It’s good news for the Alien franchise after the reveal of the Rotten Tomatoes audience score for Noah Hawley’s new Alien: Earth series. Alien: Earth kicked off with a double-premiere on August 12, 2025, acting as a prequel to the original Alien, taking place two years before the 1979 movie. The series has brought the iconic Xenomorph to Earth for the first time, only a year after 2024’s Alien: Romulus expanded the franchise in an exciting new standalone spinoff, and the success of both these projects spells good news for the franchise’s continuation.
Videos by ComicBook.com
With a critics score of 93% and an audience rating of 80%, Alien: Earth has quickly become one of the Alien franchise’s most successful instalments. The critics score only falls behind 1979’s Alien (94%) and 1986’s Aliens (93%), while Alien: Romulus’ audience score also beats Alien: Earth, racking up 85%, with a critics score of 80%. The fact that both Alien: Romulus and Alien: Earth have achieved high levels of success for the franchise in quick succession spells good news after three decades of disappointing releases, as it means the franchise is continuing its upwards trend.
Ever since James Cameron delighted us all with the release of Aliens in 1986, the franchise has struggled to match the sequel’s success, and that of the original. 1992’s Alien 3, 1997’s Alien Resurrection, 2004’s Alien vs. Predator, and 2007’s Alien vs. Predator: Requiem all failed to capture the imagination of audiences. 2012’s Prometheus and 2017’s Alien: Covenant were more popular, but still put the franchise in a confusing place. Now, it seems the franchise’s future exists with standalone projects, with Alien: Romulus and Alien: Earth excelling among fans.
After Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, many expected Ridley Scott to return to develop a third movie in his prequel trilogy. This would have bridged the gap between the 2104-set Covenant and the 2122-set Alien, but Scott has recently suggested that he may actually be done with the Alien franchise. He leaves it up to new creators and filmmakers to develop standalone stories in the franchise, expanding it into places we may never have imagined, and this has already birthed Romulus and Earth, both of which are wholly unique, yet connect brilliantly back to the Alien franchise’s overarching story and themes.
Alien: Earth has somewhat bridged this gap, taking place in 2120, yet there are still 16 years unaccounted for. It’s possible Alien: Earth could explain what came of David’s (Michael Fassbender) Xenomorph embryos from Covenant, and future standalone stories could address the franchise’s other wild mysteries. While there aren’t any officially confirmed upcoming Alien projects after Alien: Earth’s release, the success of Alien: Romulus last year and Alien: Earth now mean its all but inevitable that the franchise will continue to grow for years to come.
Have you watched Alien: Earth’s first two episodes? What did you think of the new series? Let us know in the comments!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of DC Comics -
Image courtesy of Marvel Studios.
