Everything We Know About Alien: Earth (And How It Connects to the Alien Movies)

The upcoming Hulu series Alien: Earth is set to bring the Alien franchise to the small screen, and expand the popular sci-fi franchise into new territory. The Alien franchise began in 1979 with Ridley Scott’s eponymous original movie and has since spawned three direct sequels, three prequels, and the Alien vs. Predator spin-off movies. That’s in addition to the Alien franchise also expanding into other popular media, such as comic books and video games.

Alien has had a somewhat shaky reception since Scott’s original film and James Cameron’s 1986 sequel Aliens, but it has nonetheless been a cornerstone for both sci-fi and horror fans, with 2024’s Alien: Romulus being credited with re-invigorating the series. That re-invigoration is set to continue with the debut of Alien: Earth later this year: here is everything that is currently known about the Alien TV series, and how it could connect to the movies that preceded it.

Alien: Earth Plot & Timeline

Alien: Earth acts as a prequel to the majority of the Alien franchise, taking place two years before the original Alien. The series will focus upon the aftermath of a spacecraft crash landing on Earth, bringing the xenomorphs onto the planet. This makes Alien: Earth the third installment of the Alien franchise to take place on Earth, following the two Earth-set Alien vs. Predator movies. With Alien: Earth‘s taking place on Earth, the series has a bit more heavy lifting as a prequel to do, in order to coordinate its story with the franchise’s larger canon – namely the fact that xenomorphs are not a known species to most humans, or among the general population of Earth.

Nor, for that matter, has a mass xenomorph invasion of Earth made its way into mankind’s history books at any point during the Alien franchise. Considering how much the Predator franchise has distanced itself from the Alien vs. Predator movies, it seems unlikely that Alien: Earth will try to address that issue. In either case, the show being the rare example of the xenomorphs making it to Earth opens countless possibilities to either establish its story as the first recorded instance of the xenomorph’s presence on Earth, or one of multiple incidents that have been heavily concealed from the public by the U.S. and other world governments.

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The Characters of Alien: Earth

While none of the characters of the mainline Alien franchise have any confirmed appearances in Alien: Earth, the series will introduce some new characters into the Alien universe. The main protagonist of Alien: Earth is Wendy (Sydney Chandler), an adult woman who carries a child’s consciousness in her mind. Timothy Olyphant also appears in Alien: Earth as Kirsh, who will reportedly serve as a mentor for Wendy.

Other characters to be introduced in Alien: Earth include Boy Kavalier, CJ, Dame Silvia, Tootles, and Slightly – played (respectively) by Samuel Blenkin, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Kit Young, and Adarsh Gourav. Additionally, Weyland-Yutani will also have a representative present in Alien: Earth, with Sandra Yi Sencindiver set to appear on the show as an unnamed high-ranking Weyland-Yutani official.

The Connection Between Alien: Earth & The Alien Movies

The makers of Alien: Earth have emphasized that the series will have a more direct relationship with the main Alien series than with its fellow prequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. While Alien: Earth might be placing its story within very specific parameters with that approach, there are also a number of other ways in which the show could connect to the Alien movies. One of them could even directly involve the main plot of Ridley Scott’s Alien. With Alien: Earth‘s setting and timeframe, it could play directly into the efforts of the Weyland-Yutani corporation to ensure the xenomorph unleashed upon the crew of the Nostromo is brought back to Earth (Weyland-Yuanti even coldly decreeing the “crew expendable” in this edict).

With Alien: Earth taking place just two years before Alien, the series might establish its story as being how the Weyland-Yutani first discovered the xenomorph species existed. In turn, Alien: Earth would reveal Weyland-Yutani concocting a plot to divert the returning Nostromo to LV-426 (as seen in the Nostromo’s response to a distress call from LV-426 in Alien) with the purposeful goal of the crew encountering the facehuggers and bringing a Xenomorph back to Earth. If Alien: Earth links itself to the first Alien in that way, it could also indicate other doors of a similar nature being opened – including the origins of the xenomorphs themselves. That is if Alien: Earth is greenlit for Season 2.

Alien: Earth will debut on FX on Hulu in 2025.