How to Watch the 'Alien' Movies In Order
In space, no one can hear you scream.
Ridley Scott's Alien is generally considered to be one of the best films of all time. Since then, the film has spawned multiple prequels and sequels, which can make the Alien movie timeline confusing for some who just want to watch the Alien movies in order. On top of the movies, there's an entire multimedia franchise from Alien, including Alien video games, comic books, toys and even a TV show in the works.
Over the years, the series has crossed over with the Predator franchise, which can make the timeline of the movies even more baffling for casual viewers and newer fans. Here's how to watch all of the Alien movies in chronological order and how to watch the Alien movies in order of release—because they aren't the same!
How to Watch Alien Movies In Order
Here's exactly how to watch Alien movies in order, including how to watch Alien and Predator movies in chronological order.
Alien vs. Predator
20th Century Studios
Set in 2004, Alien vs. Predator tells the earliest story in the Alien movie timeline. When a group of researchers discovers a bizarre heat signature coming from a seemingly uninhabited island near Antarctica, a group of scientists embarks on a journey to discover what's going on. Once there, they discover that a group of Predators activated an ancient pyramid buried underneath the ice to begin a hunt. The pyramid houses an alien queen, who immediately begins laying eggs. Then a bunch of supposedly smart scientists sticks their faces by the eggs, and before anyone knows what happened, the pyramid is full of aliens and predators.
Related: Every Predator Movie, Ranked
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
20th Century Studios
Taking place immediately after the events of the first Alien vs. Predator film, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem picks up with a Predator ship crashing near a small town in Colorado. A hybrid alien/predator emerges from the ship, along with some face-huggers, and once again, a bunch of aliens shows up. A single Predator is dispatched from the species' homeworld to clean the mess up, which involves killing a bunch of people and aliens and then pouring goo on them to dissolve the evidence.
Related: How to Watch Every Predator Movie In Order (Including Prey)
Prometheus
20th Century Studios
In 2012, Ridley Scott returned to the franchise he launched with the prequel Prometheus. Set mostly in 2093, the film takes place before the original Alien films, but after the events of the Alien vs. Predator movies.
Prometheus basically ignores the crossover films and potentially takes place in a different timeline. A group of scientists discover an ancient map of the stars on Earth and embark on a trip to find humanity's creators. What they discover is a dead planet and a deadly black goo that turns living things into monsters.
Alien: Covenant
20th Century Studios
Set in 2104, Alien: Covenant picks up a few years after Prometheus ends. A colonization ship picks up a distress signal from an undiscovered, but hospitable, planet. When the crew goes to investigate the source of the signal, they find a planet full of plant life, but no animals. They also discover David, an android and the sole survivor of the Prometheus ship; David has spent his time alone on the planet experimenting with the black goo. Not surprisingly, these experiments result in the creation of a familiar-looking alien monster.
Alien
Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images
The original Alien film takes place in 2122 and tells the story of the crew of the Nostromo, a group of contractors hauling a refinery back to Earth. Their journey is interrupted when the ship detects an alien signal. The crew goes to investigate and finds an ancient ship with a cargo hold full of eggs. One of the crewmembers gets attacked by a creature emerging from an egg, and before too long, the crew is fighting for their lives against one of the deadliest creatures in the galaxy.
For the record, all of their problems could have been avoided if everyone just listened to Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), but at least here the misogynists mostly get what they deserve.
Related: Sigourney Weaver Talks Career Highlights and Alien Franchise
Aliens
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Aliens begins shortly after Ripley escapes the Nostromo, but then has a time jump: Ripley ends up spending 57 years in hypersleep while her escape pod floats through space. She's rescued in the year 2179 and reports back to Earth to warn everyone about the alien species. Unfortunately, nobody believes her (sound familiar?) and it's revealed that a colony has been set up on the planet. When Earth loses contact with the colony, however, Ripley is sent with a team of marines to investigate.
Once there, they discover that the aliens have infested the colony and that only one young girl survived. When the aliens attack the marines, only a handful survive and find themselves trapped on a planet full of deadly monsters and very little hope for escape.
Related: Who Is Sigourney Weaver's Husband?
Alien 3 (Alien3)
20th Century Studios
Immediately following the events of Aliens, Alien 3 (stylized as Alien3) begins with Ripley crash-landing on a prison planet. She quickly discovers that there was an alien on the ship with her. She finds herself surrounded by violent criminals and a deadly monster—and has no weapons to defend herself. Worst of all, she discovers that she might have been attacked by a face-hugger while in hypersleep and possibly carries an alien inside of her.
