In 2012, Ridley Scott returned to the franchise that he created in 1979 when he directed Prometheus, a prequel to Alien. With this movie, he made some major changes, retconning what some of the original sequels set into motion, and that made the film one of the most polarizing of any release in the Alien series.

The movie follows scientists who discover an alien race known as the Engineers, the creators of humanity, but it then spirals into the story of David, an android who uses Black Goo he finds on the planet to create the first Xenomorphs. With all the retcons and changes to the franchise, Prometheus still isn’t as disruptive as the two weakest Alien sequels.

How Prometheus Rewrote Alien Canon

The Black Goo, Engineers, & Weyland Corp

Prometheus follows a group of scientists who meet an alien group known as the Engineers, the beings responsible for creating humans. They then encounter a mysterious “Black Goo” that ultimately spawns one of the earliest versions of the Xenomorph. This plays into Alien: Covenant, where David furthers their evolution.

What Ridley Scott did with Prometheus was make some changes that made the franchise better than it had been in years. The first thing that the movie did was retcon the main antagonists, Weyland Corp. It showed that this corporation knew a lot more about Xenomorphs than anyone could have expected during the events of the first Alien movie.

This was also a change that made the first Alien movie more ominous. Just watching that movie makes it seem like the crew of the Nostromo was just unlucky. However, with what Prometheus showed, it seems that Weyland Corp knew what was on LV-426 and sent the crew into a trap, sacrificing them for a look at the Xenomorph.

Prometheus also made David the Xenomorph’s creator, retconning the Alien vs. Predator stories. The film also went a long way to show the Engineers work in this, only to then nerf their contributions in Alien: Covenant. The Black Goo was also introduced here, which created new biological elements that the original movies never used.

2 Other Alien Movies Made Far More Egregious Retcons

Alien 3 & Alien Resurrection Made More Drastic Changes

Alien introduced the idea of a haunted house story in space, and the horror in that Ridley Scott movie remains effective all these years later. Aliens then saw James Cameron step in and make a high-octane sci-fi action horror movie with a military unit fighting the Xenomorphs, but it mostly kept the mythology the same as the previous movie.

However, Alien 3 shook things up too much. One of the biggest sins was killing Newt and Hicks before the film even started. Ripley bonded with Newt and Hicks in Aliens, and it seemed that the franchise was setting up a team, or at least a family that fights together. Having Alien 3 open with both Newt and Hicks ᴅᴇᴀᴅ was a tremendous mistake.

While resetting Ripley back to square one, losing everything she gained in the last movie, was upsetting, Alien Resurrection did something worse. The film takes place 200 years after Ripley died. However, wanting to keep Sigourney Weaver as the lead, the film brought her back as a clone, with almost superhuman powers.

This changes everything about Ripley, turning her from someone who fights with all her heart to overcome the Xenomorphs to someone who is on their level and is willing to jump into a fight without a care. If anything, Alien Resurrection shook up the franchise more than anything Prometheus tried to do years later.

Prometheus Has Aged A Lot Better Than Alien 3 & Alien: Resurrection

Prometheus Has Much Of What Makes Alien A Great Franchise

While it was polarizing when released, and it remains a point of contention for some fans, Prometheus remains one of the most underrated entries in the Alien franchise. It was the first Alien movie in theaters in 15 years, and it marked Ridley Scott’s return to the franchise. It was also a secret prequel at the time, an origin story for the Xenomorphs.

Alien 3 remains maligned, made more so by director David Fincher’s disappointment in it. Alien Resurrection aimed for something different, and it just didn’t work compared to what came before. However, looking back at the films today, Prometheus is the one that holds up the best.

Many Alien fans started giving Prometheus a second chance when Alien: Romulus hit theaters. That movie actually referenced Prometheus with the “Prometheus fire” line by the Renaissance station’s android Rook in the film. Prometheus has great jump scares and production design and the third-act twist pays everything off.

Alien has always lived and died with body horror, with the chestburster scene from the first film one of the most memorable moments. Prometheus brought that back with the impregnation of Shaw with the squid creature that she removes from her body. It matches up with the chestburster, and moments like this keep Prometheus a solid entry in the franchise.

Alien Stands On The Verge Of Another Mᴀssive Retcon

Alien: Earth Takes Place Before Prometheus

The creators behind the upcoming Alien: Earth have a significant decision to make. The new Alien series will have to either accept the changes made by Prometheus to the Alien franchise or contradict them. From the sound of the plot, it seems unlikely that it can make Prometheus canon and might even retcon it completely.

Alien: Earth is set to take place one year before the events of Prometheus and follows the crew of a vessel that lands on Earth. While there, they make a dangerous discovery that puts the entire planet at risk. What is puzzling about the plot is that it takes place before Prometheus, yet it still introduces Xenomorphs.

If Prometheus introduces one of the earliest Xenomorphs, and they aren’t fully evolved until David experiments on them further in Alien: Covenant, there is no way that they can be in Alien: Earth, a year before that movie even took place. Unless the series has a completely different Xenomorph creature, Alien: Earth will rewrite Alien history again.