With news of a new Alien film potentially in the works from director Ridley Scott, franchise devotees are wondering if the director will finally follow in the comics’ footsteps and bring the xenomorphs to Earth. Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s follow-up Aliens are two of the most iconic sci-fi horror movies of all time, spawning a massive franchise that encompasses comics, novels, toys, and much more. However, as the series has gone on, subsequent iterations have become increasingly more disappointing.
That being said, outside of the canon Alien movies, lots of great content has been created to expand the lore of the universe, including short films like those released for Alien’s 40th anniversary in 2019. The Alien: Isolation video game had some solid ideas about how to continue the series too, and followed Ripley's daughter Amanda as she searched for her missing mother following the events of the original movie. Even screenplays that were rejected for Alien 3 offered more intriguing ideas for how to proceed with the films than the direction later entries eventually took.
One element common to the Dark Horse Alien Omnibus comics and a rejected Alien 3 concept from director Renny Harlin is a dark future in which the xenomorphs make it to Earth. This potential storyline comes up frequently in fan discussions about where the franchise should have gone or could go in the future, and many would like to see an entry that brings the Star Beasts back to Earth.
The Alien Series Should Bring The Threat Home
As more and more Alien movies have been produced - with each exploring a different planet/spaceship/space station, etc - it becomes increasingly clear the best path forward for the series would be to bring the xenomorphs to Earth. Not only does it feel like the most natural progression, but with each successive film focusing on Weyland-Yutani’s fervent search to get their hands on an alien no matter the consequences, it only makes sense that eventually they would be successful.
This is probably the only real strength of Alien vs Predator: Requiem, bringing the story to a suburban area of Colorado and, done correctly, would be a great way to refresh the terror the xenomorph can evoke in audiences. Furthermore, it makes sense the next step for the franchise would be to take an apocalyptic bent. Considering the movies are mainly set in the far-off future and feature advanced technology including androids, it would be interesting to take a closer look at Earth in the future of the Alien series and what could happen to it in a much darker timeline.
Earthbound Alien Threats In Other Media
Disney announced in December 2020 that a new Alien TV show is in production and will be coming to FX, though an official airdate has not been set. However, what’s notable about this announcement is that the TV series will allegedly be set on Earth. While this show will likely stick with established canon it will be set in the near future, meaning the series could tackle the job of expanding on the lore of Peter Weyland or what's happening on Earth prior to the events of Prometheus in 2089.
In line with this, another reason to bring the Alien movies to Earth is to give the audience more insight into the Weyland-Yutani Corporation and their research into the xenomorphs, preferably more in-line with the original movies in which they are studied for military purposes. In the Dark Horse comics, this is a major part of the plot and why the aliens are on Earth to begin with. Not only are they using the creatures as shock troops, but they’re also harvesting a substance known as royal jelly from them which they use as a combat-enhancing stimulant.
These original Dark Horse Alien comics provide a solid blueprint for how an Earthbound xenomorph outbreak would unfold. The comics feature a cult that worships the xenomorph creatures and these cultists break the Alien Queen out of a military compound where she's being held for research. The Queen also is revealed to have some amount of psionic power, subtly influencing the thoughts of people around her to make them inclined to help her offspring. Thus, the cultists become even more slavishly devoted to the creatures, bringing people to them to kill or use for reproduction. In exchange, the xenomorphs treat them with some respect and this symbiosis could make a good hook for a new movie. There's plenty of room for experimentation of course, but with the breadth of movies and comics available that have been successful exploring similar concepts, it's easy to see why an alien invasion movie would be a great place to take the series.
Why Earth Is The Best Choice For The Alien Franchise
Bringing the xenomorphs to Earth gives the Alien franchise more room to move around as well. Once it’s established the xenomorphs are taking over the planet, the threat becomes much more immediate and could inject more horror into the story. It also provides more options for pushing the plot forward rather than focusing on trying to fill in the backstory, which has been a major downfall of the most recent entries.
Prequels have their place in many movie franchises but breaking some new ground is a much better choice for Alien, especially now audiences have grown weary of the story fumbling around with the lore surrounding the titular creatures. Bringing the series back to its roots, with aliens hunting and killing people in an enclosed environment would be ideal for a new entry, and there are all sorts of options for this to happen on Earth. Perhaps a new movie could focus on a Weyland-Yutani compound where the xenomorph has been taken or a nearby settlement, and it might even be interesting to set up a zombie apocalypse-style scenario with the aliens either emerging from a research facility or landing on Earth purposefully. Alternatively, a new Alien sequel could take cues from the Terminator or Halloween series, bringing Ripley back as a hardened supporting player while new characters struggle with the realization this creature is real and their world is about to change irreparably.
Regardless of the details, bringing the xenomorph to Earth would be the natural next step for the series, introducing a uniquely terrifying apocalypse in which alien creatures take over the planet and humanity unites to fight back. From many of the short films, comics, and unused script ideas for the franchise, bringing Alien to Earth is a common element that the movie side of the franchise has yet to fully realize. Hopefully, when a new Alien movie does eventually find its way into production, it will fully flesh out this concept's potential.