Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth has quickly gained acclaim for its gripping horror and deepening mythology, but it notably discards significant aspects of Ridley Scott’s prequels, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Released recently, the show rejects Scott’s origin story for the xenomorphs, which many fans found confusing and overly complicated, opting instead for a narrative that preserves the enigmatic fear surrounding the iconic aliens.
Why Ridley Scott’s Xenomorph Backstory Sparked Confusion Among Fans
One key to the original Alien’s terror was the unknown nature and origins of the xenomorphs. Ridley Scott sought to clarify their creation through Prometheus, where Peter Weyland and his crew encounter the Engineers, the alien creators of humanity. The prequel introduces David, an android who escapes the Engineers’ planet and performs sinister experiments to engineer the xenomorph. While visually impressive, these revelations complicated the lore and undermined the mystery that made the creatures terrifying.
Alien: Earth challenges this origin by revealing that the USCSS Maginot found xenomorph eggs five years before David’s experiments began, contradicting the idea that David created the species. This retcon removes David’s central role in the aliens’ genesis, allowing the show to sidestep the tangled prequel plotlines. This choice has divided fans, but many appreciate how the series respects the franchise’s horror roots by simplifying the xenomorph backstory.
The Flaws in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant’s Origin Story
Prometheus introduced the mysterious black goo as an Engineer bioweapon that infects and transforms humans, setting the stage for gruesome biological horrors. David uses this bioweapon to eradicate the Engineers and conduct experiments that eventually lead to the xenomorph’s creation, blending alien biotechnology with human interference.
Alien: Covenant continued this complex narrative, detailing horrific experiments involving the black goo, alien wasps, and doomed humans. Yet this elaborate explanation felt overwrought, raising questions about why the franchise needed such an elaborate origin involving androids, genocide, and hidden scientific research—elements absent from previous film installments. Many believed the xenomorph’s scariness diminished once its origin was so thoroughly explained.
The Simplified Threat in Alien: Earth Reinforces Weyland-Yutani’s Ruthlessness
Alien: Earth strips away the convoluted origin and instead presents the Facehugger eggs as part of Weyland-Yutani’s relentless quest for profit, having been recovered without knowledge of their danger. When the company’s ship crashes on Earth carrying the specimens, it inadvertently introduces a severe cosmic threat to the planet. By not attributing the aliens’ creation to David or the Engineers, the show returns to the franchise’s classic horror formula—fear of the unknown and human greed inviting disaster.
This approach preserves the xenomorphs’ mystery without dismissing the established corporate villainy of Weyland-Yutani, deepening the narrative tension while avoiding over-explanation. Alien: Earth balances new lore about humanity’s desire for immortality with faithful homage to the original films‘ tone, earning cautious praise from longtime fans eager for fresh stories without unnecessary origin details.
Ridley Scott’s Legacy and the Franchise’s New Path Forward
Ridley Scott’s visionary direction launched the Alien franchise with his groundbreaking 1979 film, and his influence remains undeniable. However, his attempts to revisit the franchise with Prometheus and Alien: Covenant have been met with mixed reactions, seen by some as overcomplicating a straightforward horror mythos. Analogous to the backlash against sequels that overreach, such as with Gladiator II, Scott’s repeated returns have been seen as diminishing returns for the franchise.
Now, with Alien: Earth sidelining the convoluted prequel storyline, the franchise gains a chance to tell fresh stories untethered from the origin questions that were never fully embraced by audiences. By retconning elements of Prometheus and Covenant, the show opens space for new narratives focused on suspense, horror, and the unexplored dark corners of humanity’s relationship with alien life, possibly reinvigorating the series for a new era.
