Summary
Along withAlien: Romulus, FX’sAlienTV series is promising to be a fresh start for the iconic sci-fi horror franchise – fixing several flawed stories in the process. Created by Noah Hawley,theAlienTV showis set to arrive in the first half of 2025 – although an exact release date is yet to be confirmed. However, while many details around the project remain unclear, what is known suggests that FX’sAliencan reset the unwieldy series and establish a new chronology that can help secure its future.
It has already been confirmedFX’sAlienwill be a prequelto Ridley Scott’s originalAlienfilm. Back in 2022, FX chief John Landgraf revealed that “It’s the first story in the Alien franchise that takes place on Earth. It takes place on our planet, near the end of this century we’re currently in — 70-odd years from now” (viaThe Hollywood Reporter). Given the period that recent previousAlienfranchise installments have focused on,such an approach promises to rewrite aspects of franchise lore. Beyond this, however, FX’sAlien’s setting will allow it to take a more comprehensive approach to resetting the series.
Alien TV Show Can Fix AVP And Ridley Scott’s Prequels
All Four Movies Have Major Problems
It’s obvious, given where the franchise has been since 2012, thatFX’sAlienpromises to pose challenging questions for Ridley Scott’s cinematicAlienprequels. BothPrometheusandAlien: Covenantprovided a radical and controversial explanation for the alien’s origins that, aside from a few brief moments at the start ofPrometheus, was set away from Earth. Changing the setting for this point intheAlientimelinesuggests FX’sAlienwill alter and perhaps even directly contradict what happened inPrometheusandCovenant.
Beyond this however, there are other implications for FX’sAlien’s setting. Despite Landgraf’s suggestion that the show will be “the first story…that takes place on Earth”, this is of course not true,thanks to the much-maligned (but nonetheless extant)Alien vs. Predatormovies. Both the 2004 original and its sequel feature a conflict between the Yautja and xenomorphs on Earth itself, creating several potential narrative difficulties for future events in theAlienseries.
…the fact that the show is set on Earth suggests that it will also rewrite the story established earlier in theAvPmovies, potentially retconning no fewer than four previousAlienprequel stories…
Showrunner Noah Hawley has already highlighted personal concerns with Ridley Scott’s prequels. In an extensive interview withKCRW’sThe Businesspodcast, he citedissues with the idea that the xenomorph was an artificially created “bioweapon”, as well as concerns with the polished futuristic aesthetic ofPrometheusandCovenant(viaVariety). It makes sense, therefore, that FX’sAlienwill address these particular elements. However, the fact that the show is set on Earth suggests that it will also rewrite the story established earlier in theAvPmovies, potentially retconning no fewer than four previousAlienprequel stories in the process.
Every Alien Movie In The Franchise, Ranked Worst To Best
Ridley Scott’s Alien marked a shift in the sci-fi genre and kicked off a space horror franchise, but there’s definitely a worst and best Alien movie.
Alien Desperately Needs To Fix Its Prequel Story
It’s Hurting The Whole Franchise
Part of the problem withAlien’s multiple origin stories is that it’s almost impossible to articulate a coherent vision for how the franchise really starts.PrometheusandCovenant’s entire premise (that David created the xenomorphs as a result of his experiments with theEngineers' black goo) completely writes theAlien vs. Predatorsaga out of existence, implying that the aliens only came into being a few decades beforeAlien. According to many critics,this explanation completely undermined the power of the original film– replacing an ancient primordial force with something far more prosaic.
…by reducing them to combatants in an intergalactic MMA tournament, the creatures lost all of their malice – as well as making it seem incredibly unlikely that humanity would remain unaware of their existence.
By contrast,Alien vs. Predatorat least managed to maintain the mystery around where the aliens came from and how they evolved. However, by reducing them to combatants in an intergalactic MMA tournament, the creatures lost all of their malice – as well as making it seem incredibly unlikely that humanity would remain unaware of their existence. As a result,neither current explanation for how theAliensaga’s story begins is particularly satisfying. This makes a new approach of the sort proposed by Hawley a welcome addition to a franchise that has become increasingly bogged down by its own complex and contradictory lore.
FX’s Alien Can Give The Franchise A Completely New Origin
It Can Be A Fresh Start After Years Of Uncertainty
Because of their wildly different storylines,FX’s Alien can’t reconcile both Ridley Scott’s prequel vision and the version presented inAlien vs. Predator. Therefore, the best way for the show to proceed is to create an entirely new origin story, removed from the complications of the past. FollowingAlien vs. Predatorraises too many questions about connections to another franchise, while sticking withPrometheusandCovenantwouldn’t resolve any of Hawley’s personal issues with those stories. As such a complete reset is the best way forward.
Of course, starting afresh doesn’t mean ignoring what’s come before. One way for FX’sAliento stay true to the original story is answering the question of how Weyland-Yutani might have known about the existence of LV-426 beforeAlien, or whether the Nostromo’s encounter really was the first time humanity crossed paths with the xenomorph. Either way, there are plenty of ways to introduce a new chapter in theAlienstory while drawing a line under the problems of the past.
