When does Alien: Earth take place on the Alien timeline?

Alien: Earth is the latest entry in the long-running sci-fi horror franchise. But in a major first for the series, Alien: Earth isn’t a movie, but a TV show, from Fargo and Legion creator Noah Hawley. Set primarily on terra firma, it sees Weyland-Yutani vessel the USCSS Maginot crash land in New Siam, unleashing the iconic Xenomorph (and other nasty creatures) on Earth.

Starring Sydney Chandler, Timothy Olyphant, Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay and more, Alien: Earth is the eighth entry in the mainline Alien series (or the 10th, if you count the pair of Alien Vs. Predator movies). Its place in the Alien timeline is a little bit complicated, however, as like Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, it’s actually a prequel to the very first film.

But don’t worry if you can’t tell your Pulse Rifles from your Power Loaders, we’re here to clear everything up. Read on for everything you need to know about when exactly Alien: Earth takes place on the Alien timeline. We’ve also got guides on how to watch the Alien movies in order and details of the Alien: Earth release schedule, so you can plan your weekly viewing parties accordingly.

Before we go on, be warned that this article contains spoilers for the first episode of Alien: Earth, so make sure you've seen it first if you want to go in fresh.

Where does Alien: Earth take place on the Alien timeline?

Alien: Earth is set exactly two years before the events of Ridley Scott’s Alien, in the year 2120, to be precise. To put that in further context, Prometheus is set in 2089, and Alien: Covenant is set in 2104, putting Alien: Earth some 16 years after Ridley Scott’s most recent Alien prequel. The biggest tell that we’re in the era of Alien is the technology – the USCSS Maginot, a Weyland-Yutani vessel, looks almost identical to the Nostromo, down to the breakfast table.

Here’s where it gets a little bit confusing, because Alien: Earth creator and showrunner Noah Hawley has suggested his show won’t stick to elements of Alien mythology established in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, making Alien: Earth the first story on Alien’s timeline, as far as Hawley is concerned. In other words, don’t expect to see black goo and Engineers pop up in the show.

Even more confusingly, in a recently published interview with Collider, Hawley claimed that the show takes place “somewhere around the events of the second film, either before or just after.” Given that Aliens takes place in the year 2177, following Ripley’s 57 years in hypersleep, that quote can only be explained by the fact that either Alien: Earth is set to take place across six decades or Hawley has got his Alien timeline muddled up. Factoring in that the interview appears to have taken place months ago during filming, the most likely explanation is that Hawley misspoke at the time.

Certainly, after two episodes, it seems like we’re going to be sticking with Wendy, Hermit, Boy Kavalier, Morrow and the rest of the cast for the long haul – a significant time jump would be a major departure from what the show sets itself up to be in these first two episodes.

Of course, as we learned in Alien: Romulus, which is set some 20 years after the events of Alien and 22 years after Alien: Earth, Xenomorphs can survive being frozen in the vacuum of space for an indeterminate period of time, so even decades of time passing can’t keep a Xenomorph down.

Alien: Earth season 1, episodes 1 and 2 are now streaming on Hulu in the US, and on Disney Plus in the UK. For more, check out our Alien: Earth review, and our Alien: Earth Easter eggs breakdown.