Alien: Earth Isn't Breaking A Franchise Rule, It's Exploring Its Greatest Fear

One horror franchise that has seen a resurgence in recent years is the Alien franchise. The iconic series that began with1979’s Alien, and since then, has followed humans discovering the deadly xenomorphs in the depths of space. The franchise has not only spawned multiple sequels, but more recently, some prequels that show the full extent of the deadly predators and their reach across the galaxy. However, there has always been one location that the franchise has yet to bring the xenomorphs to: the surface of Earth itself. That concept is set to be explored in the upcoming television series Alien: Earth.

Some fans might assume that there has been an established rule against featuring the fearsome creatures on Earth, since they have never appeared there in the franchise. However, creatives have been given no such direction. Instead, the films have kept the haunting setting of deep space, isolated on space stations or ships, rather than humanity’s home. Only two films have shown the xenomorph on Earth before, and those were part of the Predator vs. Alien crossover franchise. Having Alien: Earth solely dedicated to the xenomorphs on Earth may be the best way to tap into everyone's greatest fear regarding the Alien franchise: what would happen if these monsters were let loose on our home planet?

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The Alien Franchise So Far

The first film in the franchise, Alien, was directed by Ridley Scott in 1979 and featured the franchise heroine who became a legend in the science fiction community: Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver. Eventually becoming the lone survivor of the Nostromo, Ripley fights to survive among her shipmates after coming into contact with the face-huggers, creatures who impregnate their victims with the xenomorph. The humans then act as incubators for the creatures to burst forth from the victims' chests.

Future films, like the sequel Aliens, would explore what would happen if the creatures attacked a colony. Ripley faces a xenomorph queen along with the other deadly creatures. Along with the constant threat of the xenomorphs and the genetic offshoots that were created along the way, there was another threat closer to home for Ripley and other heroes of the franchise. That was the Weyland-Yutani corporation and some of their androids. The company's greed drives them to try and find a way to harness the physical and biological traits of the creatures for their own development, which puts bystanders in danger throughout the franchise.

In the first film, while the creature hunts the survivors of the Nostromo, the ship’s science officer, Ash, was revealed to be an android sent by the Weyland-Yutani corporation. His mission was to secretly secure the creature, even if he had to sacrifice the crew — human life was expendable. This would prove to be a recurring theme among other androids, including David in the prequel series Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. The exploration of corporate greed makes the company and their androids just as dangerous as the aliens themselves.

An interesting aspect of the xenomorphs is their origins, which still remain relatively unknown. The prequel series hinted at the Engineers, the alien race who created humanity and used the xenomorphs as weapons against their enemies. While they (and later the android David) would alter and experiment with their DNA and their various forms, the true xenomorphs were believed to have been born or created long before the Engineers found them. They possess acidic blood and powerful armor-plated shell, along with razor-sharp tails and deadly inner jaws that can break through bone and metal. These traits make them not only formidable predators, but a hot commodity for humans looking to exploit them.

Alien: Earth Taps Into Viewers' Greatest Fear

While little information on the show’s plot has been revealed, there are some certainties known. The show will follow a young woman and a group of ragtag soldiers who come across a downed spaceship that has crash-landed on Earth. It will also feature elements of the Weyland-Yutani corporation, including a synth played by Timothy Olyphant that mentors the protagonist. The story takes shortly before the events of the prequel film Prometheus.

What stands out about Alien: Earth is that the film’s setting is definitely our world, and that is the biggest fear of all. No matter how terrifying the events of the films, comics, novels, or even the hit game Alien: Isolation may have been, there has always been a level of separation between the creatures and the audience thanks to the space-faring setting. Bringing the creatures to Earth in the near future, however, taps into the darkest terror the audience can imagine. What would the world would look like with xenomorphs loose? Ecosystems would be torn apart, people hunted throughout the land, and governments would scramble to face this insurmountable threat. Would the aliens arrive by accident, or would elements like the Engineers send them?

Alien: Earth is set to premiere sometime in 2025, and fans are eager to learn more details. Much like the previous entries, the brutality and shock that these creatures bring and the heart-pounding terror they inspire will be a great addition to the franchise. Putting these creatures into the heart of our world and the fear of seeing these creatures invading our homes will tap into the previously untapped potential for this franchise and the fear it inspires. Fans will have to wait until Alien: Earth premieres to see what it truly adds to the rich history of the Alien franchise.