Alien: Earth marks Alien’s first expedition into long-form episodic storytelling. The upcoming show is also noteworthy for being the first Alien project that takes place primarily on planet Earth, following events that happened two years before the events of 1979’s original movie. Alien: Earth features an excellent cast including Timothy Olyphant, Sydney Chandler, and Alex Lawther in the lead roles.
While it’s very exciting that the Alien franchise is making the long-awaited plunge to an Earth-bound story, the decision opens up some major possibilities for plot holes and inconsistencies. Long-time fans of the franchise are understandably concerned that Noah Hawley’s series will retroactively change the timeline and raise tricky questions about the Xenomorph’s existence and how much humanity knows about the extraterrestrial species. Alien: Earth is a hugely anticipated project, but it’s also one with immense pressure riding on its shoulders.
When Alien: Earth Is Set (And How It Ties Into The Movies)
The Show Is A Prequel To The Original Movies
Alien: Earth comes pretty early in the timeline of the Alien franchise, just before Ridley Scott’s original movie and shortly after the events of Alien: Covenant. This is a period that hasn’t been explored too thoroughly in previous movies, making it extremely fertile ground for some creative storytelling in the show. Both the original series and the prequel movies explore the what and why of Weyland-Yutani’s experiences with the Xenomorphs, but this specific period has never seemed particularly important to the overall story – until now.
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Recent Alien Movies & Shows In Chronological Order |
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|---|---|
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Title |
Year Set |
|
Alien: Earth (2025) |
2120 |
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Prometheus (2012) |
2093 |
|
Alien: Covenant (2017) |
2104 |
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Alien (1979) |
2122 |
|
Alien: Romulus (2024) |
2142 |
Alien: Earth follows the story of a group of scientists who are forced to contain a global catastrophe when a Xenomorph somehow crash-lands on Earth, threatening the existence of the human race and altering society to the existence of other life forms in the universe. It seems like a huge moment in human history, and yet, it’s never been mentioned once in the Alien franchise. This has raised plenty of questions among fans regarding how neatly Noah Hawley’s series will tie into the existing canon, as a story of this magnitude could very easily create plot holes that can’t be resolved.
The Problems With Alien: Earth Bringing A Xenomorph To Earth
The Concept Seemingly Clashes With The Existing Lore
The biggest problem with bringing a Xenomorph to Earth is that it’s hard to explain why this history-defining event hasn’t been mentioned before in the Alien franchise. It’s going to be very difficult to explain why the human characters in Alien are so taken aback by the Xenomorph if Alien: Earth retroactively makes them the subject of a planetary invasion just a few years prior. This seems like something that Ripley and her crewmates would be aware of, so Alien: Earth will have to explain how the show’s protagonists managed to keep the Xenomorph’s existence a secret.
Both Alien and Aliens seemed to operate under the assumption that the Nostromo’s discovery of the alien species is accidental.
Another potential plot hole with Alien: Earth is that Weyland-Yutani’s expedition doesn’t make much sense if the company knows about the existence of the Xenomorph. Both Alien and Aliens seemed to operate under the assumption that the Nostromo’s discovery of the alien species is accidental, and Weyland-Yutani doesn’t know how to deal with the threat. This seems unlikely if the company is already aware of its existence thanks to the events of Alien: Earth. Again, Weyland-Yutani may have nothing to do with the show’s extraterrestrial incursion, but this seems increasingly unlikely.
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If Alien: Earth reveals that Weyland-Yutani was involved with the Xenomorph appearing Earth, this retcons the central message of Ridley Scott’s original story. It would suggest that the Nostromo’s discovery of the alien wasn’t accidental, which subsequently raises the question of why the company would send such an unprepared crew into such a dangerous alien landscape. These are all questions that Alien: Earth must answer.
Every Time The Alien Franchise Has Been On Earth Explained
The Series Has Steered Clear Of Our Home Planet
Although Alien: Earth is the first project in this franchise to actually take place primarily on Earth, there have been several instances in previous movies where Earth has been mentioned or seen briefly. The crew of the Nostromo are en route to Earth when their ship is diverted in the original movie, and the immediate sequel ends with the crew resetting their coordinates to their home planet. However, the first time Earth is actually seen in the Alien franchise is at the end of Alien: Resurrection, when the Auriga crash-lands on the planet after the protagonists have abandoned it.
Alien vs. Predator has also taken the franchise to Earth, although they’re largely considered not to be part of the Alien movie canon.
This is the final chronological appearance of Earth in the Alien franchise, but Ridley Scott’s prequel movies have a much closer connection to humanity’s home planet. Multiple scenes in Prometheus show a futuristic version of Earth, with scientists later discovering coordinates that lead them to the homeworld of the Engineers. It’s unclear how strictly Alien: Earth will stick to the canon of Prometheus and its direct sequel, but the show must likely acknowledge Weyland-Yutani’s existing knowledge of aliens (specifically the Engineers) from the events of these prequels.
How Alien: Earth’s Story Can Work Without Breaking Canon
There’s A Clear Path For Alien: Earth To Work
Although Alien: Earth certainly faces some major challenges by placing itself at such an established point in the franchise’s timeline, the show doesn’t have to rewrite the existing canon for it to work. The most obvious solution is for the show’s narrative to center around these scientists’ attempts to contain this mysterious species, meaning that humanity is never aware of the alien’s arrival on the planet. This would also explain why Weyland-Yutani is unaware of the Xenomorph when it boards the Nostromo in Alien.
Alternatively, Alien: Earth could reveal that Weyland-Yutani (and humanity at large) was aware of the Xenomorph’s existence, but they lied about their knowledge of where it came from. This would retroactively add an interesting twist to the original movies, suggesting that Weyland-Yutani somehow figured out where the Xenomorph was from and sent a team of expendables there in the hopes that the creature would board the ship and make it back to Earth. This fits neatly with David’s transmission at the end of Alien: Covenant, which has hinted towards Weyland-Yutani’s secret knowledge since that film’s release.
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