With the new TV Series, ‘Alien : Earth’ it’s been a while, so I had to piece together the entire Alien franchise. My memory isn’t as sharp as it once was, and it’s easy to forget all the details.

I’ll never forget seeing the original Alien movie ; I was there at the premiere in 1979. What a gem!

So, without further ado, here’s the timeline along with the overall structure. Keep in mind, if you haven’t seen the Alien franchise, watching it in release order is often recommended for the best viewing experience, as it reveals the story in the way the creators intended and builds suspense more effectively. This timeline, however, is presented chronologically.

This timeline weaves together the motivations of Weyland Industries, the history of the Engineers, and the catastrophic events that unfold across the franchise’s films and series. It provides a comprehensive overview of how a desperate quest for immortality spiraled into a universe-wide corporate bio-warfare plot.

The Early Years: Weyland, the Engineers, and the Quest for Immortality

The story begins with Ancient History (4 billion BC – 100 AD). The Engineers, a technologically advanced race, “seeded” life on Earth and visited the planet multiple times, leaving behind star maps. They are the creators of humanity. According to an early concept by director Ridley Scott, they sent an emissary, a “Space Jesus” figure, who was crucified by humans. This act was the final straw, causing the Engineers to create a bioweapon to wipe out humanity. However, a later, more prominent theory emerged: the Engineers simply grew disappointed with their creation, seeing humanity as a violent and flawed species.

The Rise of Peter Weyland

• 1990: Sir Peter Weyland is born in Mumbai, India. A child prodigy, he quickly becomes a brilliant inventor and entrepreneur.
• 2012: Weyland founds the Weyland Corporation, which rapidly becomes the most powerful company on Earth.
• 2023: Weyland lays out his vision for the future, including the creation of artificial life, in a famous TED Talk.
• 2025: The first advanced android prototype, “David,” is introduced, marking the beginning of a key product line for the company.
• 2092: The Prometheus mission is launched, a desperate, personal quest by a dying Weyland to find the Engineers and demand the key to immortality from his “creators.”

The Prequel Saga and the Shift to Bio-Warfare

• 2093: The Prometheus crew arrives at the moon LV-223 and discovers the black goo—a bioweapon meant for Earth’s destruction. The mission is a catastrophic failure. Peter Weyland dies, and the last surviving Engineer escapes in a ship with the intent to complete his original mission.
• 2099: After Weyland’s death, the Weyland Corporation merges with its rival, the Yutani Corporation, to form the powerful Weyland-Yutani Corporation. This newly formed megacorporation shifts its focus, becoming obsessed with acquiring and weaponizing the Xenomorph, which it deems “the perfect organism.”
• 2104: Alien: Covenant: The colonization ship Covenant is diverted to a planet where the android David has been experimenting with the black goo, creating the first versions of the Xenomorph as we know them.

The Modern Timeline and the Hunt for the Xenomorph

• 2120: Alien: Earth (TV series): This series is set in a time when Weyland-Yutani is one of five major corporations vying for control of Earth. The show explores the rivalries and hints at how Weyland-Yutani will eventually absorb the other companies to become a singular corporate power.
• 2122: Alien: The commercial tow vessel Nostromo answers a distress call on LV-426, leading to the discovery of a derelict alien ship filled with Xenomorph eggs. The crew is hunted one by one by a single Xenomorph, with Ellen Ripley as the sole survivor.
• 2142: Alien: Romulus: This film, set between Alien and Aliens, shows Weyland-Yutani’s direct involvement in bio-weaponry research, as they intentionally experiment with Xenomorph cocoons.
• 2143 – 2165: ELON subcontractors take over project.
• 2179: Aliens: Ellen Ripley is found after 57 years in hypersleep. After being debriefed by a skeptical Weyland-Yutani, she returns to LV-426 with Colonial Marines, only to find the colony completely overrun by a Xenomorph hive.
• 2179: Alien 3: Immediately after Aliens, Ripley crash-lands on a penal colony. She discovers she’s carrying a Queen embryo and sacrifices herself to prevent Weyland-Yutani from acquiring the specimen.
• 2381: Alien: Resurrection: Two centuries after her death, scientists clone Ripley to harvest the Queen embryo, leading to a new, catastrophic outbreak.

