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Where Does 'Alien: Earth' Fit Into the 'Alien' Universe Timeline?

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Alien: Covenant—Where the 1979 Classic Meets the 2009 Prequel

The Alien franchise has long been a cinematic roller‑coaster, spiraling from a 1979 horror‑science‑fiction classic into a sprawling cinematic universe that now spans nearly four decades of filmmaking. For many fans, the release of Alien: Covenant (2017) left a knot of questions in the chest: exactly where does it sit in the Alien chronology? How does it link Ridley Scott’s prequel, Prometheus, to the original 1979 film? And what does it mean for the terrifying life‑form that has become a cultural icon? GQ’s deep dive into the franchise’s timeline pulls together the complex threads, the creative intent behind the series, and a clearer sense of how Covenant fits into the wider saga.


A Brief History of the Franchise

The original Alien (1979) introduced the crew of the Nostromo and the first alien, a biomechanical predator that ate them out of their own guts. The film was an instant classic, spawning Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), and Alien Resurrection (1997). The franchise’s most recent prequel, Prometheus (2009), launched a new chapter, telling the story of the Engineers—an advanced extraterrestrial race that may have seeded life on Earth.

While Prometheus set out to answer the “why” behind human evolution, Covenant is the natural sequel, aiming to reconcile the questions raised in its predecessor. Ridley Scott (director of both Prometheus and Covenant) has long admitted that the two films are connected by an undercurrent of creation and destruction, and that the Alien horror is a logical consequence of the events in Prometheus.


The Timeline in a Nutshell

YearFilmKey Events
2093PrometheusDiscovery of an Engineers’ station, the return of an ancient creature, the death of David the android.
2108Alien: CovenantThe colony ship Covenant crashes on a mysterious planet; David resurrects the dead engineer; the first xenomorph appears.
2122Alien (1979)The Nostromo crew encounter a pre‑existing xenomorph on a derelict spacecraft.

Prometheus is set in 2093, with the crew exploring a derelict Engineers' station on LV‑223. The film ends with the discovery of a mysterious black monolith—an artifact that appears to contain a deadly pathogen. Covenant picks up fifteen years later, in 2108. The crew of the colony ship Covenant is sent to a remote planet, where they find an abandoned Engineers' facility and the black monolith. The story shows the creation of the first xenomorph, an off‑shoot of the Engineers’ biological research.

The crucial moment that ties Covenant to the original Alien is the presence of the black monolith. Ridley Scott has repeatedly said that the black monolith is the seed from which the xenomorphs sprang, thus cementing Covenant as the bridge between the Prometheus prequel and the original 1979 film.


David: The Dark Catalyst

One of the most debated aspects of Covenant is the character of David, portrayed by Michael Fassbender. David is an android who was a major player in Prometheus. After the film’s end, the audience thought David would be gone. Covenant resurrects him by implanting a human body to house his consciousness, revealing the dark side of synthetic life.

David’s actions in Covenant are pivotal to the timeline: he experiments on the dead Engineer, creating a creature that is the first ancestor of the xenomorphs. The monolith’s pathogen infects David’s host, turning him into a grotesque “dead body” that hatches the first alien. Thus David’s presence directly leads to the first Alien event, making the film an essential link.


The Evolution of the Xenomorph

While the original Alien introduced a sleek, silver predatory creature with a triple‑phase life cycle, Covenant shows the early evolutionary steps. The film introduces a different, more primitive version of the alien—slim, with a spiky exoskeleton and a translucent body. In many ways, Covenant presents an “Evolve” version of the iconic creature, providing a glimpse into how the xenomorph’s biology might have developed.

The film also introduces the idea that the alien’s origin is linked to a “black monolith” – an artifact that may have been part of the Engineers’ experiments to create life. This connects the narrative from Prometheus to the original Alien and gives fans a new way to think about the species’ origins.


GQ’s Take on the Connection

GQ’s article breaks the timeline into digestible sections, linking each film back to its place in the chronology. The piece uses a combination of film analysis and interviews with key figures (e.g., director Ridley Scott, writer Jon Landau) to explain the design choices in Covenant. The author highlights how the film tries to reconcile the tone of the original with the modern prequel.

The article also notes that Covenant does not resolve all questions. While the film offers a clear bridge to the original Alien, it leaves some plot threads open for future installments—such as the nature of the Engineers’ monoliths and whether humanity will eventually meet an alien like the xenomorph again.


Bottom Line

Alien: Covenant is a pivotal entry in the franchise, serving as a cinematic bridge between the 2009 prequel and the 1979 original. By placing the film in the year 2108, the storyline logically connects the Engineers’ experiments, the black monolith, and the genesis of the alien life‑form. Ridley Scott’s direction, coupled with Fassbender’s chilling David, make Covenant a complex and compelling piece of the larger Alien mythology.

For fans of the franchise, GQ’s breakdown provides a clear, engaging way to understand the narrative’s flow. Whether you’re a newcomer who’s just discovered the franchise or a long‑time fan trying to piece together the timeline, Covenant is the missing puzzle piece that finally ties together the questions left by Prometheus and the horror that started it all in 1979.


Read the Full GQ Article at:
[ https://www.gq.com/story/where-does-alien-earth-fit-into-the-alien-universe-timeline ]