In the third episode of *Alien: Earth*, recently revived after decades in cryosleep, cyborg Morrow (Babou Ceesay) states, “I don’t have a home. I’ve been gone a lifetime. Everyone I knew is gone.” He relays this to Yutani (Sandra Yi Sencindiver), the granddaughter of his deceased boss and the current leader of the Alien franchise’s malevolent mega-corporation, Weyland-Yutani.

Morrow is the sole survivor of the USCSS Maginot, Weyland-Yutani’s deep-space research ship that launched from Earth in 2055, only to crash-land back there 65 years later, in 2120, when *Alien: Earth* takes place. This timeline aligns with the Alien franchise’s lore of prolonged space travel; for instance, in the gap between *Alien* and *Aliens*, Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley was in cryosleep for 57 years.

However, for viewers who believe or hope *Alien: Earth* is a part of the overall Alien film canon (excluding the *Alien v. Predator* offshoots, which are typically not regarded as canon), we have encountered some inconsistencies.

What is the problem?

*Prometheus*, the initial film in the series’ timeline, primarily occurs in 2093. The Prometheus is another deep-space research vessel, but it is financed by the Weyland Corporation — not Weyland-Yutani — and features a crew that includes the founder of the company, Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce), along with his daughter, Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron). At that time, Weyland Corp. had not yet merged with the enigmatic Yutani Corp.

The sequel to *Prometheus*, *Alien: Covenant*, takes place in 2104, by which point Weyland and Yutani have united as a new entity, and they are sponsoring the Covenant colonization mission. If this remains accurate, why was the Maginot — which launched in 2055 — designated as a Weyland-Yutani ship when it took off half a century before their merger?

Why is this significant?

If *Alien: Earth* implies that Weyland-Yutani was operational in 2055, reconciling that with the events of the *Prometheus* set in the 2090s — where Yutani is absent and Weyland Corp. exists independently — and with *Alien: Covenant*, which is a direct sequel to *Prometheus*, would be challenging. It would also contradict specific plot elements in *Alien: Romulus*, a midquel set in the 2130s that mentions the Prometheus mission by name.

In other words, having Weyland-Yutani exist in a different timeline than the films might be series creator Noah Hawley’s approach to indicating that his show operates in a slightly distinct universe compared to the films. This is a notion Hawley has suggested but never explicitly confirmed.

And if it does exist independently, does that imply *Alien: Earth* will overlook themes explored in the more recent Alien films, such as the Engineers and their mutagenic black goo? It’s difficult to determine, particularly since a dissected facehugger in *Alien: Earth* contains dark organs and both black and green blood.

Some potential (if unlikely) scenarios to resolve the W-Y dilemma:

So, how might the Weyland-Yutani situation be clarified? Let’s explore a few scenarios:

1. The Maginot launched from Earth as a Yutani operation and vessel, but was later rebranded as a W-Y ship post-merger, perhaps during a refueling stop or at a W-Y space station.

2. The Maginot was a collaborative venture between Weyland and Yutani, but the companies wouldn’t officially unite until much later.

3. Weyland-Yutani may have already consolidated by 2055, but cut ties before the events of *Prometheus* (perhaps Yutani opposed a prohibitively expensive mission to discover ancient aliens?), only to merge again later.

In addition to continuity issues, the idea that the original Yutani was pursuing — or stumbled upon — alien beings decades before the events of *Alien* is a captivating notion. The films made this century primarily depict Weyland as the driving force behind Weyland-Yutani’s perilous alien pursuits, while the TV series implies it’s actually the Yutani faction steering the (space)ship. Alternatively, it’s possible Hawley will expertly navigate the narrative and present a scenario where everything aligns with the original Weyland and Yutani characters influencing each other’s disastrous choices. We shall see — unlike Xenomorphs, franchises are often imperfect entities.

*Alien: Earth* episodes release weekly on Hulu and FX at 8 p.m. E.T.