Yes, the ‘Alien’ timeline is confusing. Before you dig into the franchise’s first TV series, here’s some clarity

By Dan Heching, CNN

(CNN) — In space, no one can hear you scream, but they can sure hear you scratching your head as you try to make sense of the sprawling “Alien” universe.

While Ridley Scott’s 1979 haunted-house-in-the-cosmos horror story “Alien” may have kicked things off — and reinvented science fiction as we know it in the process — that film is now but a midpoint in the multi-chaptered timeline that tells the Xenomorph’s story.

Noah Hawley, the Emmy-winning mastermind behind TV’s “Fargo” anthology series, is set to unveil “Alien: Earth,” the latest entry in the franchise and its first foray into television, on Tuesday. The films span decades in real time and centuries in the “Alien” universe, but Hawley isn’t too worried about how the series seamlessly – or not – fits into the world’s timeline.

“We haven’t literally calendared it out,” he said at a press event for the series this spring. And while we know a fair amount about the aliens themselves, the decision to bring the action to Earth for the first time opened up “a grey area that we can play in,” he said, since not much is known about Earth in the world of “Alien.” “It was gift to get a franchise this big with very little mythology to it.”

Nonetheless, the show’s premiere provides the perfect moment to map out the slimy, menacing world of Ellen Ripley and company in their epic battle against one of the galaxy’s fiercest creatures.

Below is a list of the franchise’s films and new TV show, in order of when they happen in the chronology of the “Alien” universe. Note: Since there are debates about what even IS “canon” to this world, for purposes of brevity and simplicity, this list omits projects that cross over with the “Predator” franchise, namely 2004’s under-appreciated “Alien vs. Predator” and its sequel three years later.

‘Prometheus’ – Alien year 2093 (released 2012)

It’s pretty mind-boggling to think that anything from the crazy and threatening world of “Alien” could take place in this century, but that’s just what happens in this sort-of prequel from original “Alien” director Ridley Scott. The movie essentially offers a possible glimpse into the very beginnings of various species depicted in the original 1979 film, including humans. Anyone looking for a neat way for this movie to fit into the events established by “Alien” won’t be very satisfied. This film and its “Covenant” sequel below raise many more questions than answers, and are largely part of why Hawley has previously said he is choosing not to focus on the stories presented in them as part of his new project.

‘Alien: Covenant’ – Alien year 2104 (released 2017)

The prequel confusion continues in this followup to “Prometheus” that takes place 11 years later and follows in the footsteps of the classic sequel “Aliens,” following a crew who field a distress call and land on a mysterious planet with disastrous results. Other than a chilling performance from Michael Fassbender as the android David.

‘Alien: Earth’ – Alien year 2120 (released 2025)

Hawley set out to present the titular creatures “within a larger ecosystem,” as he described it to members of the press, and also place them in a shocking place they’ve never before been seen – right here, on Earth. The show takes place two years before the events depicted in the original “Alien” and features competing global corporations – which include Weyland-Yutani, the unscrupulous “company” cited in the very first film – and a hierarchy of human and humanoid beings who vie for control after a spaceship crash-lands on Earth holding incredibly valuable, and dangerous, cargo.

‘Alien’ – Alien year 2122 (released 1979)

Like Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) herself, this is the mother of it all. Following the fateful encounter of the Nostromo’s crew – a ragtag group of space truckers – with the razor-toothed, face-hugging, chest-bursting, acid-for-blood Xenomorph, “Alien” provided the blueprint for not only the others films to follow in this franchise, but in all other sci-fi and creature feature titles that came next.

‘Alien: Romulus’ – Alien year 2142 (released 2024)

An installment meant to revitalize the franchise after a period of dormancy, “Romulus” takes place between the first two films in the franchise, while Ripley is stranded in hypersleep after the harrowing events of the first movie.

‘Aliens’ – Alien year 2179 (released 1986)

This James Cameron-directed entry famously broke the mold by ramping up the horror and action while also fashioning a compelling human drama, resulting in an acting Oscar nomination for Weaver, a rare feat for a genre film. The movie takes place over a half-century after “Alien,” with Ripley learning that her escape pod went undetected and all those she knew back home on Earth have since died of old age. Things only get worse from there.

‘Alien 3’ – Alien year 2179 (released 1992)

The only entry to take place immediately following the events of the previous installment, “Alien 3” starts when Ripley’s latest escape vessel crashes into a prison planet – with a dangerous critter aboard. Ripley can’t catch a break with her escape pods, and the end of this film features an astonishing demise to one of cinema’s greatest heroines.

‘Alien: Resurrection’ – Alien year 2381 (released 1997)

A zany entry that gets a little better with each watch, this futuristic vision (from Jean-Pierre Jeunet of “Amélie” fame) brings Ripley back as a clone whose DNA is fused with the Xenomorph. While we get to see the aliens swim in this one (impressive!), the story takes place so far in the future that – similar to the prequels – Hawley said he didn’t concern himself with it while constructing the new series.

“Alien: Earth” premieres Tuesday on FX and streams on Hulu.

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