Related: The Best '90s Movies
Alien Resurrection
20th Century Studios
Alien: Resurrection takes place 200 years after the events of Alien3. In this film, a group of scientists is successfully able to clone Ripley and the alien queen inside of her. The scientists also hire a group of space pirates to kidnap a bunch of people to use as breeders for the face-huggers. Shockingly, things get out of hand, the aliens escape, and Ripley and the pirates find themselves trapped on a ship full of aliens.
Related: The Best Horror Movies of All Time
How to Watch Alien Movies In Order of Release
Here is exactly how to watch Alien and Predator movies in order of release.
Alien (1979)
Stanley Bielecki Movie Collection/Getty Images
RIdley Scott directed the original Alien movie script by Dan O'Bannon. The film is often described as a haunted house movie set in space and is notable not just for its acting and tense atmosphere, but also for H.R. Giger's timeless and terrifying monster design for the titular alien. This film is often considered one of the best ever made.
Aliens (1986)
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James Cameron came on board for Aliens, the first sequel to Alien, and the movie took on a more action-heavy tone than its predecessor. Despite that, the film still works as a horror movie. Cameron had Stan Winston slightly update the aliens' design and create a brand new creature, the alien queen. This film is nearly as beloved as the original and is generally considered to be one of the best sequels of all time.
Related: Every James Cameron Movie, Ranked
Alien 3 (Alien3) (1992)
20th Century Studios
After the success of Aliens, Fox wanted to move quickly on a sequel. Unfortunately, the studio struggled to put together a solid script and pre-production dragged on for years. Alien 3 (Alien3) was originally meant to focus on Michael Beihn's character, Hicks, but ultimately dropped him in favor of bringing Sigourney Weaver's Ripley back. First-time feature film director David Fincher was hired to direct, but the production was very troubled and the film started shooting without a finished script. The end result is a mixed bag, and while the film isn't as beloved as the first two, it still has its fans.
Alien: Resurrection (1997)
20th Century Studios
Despite killing the character off in Alien 3, Fox was desperate to bring Ripley back to the franchise. Joss Whedon was hired to write the script, which featured a story about scientists cloning her to obtain the alien DNA she carried inside of her. Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet was hired for the film, who decided to add a dark, comedic tone to the film. The film wasn't a hit with critics or audiences and is generally considered to be the weakest of the original Alien timeline films.
Related: The Best Horror Comedy Movies of All Time
Alien vs. Predator (2004)
20th Century Studios
The Alien and Predator franchises crossed over as a comic book in 1989, and the result was a big hit with fans. After Predator 2 (1990) showed an alien skull on the Predator ship, fans expected a film to follow. Unfortunately, Fox once again struggled to put together a solid script and the film wallowed in development hell for years. Finally, director Paul W.S. Anderson was able to get the project moving, and Alien vs. Predator was released in 2004.
While the end result is considered inferior to the best Alien and Predator films, it's still generally accepted by fans as a decent movie overall.
Related: The Scariest Movies on Hulu
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
20th Century Studios
The first Alien vs. Predator film is the first movie in either franchise to be rated PG-13 instead of R. Many fans loudly complained about this and Fox seemingly took notice, as the follow-up, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, is a very R-rated movie. Unfortunately, it's also a very dark movie (literally, the lighting in the movie is sometimes non-existent). Directed by the Brothers Strause, this film was poorly received by critics and fans and is generally considered to be the worst in the entire franchise.
Prometheus (2012)
20th Century Studios
Rumors circulated for years that Ridley Scott would return to the Alien franchise, and that came true with 2012's Prometheus. The film was initially intended to be a direct prequel to Alien, but was rewritten to simply fit into the Alien universe.
Instead of the classic xenomorph, this movie features a race of human-like engineers and a black goo that turns people into alien-like creatures. The film was a hit, but received a mixed critical response. While the acting and visuals were praised, the story was generally considered to be its weak point.
Alien: Covenant (2017)
20th Century Studios
Five years after Prometheus told an Alien-adjacent prequel, Ridley Scott returned to make a proper Alien film. Alien: Covenant connects the events of Prometheus with the wider Alien franchise, but unfortunately also creates several glaring plot holes and continuity errors. Aside from that, the story feels very formulaic and often forces characters to make choices that don't make much sense. The film does have its fans, but it's generally considered underwhelming.