‘I no longer understand the timeline for the Xenomorph’: Yeah, no one gets why ‘Alien: Earth’ exists and we might need an Infinity Gauntlet to fix this

Details surrounding the highly secretive Alien: Earth television show proved scarce for the longest time. However, as more information becomes freely available, the only further question about this series should be: Who asked for this convoluted mess?

Xenomorph fans feared the worst after Alien: Covenant. The 2017 film underperformed at the box office, forcing everyone to question if this beloved franchise had finally run out of steam. Mechanisms moved behind the scenes, though, and a requel arrived in the form of Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus, setting the adventure between the events of Alien and Aliens. Suddenly, the franchise appeared to be back on track as this film ventured back to the isolation-fueled horror roots of Ridley Scott’s 1979 movie.

That’s not all that fans have to look forward to, since FX on Hulu is set to release Alien: Earth in 2025. Helmed by showrunner Noah Hawley, who blew everyone’s minds with the brilliance of Fargo and Legion, it has all the hallmarks of becoming must-watch television. Although, there was a slight concern about the Earth part of the title. The appeal of the Alien series is that it takes place in outer space – where no one can hear you scream, as the tagline boasts – and it should stay that way.

Turns out those fears were merited. It’s now confirmed that Alien: Earth takes place after a spacecraft crashes on Earth and, of course, people investigate this alien vessel only to unleash terror on humanity. Seriously, 2024, have we not suffered enough without adding the Xenomorph to our planet?

That isn’t the capper, though. Alien: Earth takes place 30 years before the events of Alien. That’s right, folks – there’s yet another Alien timeline to keep track of in this franchise that hops around time like a child bouncing up and down through a water sprinkler. 

Fans appear to be just as confused by this revelation, letting their frustrations be known on X. As one commentator wrote: “I no longer understand the timeline for the Xenomorph.” Some attempted to reason with the user and figure out where it all fits in, but others agreed and said the timeline is basically optional at the moment.

Prepare for further perplexity as 20th Century Studios’ Steve Asbell confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that an Alien: Romulus sequel is in motion. Then, there’s Scott who also told The Hollywood Reporter that a Covenant sequel makes more sense, saying: “Covenant is the best one [for a sequel] because it leaves the girl in the [cryo pod] and [Michael Fassbender’s killer android] David has alien eggs and 2,000 colonists hanging around. It’s a perfect beginning.”

Needless to say, it’s a lot to digest. It’s also yet another reminder of how not to handle a franchise. Look at Marvel and DC’s attempts to explore the multiverse and moonwalk across the timeline. At this point, no one knows where in the world anything fits in and what’s linear in canon or not. It’s confusion personified.

Not everyone has the time to trawl Wikipedia or Fandom pages to piece together a cohesive timeline of the mess that the decision-makers created. Alien: Earth throws another unnecessary curveball into the mix and right now this darn Xenomorph seems to have a DeLorean or something, because how in the world is it getting around everywhere?