questions in this prequel. with Alien: Earth On arrival at the post-Romulus Boom of love for Alien IP, there couldn't be a better time to take the audience back to the beginning and put some more meat on those Xenomorph bones – especially against the familiar backdrop of Earth.