Alien: Earth Season 2 Faces Prometheus’ Problem: Losing Iconic Space Setting

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Despite only recently being renewed for a second season, the show Alien: Earth appears to be making a similar error to the film Prometheus. Alien: Earth has been very well-received, earning a 94% approval rating from critics and a 65% rating from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes. The show’s renewal came quickly after the first season finale, and it’s continuing the positive momentum started by the film Alien: Romulus.

However, the second season of Alien: Earth isn’t without its hurdles. Some Alien fans didn’t respond well to the show’s changes to established lore. Plus, with a likely two-year wait for the new season, the show needs to keep its audience engaged. It seems Alien: Earth season 2 will also face a similar issue to the one that hurt Prometheus years ago.

Alien: Earth Season 2 Is Set To Be Way Too Different From The Original Movies

The first season of Alien: Earth concluded by hinting at what’s to come in season 2, and it seems that season will significantly depart from the traditional Alien films. Most Alien movies have largely taken place on spaceships, though Aliens did feature action on a planet’s surface. Generally, the franchise focuses on humans trapped on a ship being hunted by Xenomorphs.

Season 2 of Alien: Earth appears to be taking place entirely on Earth. All the characters who survived the first season, along with the Xenomorphs, are now located on Neverland Island, where the story focuses on a conflict between Wendy, the Lost Boys, and the Weyland-Yutani corporation. Given that the story of the USCSS Maginot – the ship carrying the Xenomorphs – has already been told, there’s no longer any need for the show to be set in space.

This is disappointing news for fans of Alien: Earth. A big part of what makes the Alien franchise so popular is its unique atmosphere and setting – things like the classic, dimly lit spaceship interiors and the feeling of dread when Xenomorphs are lurking just out of sight. Unfortunately, season 2 of Alien: Earth won’t be able to recreate many of those iconic visual and design elements that define the Alien experience.

Prometheus Barely Felt Like An Alien Movie

The second season of Alien: Earth struggles with the same issue as Prometheus: it doesn’t quite feel like a true Alien film. A major criticism of Prometheus was that it felt very different from the rest of the franchise. It largely plays out as a suspenseful thriller, and doesn’t even feature a traditional Xenomorph until very late in the movie with the appearance of the Deacon.

Prometheus suffered because it strayed too far from what made the original Alien films successful. Critics often pointed out that it felt more like a copy of Alien than a story meant to precede it. This disconnect also impacted Alien: Covenant, which attempted to recapture the feel of the earlier films. However, Covenant didn’t do well in theaters, ultimately leading to the cancellation of Ridley Scott’s planned prequel series.

Alien: Earth Season 2 Won’t Be Able To Focus On The USCSS Maginot

Courtesy of FX

The core issue with season 2 of Alien: Earth revolves around the USCSS Maginot. This ship was essential for capturing the authentic Alien atmosphere, and the show utilized it brilliantly. Episode 5 is a standout, allowing creator Noah Hawley to really bring that classic Alien feel to life. Without the Maginot, Earth would feel like a much more standard sci-fi series, even with the presence of Xenomorphs.

Following the fifth episode of Alien: Earth, the show can no longer use the ship known as the Maginot. We now understand everything about Boy Kavalier’s sabotage, how the aliens got away, and the consequences of the crash, so revisiting the Maginot would be pointless. Earth doesn’t have another ship to use, and the Maginot was only relevant because it was how the aliens arrived – there’s no need to bring a new spaceship into the story now.

Alien: Earth Season 2 Needs To Find A Replacement For The Maginot

To avoid the same pitfalls that plagued Prometheus, Alien: Earth needs to replace the USCSS Maginot. The show must find a believable reason to introduce a new ship – perhaps Wendy and the Lost Boys attempt to escape Earth, or a new Weyland-Yutani expedition delivers fresh alien specimens. Without this change, season two of Earth risks repeating the errors of Prometheus.

I’m not sure how the show Alien: Earth will explain replacing the spaceship, but it absolutely has to. If the Xenomorphs don’t have another large structure to infest and hunt within, the second season won’t be as good. While it’s fun to see them in places like the jungles of Neverland or an apartment building, those locations can’t fully take the place of a spaceship environment.

Alien Movies & TV Shows In Timeline Order
Title Year Set
Prometheus (2012) 2093
Alien: Covenant (2017) 2104
Alien: Earth (2025) 2120
Alien (1979) 2122
Alien: Romulus (2024) 2142
Aliens (1986) 2179
Alien 3 (1992) 2180
Alien Resurrection (1997) 2379

The success of the Alien franchise relies heavily on its spacefaring elements. Without a focus on spaceships and interstellar travel, a new installment like Alien: Earth risks losing what makes Alien unique. Prometheus demonstrated this – when the story stays grounded on a planet for too long, it loses the core appeal that defines the series. To avoid repeating Prometheus‘s mistakes, Alien: Earth needs to prioritize space travel.

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2025-12-10 00:50