- Alien: Earth won’t reference what happened in movies that take place before it
- One of its producers says that gave its creator more freedom to tell his own story
- Fans want to know why events from prior films aren’t mentioned in the FX TV series
One of Alien: Earth‘s producers has confirmed whether events in films set before the franchise’s maiden TV show were taken into account for its story. In short: no.
Chatting to TechRadar ahead the sci-fi horror series’ debut in mid-August, David W Zucker admitted Alien: Earth isn’t actively ignoring what was outlined in past movies that predate the show from a timeline perspective. However, Zucker argued that there wasn’t “much mythology to contend with” from those films prior to Alien: Earth‘s development – a comment that’s surely to pique the interest of long-time fans, and either confuse and/or infuriate Alien devotees.
Events depicted in Promethus, as well as the Engineers, aren’t referenced in Alien’s first TV series (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)
Before I get into the nitty-gritty of what Zucker actually said, let’s look at the facts: in-universe, Alien: Earth is set in the year 2120. That places it two years before Alien and subsequent Sigourney Weaver-led films that follow.
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The only movies that sit earlier on the Alien timeline, then, are Prometheus, whose main story takes place in 2093 (though the film begins in 2089), and Alien: Covenant, which takes place in 2104. You can see what we made of these films, plus their siblings, in our best Alien movies ranked piece.
But I digress. Considering what happens in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant – I won’t spoil what goes down for anyone who hasn’t seen one or both flicks – fans have wondered if Alien: Earth will address the franchise mythology that was detailed in that pair. They are part of the Alien timeline, so that makes their stories canon and therefore open to being referenced in the FX TV Original, right?
Alien: Covenant is set 16 years before Alien: Earth, but the former’s story and lore doesn’t impact the latter (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)
Not so, Zucker indicated when I asked him to clarify things for the property’s puzzled fanbase.
“Fortunately, as [series creator] Noah [Hawley] has said before, there wasn’t much mythology for him to actually contend with, so it left him a great deal of latitude,” Zucker replied. “But, this was something that came whole cloth out of Noah’s mind, and something that through the historic relationship he’s had with FX.
“As soon as [FX Chairman] John Landgraf was able to seize the opportunity to explore a series in this space, there was honestly no one better that he could have tapped.
“So, the relationship that he [Noah] and Ridley really became one,” Zucker added. “Noah used the original film as his departure point to set off on his own fresh take and story in a series environment. It became one that we really benefited from through all of the originality, creativity, and freshness of thinking in the story he opted to tell.”
The Sigourney Weaver-starring Alien films take place after Alien: Earth (Image credit: 20th Century Fox)
Zucker’s comments further muddy the waters of what’s been said by other individuals involved in the Hulu and Disney+ show’s production.
Speaking to Variety in late July, FX Entertainment President Gina Balian did little to clarify things, saying: “Everything doesn’t have to fit together the way you expect from Marvel. Fans don’t expect that in this universe. It doesn’t have the same pressure.”
Elsewhere, Hawley told Empire Magazine (per PopVerse): “That first movie came out in 1979 and Prometheus came out in 2012… so you’re talking about close to 40 years in which there was no black goo, no David, no Engineers. Alien, for me, is baked in as these creatures that have existed for millions of years. They’re the perfectly evolved species. What you have to do is tell these stories from an organically fan-place within yourself.”
Not exactly clearing things up, are they – but what do you think? Does it matter if Alien: Earth addresses what went down in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant? Let me know in the comments.
While we wait for the series to arrive on August 12 (US) and August 13 (internationally), check out my Alien: Earth review for my verdict on the vast majority of Hawley’s latest TV production. Then, read our definitive Alien: Earth guide for the full lowdown on the forthcoming show.
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