Summary

• Alien: Earth's setting on Earth threatens to contradict established Alien lore by introducing xenomorphs prematurely.
• The Weyland-Yutani Corporation's role in Alien: Earth will require significant retcons to align with previous franchise entries.
• Noah Hawley faces a major challenge in integrating Alien: Earth into the franchise's messy canon without sacrificing quality.

Noah Hawley has announced the title for his FX Alien prequel series and, in so doing, has revealed that another franchise retcon is imminent. Alien: Earth had already been placed within the Alien timeline, set around 30 years before the original film. Now the location of the show is confirmed, concerns about its execution have risen. Hawley's decision to set the show on Earth creates contradictions with Ridley Scott's Prometheus and Alien: Covenant that will have to be resolved with yet another big franchise lore retcon.

Given the Alien: Romulus leans into the sci-fi horror roots of the original, Alien: Earth has been described by Hawley as a homage to the 1979 classic. Although the prospect of seeing an Alien story on the small screen for the first time is thrilling, there remain legitimate concerns over how the show can integrate into an already messy canon – with one element proving particularly problematic.

Alien: Earth's Timeline & Setting Mean There Shouldn't Be Any Aliens

The Deep Space Setting Of The Original Films Are Essential

According to preexisting Alien lore, the titular aliens should not exist on Earth. Ridley Scott's sequels, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, though controversial additions to the franchise, exist to explain the origin of the xenomorphs. They make it clear that the classic xenomorphs did not yet exist at this point in the timeline, with the implication that they were engineered by David, the android played by Michael Fassbender. Yet, if Alien: Earth predates Ripley's storyline by 30 years, it exists chronologically around the same period as Prometheus.

If the xenomorphs as we know them have not yet been created, they certainly have no business being found on Earth. But the Earth setting is not just illogical from a plot perspective: it also erases one of Alien's key thematic elements. There is a reason that most movies in the franchise are set in deep-space. The desolation, isolation, and fear of the unknown associated with planetary exploration are quintessential in cosmic horror, as the iconic tagline suggests: "in space, no-one can hear you scream."

Alien: Earth Will Need Another Big Retcon To Feature The Xenomorphs

The Show Will Completely Re-Write The Weyland-Yutani Corporation (Again)

Not much is known about the storyline of Alien: Earth so far, but it seems that it will center on the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, since Sandra Yi Sencindiver has already been Alien: Covenant. These prequels imply that between Covenant and the first movie, Weyland-Yutani became aware of the existence of the xenomorphs, and Nostromo's landing on Acheron was not a coincidence.

If xenomorphs had already reached Earth, as looks to be the case in the Hawley series, it would not make sense for Weyland-Yutani to be so desperate to acquire a specimen to study. In fact, at this point in the chronology, Weyland-Yutani proper shouldn't even exist. In Prometheus, the corporations are still separate entities. This inconsistency will not concern Hawley, however, who has claimed that Prometheus and Alien: Covenant will be irrelevant to the FX series.

Yet again, the established lore of Alien is being completely rewritten, making it even harder to view the setting as a cohesive whole.

The preexisting sequels may not be universally liked, but it is frustrating to see so much of the franchise disregarded. Yet again, the established lore of Alien is being completely rewritten, making it even harder to view the setting as a cohesive whole. This mistake has been made before and augurs ominously for Alien: Earth's story.

Another Big Retcon Is The Last Thing The Alien Franchise Needs

Alien Prequels Were Let Down By Over-Complicated World-Building

It's hard to imagine Alien: Earth not featuring some form of the monster that made the franchise so iconic. Whether Hawley decides to erase Scott's world-building completely, or perform writing gymnastics to allow his series to tie-in, there's potential to further complicate an already messy canon. There is a risk that his effort to make Alien: Earth make sense will result in heavy exposition, something which is difficult to pull off without sacrificing quality.

That being said, FX is known for producing high caliber television. The widely acclaimed historical drama Shōgun is its recent masterpiece. Hawley is also an undeniably talented showrunner, responsible for the network's award-winning TV adaptation of Fargo, which received three Primetime Emmys and three Golden Globes. He is clearly anticipating similar success with Alien: Earth. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Hawley reassures fans that they are in for "something special", and states that he "couldn't be happier with the show we shot."

Alien: Earth is being sold as an homage to the franchise's original film. The threat that its setting poses to established lore undermines that claim. It won't be the first entry in the franchise to take the xenomorphs to Earth: that's already the premise of the Alien vs. Predator crossovers. By setting his series closer to home, Hawley has arguably missed the true source of the horror in the original. The fate of Nostromo is a warning of the destruction that this primordial, extra-terrestrial life-form would wage on the human race. It's a point that is completely underwritten if, as Alien: Earth will imply, the aliens have already landed.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter