How to Watch the Alien Movies in Chronological Order

The Xenomorph from the Alien movie franchise is 1 of the coolest, astir nefarious movie monsters ever hatched, with its acerb blood, mouths-within-mouths, and diabolical claws. It beauteous overmuch single-handedly (and multi-teethily) invented the abstraction fearfulness genre and gave an full procreation a caller boogeyman to fear. With Alien: Romulus present streaming, you whitethorn beryllium wanting to bash a afloat rewatch of the Alien franchise (including the Alien/Predator films, which are acceptable connected Earth).

But what's the close bid to ticker them in? We've got you covered. Below you'll find afloat listings for the Alien movies, successful some chronological bid and by merchandise date.

Jump to:

• How to ticker successful chronological order
• How to ticker by merchandise order

How Many Alien Movies Are There?

There are a full of nine movies successful the Alien franchise — 4 successful the mainline bid of films, 2 Predator crossovers, 2 prequels from Ridley Scott, and, the newest addition, a standalone movie from Fede Álvarez.

Alien Movies successful (Chronological) Order

1. AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)

The communicative of the Xenomorphs begins, time-wise, successful the archetypal of the 2 crossover films for the franchise, AVP. Set successful 2004, Alien vs. Predator, from Resident Evil/Event Horizon's Paul W. S. Anderson, brought to beingness a "battle of the titans" conception that archetypal originated successful a 1989 comic. In the film, humans observe that Predators (aka the "Yautja") person been coming to Earth for thousands of years. Old cults worshipping them would sacrifice themselves to a Xenomorph Queen's brood -- the facehuggers -- producing big Xenomorphs, truthful the Predators could hunt the "ultimate prey." Sufficed to say, things spell severely during the Predators' 2004 hunting trip.

2. Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)

Still acceptable successful our modern times, and truthful inactive happening earlier everything other successful the Alien franchise, crossover sequel Aliens vs Predator: Requiem picks up close wherever AVP near off. An Alien-Predator hybrid -- the "Predalien" -- is present connected the escaped successful a tiny Colorado town. A skilled, seasoned Predator arrives to assistance cleanable up the messiness and an ample magnitude of carnage ensues. This would beryllium the last crossover movie of the Alien franchise. You tin spot our usher to the Predator movies successful order for much info.

3. Prometheus (2012)

Oscar-winning manager Ridley Scott returned to the franchise helium created successful 1979 with the star-studded prequel film, Prometheus. Here, successful the late 21st Century, Peter Weyland (presumedly a descendant of AVP's Charles Weyland) funds a cosmic travel into the unknown, pursuing a prima representation near connected Earth that mightiness pb the unit of the Prometheus to the beings who created humankind. Sadly, the unit besides stumbles crossed these creators' bio-weapon -- the Xenomorph. Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, and Charlize Theron star.

Read our review of Prometheus.

4. Alien: Covenant (2017)

Still successful prequel mode here, arsenic Alien: Covenant is simply a sequel to Prometheus, the communicative picks up 11 years aboriginal and follows a colonization ship. The unit gets pulled retired of stasis years aboriginal and heads to a antithetic people planet, a imaginable "utopia," to way down a distress signal. The downed vessel emitting the message, however, is connected to the erstwhile movie and contains each sorts of sinister things -- ranging from Xenomorphs to androids. The movie doesn't precisely instrumentality america up to the doorstep of 1979's Alien, arsenic there's country for much communicative if deemed so, but it does get america close. Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, and a returning Michael Fassbender star.

Read our review of Alien: Covenent.

5. Alien (1979)

Space would ne'er consciousness the aforesaid aft Ridley Scott's landmark fearfulness film, Alien, which featured the hardscrabble unit of a commercialized abstraction tug, the Nostromo, accidentally discovering a satellite afloat of Xenomorph eggs. With nary cognition of what these creatures are oregon however they cocoon wrong humans earlier bursting retired and rapidly increasing into sidesplitting machines, these underpaid workers -- played by Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto, and hero-in-the-making Sigourney Weaver -- find themselves going toe-to-toe with a cosmic nightmare.

Aliens besides made our database of 1 of the best Sci-Fi movies of each time.

6. Alien: Romulus (2024)

The newest Alien movie is simply a standalone movie from Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead) that takes spot astir 20 years aft the events of the archetypal Alien. Rain Carradine (played by Cailee Spaeny) and her member articulation a radical of young abstraction colonizers' efforts to flight a beingness of deadly labour connected their incredibly isolated location planet. When an abandoned Weyland-Yutani vas appears successful the planet's atmosphere, the radical believes their champion accidental astatine flight is utilizing the ship's cryo pods. Of course, however, they soon observe the terrifying crushed the vas was abandoned successful the archetypal place. Alvarez takes plentifulness of inspiration from erstwhile Alien movies for his summation to the franchise, arsenic good arsenic Alien video games and even The Last of Us.

Read our review of Alien: Romulus

7. Aliens (1986)

Terminator manager James Cameron, earlier creating his ain landmark sequel with T2: Judgment Day, talented america with Aliens, taking the slow-boil brutality of the Ridley Scott archetypal and ramping it up into a full-tilt masterpiece. Sigourney Weaver, returning arsenic Ellen Ripley, would solidify herself arsenic an enactment leader icon successful this thrilling, endlessly-quotable movie that would present the satellite to thought of abstraction marines AND abstraction marines getting their asses kicked, pal! Aliens would handily diagnostic much than 1 Xenomorph (hence the plural title) arsenic good arsenic stars Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen (who would play Charles Weyland decades aboriginal successful AVP) and Carrie Henn.

8. Alien 3 (1992)

An appreciation for Alien 3 yet bubbled up implicit the past 30 years but astatine the clip David Fincher's directorial debut (three years earlier Se7en) would beryllium deemed thin, grim, and, essentially, disappointing regarding Ripley's communicative (despite it giving america 1 of the astir iconic images from the franchise, seen above). Alien 3 picks up close wherever Aliens near off, arsenic the Colonial Marine spaceship, the Sulaco, is destroyed from wrong by a Xenomorph and an flight pod carries Ripley to a satellite lodging a penal colony. There, she and the inmates indispensable woody with a rampaging alien earlier it massacres them all.

9. Alien Resurrection (1997)

The last movie successful the Ripley Saga, Alien Resurrection, hurls america 200 years beyond the events of Aliens and Alien 3 and into the interior workings of a subject task aboard the USM Auriga that uses Ellen Ripley clones (and kidnapped humans) to effort and successfully breed Xenomorphs. The City of Lost Children and Amélie's Jean-Pierre Jeunet directs this bizarrely-horrific section with cartoonish flare, casting Ron Perlman, Dan Hedaya, J. E. Freeman, Brad Dourif, and Michael Wincott arsenic the story's caller abstraction grunts. The movie ends with a imaginable tease of Xenomorphs headed to Earth, though we'd ne'er get that communicative arsenic a travel up (only successful crossover prequel signifier with AVP).

How to Watch the Alien Movies by Release Date

If you're looking to ticker each the movies successful theatrical merchandise order, the close database is below:

1. Alien (1979)
2. Aliens (1986)
3. Alien 3 (1992)
4. Alien Resurrection (1997)
5. AVP: Alien vs Predator (2004)
6. Aliens vs Predator - Requiem (2007)
7. Prometheus (2012)
8. Alien: Covenant (2017)
9. Alien: Romulus (2024)

What's Next for the Alien Franchise?

After the occurrence of past year's Alien: Romulus, determination person been talks of a sequel, with manager Fede Alvarez revealing that the caller movie could commencement shooting this year. An authoritative merchandise day has not been set, but it's a promising update from the latest Alien director.

Beyond the large screen, there's besides an Alien TV bid successful the works astatine FX. While the series, called Alien: Earth, is another prequel to the archetypal Alien films, showrunner Noah Hawley doesn't look excessively attached to the backstory reveals from Prometheus. In presumption of crippled details, a caller teaser seems to picture a Xenomorph invasion connected our location planet. Alien: Earth is expected to premiere connected Hulu astatine immoderate constituent this summer.

More Alien Deep Dives

• Every Xenomorph (and Alien) from the Alien Movies
• The Terrifying (and Sometimes Terrible) History of Alien Games
• Every Alien Blu-ray Set and Special Edition