Disney’s Alien Movie Timeline Is Great News For Ridley Scott’s Unfinished Story

Alien: Romulus’ placement in the franchise’s timeline has been revealed, and it is great news for Ridley Scott’s unfinished Alien prequel story. Disney’s upcoming Alien movie is set to reignite the franchise with its first theatrical release since 2017’s Alien: Covenant. While not much is known about Alien: Romulus’ story, it has now been confirmed when the new Alien movie will take place – between Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986).

While James Cameron’s Aliens is a direct sequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien, the former takes place almost 60 years after the latter. Ripley was in hypersleep during that window, which means that Alien: Romulus will not have to worry about addressing the Alien movies’ most famous character. However, the best thing about Alien: Romulus’ timeline is how it ties into Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, the first two chapters of a story that was never concluded.

Alien: Romulus’ Timeline Keeps It Separate From Ridley Scott’s Unfinished Prometheus Story

Alien: Romulus’ placement in the Alien timeline means it should be separated enough from the characters and storylines introduced in Ridley Scott’s Alien prequel story. Prometheus takes place mostly between 2089 and 2093, although the movie also references events that predate humanity itself. Alien: Covenant is set in 2104, roughly 11 years after the Prometheus mission went dark. The first Alien movie, on the other hand, takes place in 2122, which puts it almost two decades after Covenant’s ending. Lastly, Ripley wakes up from hypersleep in 2179 during Aliens, meaning Romulus has 57 years of unexplored timeline to cover.

While only 18 years separate Covenant from Alien (1979), the fact that Alien: Romulus is not placing itself as a direct sequel to Ridley Scott’s unfinished Prometheus story is reassuring. On one hand, it means the new Alien movie can be a fresh start for the franchise that will not rely on the convoluted story of Prometheus and Covenant. On the other hand, Romulus distancing itself from Covenant leaves the door open for David’s story to be concluded eventually. Those 18 years could be covered in other media, or even in a new Alien movie by Ridley Scott that completes the origin story of the classic Xenomorph.

Disney Should Still Finish Ridley Scott’s Alien Story (Despite Romulus)

As of now, there are no announced plans for an Alien: Covenant sequel or any Ridley Scott-directed Alien movie. The original Alien director is still involved with the franchise, though, as Scott is an executive producer in the upcoming Alien TV show. Having Ridley Scott return to complete his Alien prequel trilogy would be great, as David’s story would finally be wrapped up and all the significant retcons made to the saga would have led somewhere. Even if Scott does not direct another Alien movie, there is still room for stories set between Covenant and the original Alien to be told.

Prometheus and Covenant heavily imply that David is the creator of the Xenomorph, at least the version of them that Ripley encounters in the original film. Covenant’s ending sees David with all the time and the resources he would need to essentially create a new species, but there are still some missing details that would make the Alien franchise’s story feel much more connected. Ridley Scott’s prequel films retconned the saga and even removed Alien vs. Predator from the Alien canon, which is why it is so disappointing that the end of that story has not been told yet.

Alien: Romulus’ Timeline Placement Means You Shouldn’t Expect Big Answers

Prometheus and Covenant are prequels whose stories were conceived several years after the original movies, meaning any connections between Alien and David’s story are retcons. Still, from an in-universe perspective, it can be assumed that David’s mission was somewhat concluded by the time Ripley first encounters a Xenomorph. Alien: Romulus is set in a portion of the timeline where Weyland-Yutani was already aware of the “alien,” with their focus being on weaponizing the species. Neither Alien nor Aliens try to explain the origins of the Xenomorph, meaning Romulus will likely not address that either. As such, the unanswered questions from Prometheus and Covenant will remain mystery boxes for now.

As interesting as it would be for Alien: Romulus to acknowledge or even address the events of Prometheus and Covenant, perhaps with references to the Prometheus mission and the android David, the franchise needs a fresh start. Covenant grossed much less than its predecessor at the box office, and while Disney seems confident about the Alien IP going forward, chances for a proper Covenant sequel were always low. If Alien: Romulus tells a simpler story and succeeds in revitalizing the franchise, then perhaps future installments can revisit the more convoluted, lore-heavy plotlines that can bring the saga’s canon together consistently.