A Chronological Guide to the Alien Film Universe
The Alien franchise kicked off in 1979 with Ridley Scott’s landmark film, Alien, quickly setting a new standard for science fiction horror. But as the series expanded—moving both forward and backward through its own timeline—the chronology became just as intriguing as the movies themselves. This guide is your map to navigating the Alien series in two key ways: the order of release and the in-universe timeline. Because the films weren’t released sequentially, experiencing them by either method tells a very different story.
From Scott’s dark vision of space terror to James Cameron’s action-packed sequel Aliens, each film reshapes the Alien mythos. Later entries like David Fincher’s bleak Alien 3 and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s far-future Alien: Resurrection take the saga into grim new territory. But the franchise didn’t just move forward; it also traveled back. Prequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant jumped centuries earlier to explore humanity’s disastrous first contacts with the origins of the terrifying Xenomorph. This guide will trace that complete, terrifying history from beginning to end.
In space no one can hear you scream.
- The Prequel Era: The Search for Creation
- The Pre-Ripley Era: The Earth Encounter
- The Ripley Saga: The Original Quadrilogy
- The Crossover Films (Non-Canon)
The Prequel Era
PrometheusReleased: 2012
A team of scientists, funded by the dying billionaire Peter Weyland, travels to the distant moon LV-223 seeking humanity's creators, the "Engineers." Instead of benevolent gods, they find a derelict bioweapons facility. This film explores the theme of flawed creation on multiple levels: the Engineers created humanity, humanity created the synthetic David, and both creations ultimately rebel. The crew's quest for answers unleashes the Engineers' black pathogen, a mutagenic agent that results in horrific lifeforms and signals the birth of a cosmic nightmare.
Alien: CovenantReleased: 2017
A decade later, the colony ship Covenant diverts to an uncharted paradise world. There they find David, the android survivor of the Prometheus mission, who has taken on the role of a mad biologist. In a dark twist on Frankenstein, David reveals he used the black pathogen to eradicate the Engineers and has spent the last ten years methodically experimenting to engineer the perfect organism. This film serves as a grim bridge, explicitly showing how David’s nihilistic obsession with creation leads directly to the iconic Xenomorph.
The Pre-Ripley Era
Alien: Earth (TV Series)Expected: 2025
Marking the franchise’s first major story set on Earth, this prequel series unfolds just two years before the events of the original film. A crashed alien spacecraft triggers a high-stakes investigation by a tactical team led by Wendy, the first hybrid synth infused with human consciousness. The show promises to explore themes of corporate espionage between Weyland-Yutani and its rivals, as well as the terrifying implications of a Xenomorph outbreak on our home world.
The Ripley Saga
AlienReleased: 1979
Famously pitched as "Jaws in space," this film establishes the "truckers in space" aesthetic, focusing on the blue-collar crew of the towing vessel Nostromo. After investigating a distress signal on the moon LV-426, they unwittingly bring a deadly stowaway aboard. The film is a masterclass in claustrophobic horror, but its central theme is corporate indifference. The reveal of Special Order 937 - "Crew expendable" - shows that the true monster is not just the alien, but the company that sent them to die for a profit.
Alien: RomulusReleased: 2024
Set between the first two films, this story follows a group of young space colonizers scavenging a derelict Weyland-Yutani research station, the "Romulus." In their search for salvageable tech, they unleash the same terror that plagued the Nostromo. The film is a deliberate return to the franchise's horror roots, focusing on a new generation's terrifying first encounter with the Xenomorph in a tense, claustrophobic setting.
AliensReleased: 1986
Rescued after 57 years in hypersleep, Ripley reluctantly returns to LV-426 as an advisor to a squad of overconfident Colonial Marines. Director James Cameron masterfully shifts the genre from horror to high-octane action, exploring themes of militarism and motherhood. The film's emotional core is the bond between the traumatized Ripley and the orphaned girl Newt, which culminates in a primal battle between two mothers—Ripley in her Power Loader and the colossal Alien Queen protecting her eggs.
Alien 3Released: 1992
This installment is a return to bleak, nihilistic horror. Ripley's escape pod crashes on Fiorina "Fury" 161, a desolate foundry and penal colony. Stripped of weapons and hope, Ripley must rally the cynical inmates to fight a new, faster Xenomorph. The film explores themes of faith and futility, culminating in the horrifying discovery that Ripley is carrying a Queen embryo, forcing her into an ultimate act of self-sacrifice to end the species.
Alien: ResurrectionReleased: 1997
Two hundred years after her death, military scientists clone Ripley to resurrect the Queen embryo inside her. The result, "Ripley 8," is a human-Xenomorph hybrid with terrifying new abilities. She teams with a crew of space pirates to escape the research station after the cloned aliens inevitably escape. The film has a unique tone of grotesque black comedy and explores themes of genetic corruption and corporate science run amok, culminating in a bizarre and tragic confrontation with the "Newborn" hybrid.
The Crossover Films
Alien vs. PredatorReleased: 2004
Set in the present day, this film posits that Predators have been visiting Earth for centuries, using humans as hosts to breed Xenomorphs as part of a ritualistic hunt. A Weyland Corporation team discovers an ancient pyramid under the Antarctic ice and becomes trapped between the two warring species. The film serves as a fun "what if" scenario, merging two iconic sci-fi horror mythologies.
Aliens vs. Predator: RequiemReleased: 2007
Picking up immediately after the first AVP, a Predator ship carrying a "Predalien" (a Xenomorph that gestated in a Predator) crashes near a small town in Colorado. A lone, veteran Predator is dispatched to hunt the terrifying new hybrid and clean up the resulting Xenomorph infestation before it consumes the entire town. Its tone is significantly darker and more violent than its predecessor.
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