Alien: Earth has barely begun, but is already breaking new ground in the Alien franchise — and retracing some older steps, too. The series premiere introduces a brave new world where five megacorporations have divided the Earth between them,

It’s a great time to be a fan of the Alien franchise, between Alien: Earth airing now on Hulu, Predator: Badlands hitting theaters this fall, and the one-year anniversary of Alien: Romulus this week.

Aside from continuity complications, the fact that the original Yutani was chasing — or stumbled upon — alien creatures decades before the events of Alien is a fascinating concept. The films, at least the ones made this century,

Running time: 119 minutes. Rated R (bloody violent content and language). In theaters. Nothing can kill the aliens. Not even six decent-to-awful movies. And for the first time in years, I applaud ...

"Alien: Romulus" might boast out-of-this world horror, even as it treads familiar extraterrestrial ground — but critics have largely embraced the latest in the sci-fi horror franchise.

The opening of “Romulus,” directed by and co-written by Fede Álvarez (“Evil Dead,” “Don’t Breathe”) immediately hearkens back to “Alien,” both stylistically and narratively.

Alien: Earth does an incredible balancing act of all the subgenres that make the franchise so unique. There is all the wonderful world-building any sci-fi series needs. The search and rescue is very reminiscent of Aliens with the marines. And, of course, the xenomorph itself brings the horror to the series.

Alien: Romulus brings Alien franchise back to basics with terrifying extraterrestrial threat & practical effects. Director Fede Álvarez following in footsteps of original Alien, focusing on ...

Alien: Earth is also uncharted territory for the franchise, bringing the Xenomorphs to home turf for the first time (the end of Resurrection doesn’t count). So, with the show kicking off on Hulu and Disney Plus, this is what you need to know about the timeline.

The renewed emphasis on practical creature work mirrors a larger trend in modern horror and sci-fi: audiences crave the tangible. The monsters that stick with us—such as Xenomorphs, the Predator, and the Thing—often come from an era before VFX could replace them. Newlin is a large part of proving that practicality isn’t outdated; it’s essential.

As we've seen in the first three episodes of Alien: Earth, Kirsh is a stoic synth who seems to hold a distinct opinion about humanity — that life inevitably ends in death, and attachment is folly. "All we can do is watch and take names," he says in episode 1.