Alien Earth Timeline Explained : It is one thing to venture into the Alien franchise. Over the past decades many people have fallen in love with the terrifying sci-fi world created by Ridley Scott that combines the elements of cosmic horror with fundamental philosophical inquiries regarding the possible role of mankind. The success of Alien: Romulus in 2024 comes with its own very subsequent albeit now running chapter, Alien: Earth; the FX television series that Noah Hawley (Fargo) has been building up excitement about.
This time, the nightmare lands somewhere it has never been before: our own planet.
A Bold New Setting for the Alien Universe
Hawley, who also has Ridley Scott onboard as producer, explains his vision for the series:
Alien is not an alone monster furniture. It is the story of humanity in the transition between the parasitic past and the AI-powered future and both would like us out of the way. The point is: Are we worth to live? It may seem that our arrogance, believing that we are not prey anymore, that AI would follow our commands is the way that will bring us to our end.”
Premiere Details
Episode 1 and 2 of Alien: Earth premiere August 12 8pm ET on FX with new episodes rolling out every Tuesday through September 23 8pm ET. U.S. viewers can stream the series on Hulu, with international viewers able to catch the series over on Disney+.
Where ‘Alien: Earth’ Fits in the Timeline
Whilst Alien: Romulus occurred in 2142 (between Alien (2122) and Aliens (2179), Alien: Earth goes even further back in the calendar. The series takes place in 2120, so it is a prequel which follows events two years prior to the first Alien movie.
A Future Ruled by Corporations
It is the tale of a world that is controlled by five all-mighty corporations which are Prodigy, Weyland-Yutani, Lynch, Dynamic and Threshold. The race of immortality made by humanity has three extremist forms:
- Cyborgs – Biological humans with artificial enhancements
- Synths – Humanoid robots with near-human consciousness (like Ash from Alien)
- Hybrids – Synthetic beings with actual human minds transferred into them
The latest and most controversial innovation comes from billionaire prodigy Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin) and his company, Prodigy. They’ve developed a secret process to transfer the consciousness of terminally ill children into synthetic bodies — giving them superhuman abilities and potential immortality.
The first success is Marcy, a 12-year-old cancer patient, reborn as Wendy (Sydney Chandler). Soon, Kavalier creates more childlike synths, calling them the Lost Boys — a nod to Peter Pan.
When Science Meets Horror
What begins as a groundbreaking scientific achievement quickly becomes an ethical nightmare. Kavalier sends Wendy and the Lost Boys to investigate the wreckage of a Weyland-Yutani spaceship that has crash-landed in New Siam — Prodigy’s territory.
Inside, they encounter not only a fully grown Xenomorph, but also other dangerous alien species. From this point, the experiment begins to spiral into chaos.
Does it Connect to Prometheus & Covenant?
Some fans may wonder whether Ridley Scott’s prequels, Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017), tie into Alien: Earth. Despite Covenant being set just 16 years before the new series, Hawley has made it clear: the answer is no.
The show leans on the original Alien mythology, focusing on the Xenomorph as the “perfect life form” — a creature shaped by millions of years of evolution, not a man-made weapon.
Hawley also wanted to preserve the retro-futuristic technology from the first two films:
The prequels by Ridley made the tech to be thousands of years ahead of what we can see in Alien. That was to come to them later- it does not make sense. I like the all analog, one-finger tactile retro-futurism. There are no holograms, then, no chrome Apple Store, ambiance, you know.”
Essie Davis & Erana James on Working with Adarsh Gourav
The cast also has Essie Davis and Erana James who are closely related to their co-actor Adarsh Gourav. The trio formed a close bond by sharing their Indian culture, specifically the old Bollywood sports film, Lagaan and the beauty of Indian music, during the process of their film shooting.
This chance of an across the boarder cultural exchange provided a much needed intimacy in the background of a dark and intense sci-fi series that showed that no matter how vile your universe is, people still need love.
Why ‘Alien: Earth’ Could Be the Franchise’s Most Thought-Provoking Chapter
Setting the horror on the Earth and adding the elements of corporate greed and technological ethics to questions of human survival, Alien: Earth is likely to provide not only the thrills but also the intellectual heft. Its sci-fi technology does not have the ultra-polished looks that might feel too slick and it feels something raw and earthy, which may appeal to the long-time fan.
As the Xenomorph’s shadow falls over our own world, the question remains: Will humanity adapt, or will we be the next extinct species?