In May 2009, Fox first reported the project as a "reboot" to the Alien franchise, which was soon afterwards expressed as a then untitled prequel to Alien. Being so, Scott set the story in 2085, 30 years prior to Alien - Weaver's character, Ellen Ripley, would not play a role; neither would the "original" Alien creature. The film would explore the nature, origin, and "staggering civilization" of the alien race of the space jockey, as well as the beings' fictional anthropogenic role in the origins of humanity on Earth.