The Outlier: The Alien vs. Predator Crossover

The Alien vs. Predator films exist in a separate timeline. They are generally considered outside the main canon by the original filmmakers, as their plot directly contradicts the origin of the Xenomorph shown in the prequels.

• 2004: Alien vs. Predator: This film is set in the present day, with a team discovering an ancient temple in Antarctica where Xenomorphs and Predators have been fighting for millennia. It includes a character named Charles Bishop Weyland, a nod to the company’s founder.
• 2007: Alien vs. Predator: Requiem: A direct sequel that continues the crossover on Earth.

The history of Weyland Industries is a complex one, weaving through the entire Alien franchise and its prequels. It begins with its founder, Sir Peter Weyland.

The Genesis: Weyland Corporation

Peter Weyland was born in Mumbai in 1990. He was a child prodigy, and by the time he was 14, he had already secured 12 patents. In 2012, he established the Weyland Corporation, which quickly became one of the most successful companies in history. His early successes were focused on improving human life, from creating a cure for most cancers to developing atmosphere processors to combat global warming. He was also knighted and won two Nobel Peace Prizes. However, his motivations were far from purely philanthropic.

The Quest for Immortality

As his health began to fail, Peter Weyland became obsessed with the idea of immortality. He believed that the creators of humanity—the “Engineers”—held the key to eternal life. This personal quest for a longer life was the driving force behind the Prometheus mission in 2093, which was funded entirely by his company. The mission’s public goal was to find the origins of humanity, but its true purpose was to find the Engineers so Weyland could demand immortality from them. This mission, however, was a failure. Weyland died at the hands of an Engineer, and the mission ended in disaster.

The Merger and the Shift to Bio-Warfare

The Yutani Corporation, a Japanese tech company, was a rival of Weyland’s. It’s revealed that the two companies were engaged in a legal battle over a patent for androids. After Peter Weyland’s death, the two companies merged in 2099 to form the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. The newly formed megacorporation continued to expand its reach, getting involved in everything from off-world colonization and mining to robotics and cybernetics.

While the desire to profit was a constant motivator, a new and more sinister objective began to take precedence: the acquisition and weaponization of the Xenomorph. The company saw the alien as a biological weapon—”the perfect organism”—that could be sold to militaries. This is a central theme throughout the franchise, with Weyland-Yutani consistently sacrificing human life and entire colonies in its relentless pursuit of a live Xenomorph specimen.

The Latest Installments: Alien: Romulus and Alien: Earth

• Alien: Romulus: Set in 2142, this film shows Weyland-Yutani’s direct involvement in bio-weaponry research. The company intentionally sought out and experimented on a Xenomorph cocoon, believing it could be used to enhance humans for colonization on different planets. This film demonstrates the company’s villainous disregard for human life and its single-minded focus on weaponizing the alien species.
• Alien: Earth: This new series, set in 2120, further explores the Weyland-Yutani Corporation and its rivalries. It reveals that Weyland-Yutani is one of five major corporations that control the planet. The show also introduces a rival company, Prodigy, that has developed a “hybrid technology” to upload consciousness into a synthetic body—the very technology Weyland was searching for. While the series explores this new rival, the audience knows from the timeline that Weyland-Yutani will eventually absorb the other companies and become the sole corporate power, hinting at a takeover of this new technology and its further use for nefarious purposes.

I hope this helps you keep track of the Alien franchise.

Bari Marcus Anthony

My New Book: Guardians of Humanity

Hello, fellow readers!

I’m thrilled to announce my latest science fiction book, Guardians of Humanity. This story is a project I’ve poured my heart and imagination into. It’s an adventure that goes beyond a simple tale of love, confronting one of the most profound questions of our time: “Are we alone?”

If you’ve ever gazed at the night sky and wondered about our cosmic place, this book is for you. Your purchase is incredibly important—it helps me keep my website running so I can continue to write and share new science fiction stories with you for free.

Thank you for being a part of this journey with me.

Bari Marcus Anthony