How does the new Alien: Earth series fit into the Alien cinematic timeline?

Alien started off as a very simple premise. People come across a deadly alien, and it picks them off one by one. Today, the franchise has grown to encompass hundreds of years, as well as dozens of characters and storylines (some of which are seemingly unresolved forever).

Alien: Earth is the latest addition to this increasingly messy timeline. The series dropped its first teaser on September 3, and like the title suggests, focuses on the the horrifying concept of an alien making its way to our home planet.

Alien: Earth will serve as (another) Alien prequel

It'd been previously thought that the first time humans stumbled upon a Xenomorph "proper" was during the events of the first Alien, so there may be some confusion about the timeline of the show and how it ties into the rest of the cinematic timeline.

Well, for starters, Alien: Earth is a prequel. Not to just the last film in the franchise, Alien: Romulus, but the original as well. It's set 70 years in the future, which means it will take place three decades before the events of Alien.

Despite serving as a preamble of sorts to the films, Alien: Earth will go out of its way to avoid bringing back established characters. This is in direct contrast to Alien: Romulus, and is something that Alexi Hawley, the showrunner, was adamant about.

Alien: Earth will feature all original characters

“It’s not a Ripley story," Hawley told Vanity Fair in 2021. "She’s one of the great characters of all time, and I think the story has been told pretty perfectly, and I don’t want to mess with it." Alien: Earth will instead focus on the emergence of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, which is who Ripley worked for in the original film.

The logline for Alien: Earth is as follows:

"When a mysterious space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a fateful discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s greatest threat."

Given the success of Alien: Romulus, we're curious to see how the series will expand on the lore of Weyland-Yutani, and how it will factor into future films. Alien: Earth is set to premiere on Hulu in 2025.