Earth’ Connects to the ‘Alien’ Franchise

Following the success of Alien: Romulus last August, fans won’t have to wait too long for the latest addition to the Alien franchise. Scheduled for a summer 2025 debut on Hulu, the beloved sci-fi creature-feature catalog will expand to the small screen for the first time with the release of the ongoing FX series Alien: Earth.

While Alien: Romulus takes place between the first and second Alien movies from the ’70s and ’80s, the new show will be their prequel. Written and directed by Noah Hawley (Fargo) and executive produced by the first installment’s Ridley Scott, viewers will get to see the infamous Xenomorphs on Earth (obviously), in an effort to explore new ground while returning to the innovative narrative that made its predecessors so iconic. Although little has been revealed about the upcoming series, here’s everything we know so far about where it fits in the overall timeline, plot and cast details, and how it will likely connect to the original movies’ lore.

The ‘Alien’ Timeline, Explained

In total, there are nine movies in the Alien franchise, spanning from its 1979 inception all the way to the most recent Alien: Romulus in 2024. After the original film, plenty of prequels and sequels joined the mix, jumping around the increasingly muddled timeline.

‘Alien’ in Release Order

Watching according to their release dates, their order looks like this: Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), Alien: Resurrection (1997), Alien vs. Predator (2004), Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), Prometheus (2012), Alien: Covenant (2017), and Alien: Romulus (2024).

‘Alien’ in Chronological Order

On the other hand, most of the more recent additions are prequels to the first movie. As a result, a chronological list would put Alien vs. Predator through Alien: Covenant before the 1979 film, as well as squeeze Alien: Romulus directly after it. While fans can watch them however they want to, it’s usually best to stick to the franchise’s original release order to enjoy its evolution over the years.

As for the highly-anticipated Alien: Earth, reports initially set the story at the end of the 21st century, a few years before Prometheus, which takes place in 2093, and around 30 years before Alien, in 2122. However, after a teaser trailer dropped, we now know that the show starts off in 2120, just two years before Ridley Scott’s classic introduced us all to the crew of the Nostromo. Thus, the timestamp confirms the series as an interquel right before Alien and years after the events of Alien: Covenant.

What Can Fans Expect to See in ‘Alien: Earth’?

So far, not much has been revealed about the plot of Alien: Earth. FX’s released logline merely gives us the basic premise, “When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman (Sydney Chandler) and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat.” Since the original Alien similarly follows a leading woman and her team discovering the terrifyingly lethal organisms, it seems like the series will be going back to its roots while also giving new characters distinct problems to address as the creatures invade their home planet.

With so little to go off of, fans have used its setting in 2120 to speculate about the story. Some think it could address the Weyland-Yutani megacorp’s ties to the now-named Xenomorphs. Others hope it will depict the 1979 film’s crew on the Nostromo leaving Earth since it’s so close to the original’s chronology. Either way, audiences will just have to wait and see which direction showrunners decide to go in, and how they’ll present the threat among large populations of human life instead of in small groups. Although, one thing we do know for sure is that Noah Hawley wants to steer away from the backstory in Prometheus and stick to the original movies’ lore.

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The Main Cast of ‘Alien: Earth’ Hints at Continued AI Theme

As Alien: Earth’s debut nears, fans have learned more about the cast and their respective characters, which has further revealed potential aspects of the plot. According to Deadline, it’s leading lady Sydney Chandler (Don’t Worry Darling) will portray Wendy, a “meta-human” with “the brain and consciousness of a child” operating in the body of an adult. Poor Things immediately comes to mind, but we’ll see how showrunners make this kind of character their own. Starring alongside her will be the most well-known of the cast, Timothy Olyphant (The Mandalorian), who plays a synth named Kirsh. His character is said to be a kind of guardian or trainer for Wendy, perhaps molding her fresh mind into one of the soldiers at the center of the show, like Alex Lawther (Star Wars: Andor) who’s been cast as trooper CJ.

Considering Kirsh is a synth, it’s likely the series will use him to focus on this less explored aspect of the Alien franchise. For anyone needing a reminder, the synths are artificially created androids that look and act human. The most notable example is Ash in the original 1979 movie, whose primary goal was to protect the Xenomorphs, even at the expense of the rest of the crew. By establishing one of the main characters as a synth in the new series, showrunners have the ability to not only explain them more in-depth, but also generally tackle the use of AI (a timely theme to traverse).

Ultimately, the creators behind Alien: Earth have been tight-lipped about the plot, even in its promotion, so fans will just have to wait and see what’s really in store once the show comes out later this year.

Alien: Earth will be available to stream on Hulu later this year.