The Most Exciting Sci-Fi Spinoff Could Solve A Decades’ Old Mystery

The terrestrial setting of Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth has always made it unlikely that we’d see big cameos from other characters in the franchise, like we did in 2024’s Alien: Romulus. But as we inch closer to the series’ August premiere, we’re slowly learning just how this prequel series could connect to the original Alien. The crew of the Nostromo is deep in hypersleep during Season 1, but Hawley teases that the series may still answer one of the biggest mysteries still lingering from Ridley Scott’s groundbreaking movie.

In a conversation with Vanity Fair, Noah Hawley was asked about his plans for future seasons of Alien: Earth. Season 1 is set two years before Alien, but future seasons could jump ahead. “I don’t yet know, in terms of the series from beginning to end, how much time is going to pass or where we’re going to end up,” he said. “But I do know that at a certain point, the Weyland-Yutani Corporation is going to divert the Nostromo to that planet.”

“That planet” is LV-426, where the crew fatefully recovers a xenomorph. Fans have long wondered why the ship was ordered to investigate in the first place: was the xenomorph’s presence truly just an unfortunate coincidence, or could there be more devious motivations back on Earth? “We have the opportunity to maybe see what was happening on the other side of that phone call,” Hawley said, implying the question could finally be answered.

While such a tie-in could be fun, Alien: Earth ultimately needs to stand on its own merits. Thankfully, it seems to have a lot going for it, featuring a story about supersoldiers working to protect us from monsters throughout the galaxy. That’s something a bit different for the franchise, but the best way to stand out is to innovate. And then, in the future, we may finally get the answers we’ve been looking for.

Alien: Earth premieres August 12, 2025, on FX on Hulu.