What is the order of the Alien movies?

In 1979, Alien arrived in cinemas. The sci-fi horror movie – based on a story by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett – followed the crew of a commercial space ship known as the Nostromo, who find themselves in a deadly situation after they encounter a hostile extra-terrestrial.

Upon release Alien was met with a mixed response from critics, but audiences loved it. As such, the film was a significant hit at the box-office, paving the way for a highly successful franchise to follow.

From that initial entry, Alien developed into a fairly extensive series, incorporating games, comics, toys, audio dramas and more. But for film fans, it was the beginning of a long-running series of movie sequels, prequels, and spin-offs (including a connected TV series).

If you’re new to the Alien movie series, it can seem quite daunting to keep track of all these entries, and it can also be quite confusing if you wish to watch them in order. However, it doesn’t have to be.

Below is a guide to the best order to watch the Alien films. From the early entries, to more recent instalments, this guide covers the spinoffs, the prequels and everything in between to keep things as simple as possible.

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The Alien movies in order

Alien (1979)

As noted above, the first film to be released in the Alien movie series was 1979’s Alien. Set in the distant future, Alien centred its story around the crew of the commercial space tug, Nostromo.

Amongst the crew of the Nostromo were Captain Dallas, Executive Officer Kane, Navigator Lambert, Science Officer Ash, engineers Parker and Brett, and Warrant Officer Ripley, as played by Sigourney Weaver. As the movie begins, the crew are on their way back to Earth following a mission in space.

But before they arrive at their destination, the Nostromo’s on-board computer system, Mother, detects a transmission from a nearby moon. As per company protocol, any potential distress signal must be followed up, leading the crew to change course and investigate.

After sending a team down to the surface of the moon, the crew encounter an alien creature (known as a facehugger) which attaches itself to Kane. Bringing Kane back on board the ship, in order to save his life, the crew inadvertently open themselves up to further danger, when the alien transforms in size and begins to attack the crew.

Aliens (1986)

Picking up 57 years after the events of Alien, Aliens followed the story of Ellen Ripley – the only human survivor of the Nostromo. In the film, she is rescued by her employers at the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, revived from stasis, and given the opportunity to explain what happened to herself and her fellow crew mates.

However, after relaying the details of her encounter with the alien, Ripley is shocked to discover a worrying development has taken place while she was asleep. LV-426, the moon where the crew of the Nostromo first encountered the creature, is now home to a terraforming colony.

Ripley voices her concern about humans living in such a dangerous location, but her words are dismissed. However, when Weyland-Yutani lose contact with the colony, Ripley and a team of marines are sent to investigate, leading to the discovery of a nest of aliens.

Alien 3 (1992)

After escaping another showdown with the alien creatures (aka the Xenomorphs), Ellen Ripley finds herself woken up from stasis once more to discover she has crash-landed on Fiorina ‘Fury’ 161 – a maximum security prison, inhabited entirely by male inmates. However, what Ripley doesn’t know is an alien facehugger was in stasis with her and is now loose on Fiorina 161.

After transforming into a larger alien Xenomorph, the creature begins to kill the inmates. Working with the survivors, Ripley mounts a last-ditch attempt to destroy the alien threat for good.

Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Picking up the story 200 years after the events of Alien 3, Ellen Ripley is long dead. However, military scientists aboard the space vessel USM Auriga have cloned Ripley, creating an alien-human hybrid designated Ripley 8, who displays enhanced strength and reflexes.

The scientists act as God, studying both Ripley 8 and various Xenomorphs as they continue to learn details about each of their subjects. However, when the Xenomorphs get loose, the ship becomes a battleground in another fight for survival, with Ripley 8 forced into action.

Alien vs. Predator (2004)

When Alien: Resurrection was released, the film was met with a mixed response from critics and a lukewarm reception from fans. Although discussions were had about continuing the story with a fifth entry, 20th Century Fox, the studio which distributed the Alien movies, decided to change tactics.

Rather than continue the story of Ripley with Alien 5, the studio opted to green light a spin-off film instead. This film would not only feature the alien Xenomorphs from the Alien movie series, it would also include the predators from the Predator films too.

Released under the title Alien vs. Predator (stylised as AVP: Alien vs. Predator), the film turned back the clock to 2004 (years before the events of Alien) where a Predator ship arrives on Earth, landing in Antarctica. This prompts wealthy industrialist, Charles Weyland, to discover a hidden pyramid which is buried 2,000ft under the ice.

After assembling a team of experts to investigate the discovery, including experienced guide Alexa ‘Lex’ Woods, the team set off to Antarctica. When they arrive, they find themselves in the midst of a battle between three Predators (Scar, Celtic, and Chopper), and a swarm of Xenomorphs.

Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

Picking up immediately after the events of Alien vs. Predator, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem was released in 2007 as a direct sequel. In this movie, several facehuggers, as well as a Predator/Xenomorph hybrid (known as the Predalien) run loose in Gunnison, Colorado.

Prometheus (2012)

When Alien vs. Predator: Requiem was released in 2007 it was not met with a positive response. Critics didn’t care for it, neither did fans, and this effectively brought the Alien/Predator crossover series to a halt.

Keen to push ahead with the Alien series, 20th Century Fox gave the go-ahead for a new film which would act as another Alien prequel. However, this film would be designed as a loose entry in the series, which would sit within the Alien timeline but would not focus specifically on the Xenomorphs.

Set in 2089 (prior to the events of Alien), Prometheus followed the story of archaeologists Elizabeth Show and Charlie Holloway who discover a star map which they believe was created by the ‘Engineers’ – humanity’s forerunners.

After being given funding by Peter Weyland, the elderly CEO of the Weyland Corporation, the pair set off amongst the stars with a crew to explore the distant moon of LV-223. However, they soon discover hostilities from alien lifeforms.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Picking up the story in 2104, 11-years after the events of Prometheus, Alien: Covenant was conceived as a direct sequel which would begin to reveal details about the origins of the Xenomorphs. The story focused on a colonization ship called Covenant, as well as the troubled android, David, who was introduced in Prometheus.

Alien: Romulus (2024)

After Alien: Covenant was released, a couple of significant developments took place. Firstly, 20th Century Fox started developing another Alien movie with Sigourney Weaver, which was soon abandoned; and secondly, Disney bought 20th Century Fox.

With Disney now in charge of the Alien franchise, the studio put another movie into production. The film – Alien: Romulus – was conceived as a standalone movie, which would be set between the events of Alien and Aliens.

In this film Rain, her synthetic brother Andy (ND-255), and a group of friends board a research station, split into two structures: Romulus and Remus. Once aboard the station the group come across a collection of frozen alien life forms which begin to thaw out.

Alien: Earth (2025) – TV series

Following the release of Alien: Romulus, Disney stepped away from film to take the Alien saga to television for the first time, with a show that would air on Hulu in the US and Disney+ overseas. The series – created by Noah Hawley – would act as a prequel to 1979’s Alien.

Set two years before the events of Alien, the premise of the series was described as follows: “When a space vessel crash-lands on Earth, a young woman and a ragtag group of tactical soldiers make a discovery that puts them face-to-face with the planet’s biggest threat.”

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Alien in order

The Alien movies and television series in production order

If you wish to watch the Alien movies in the order they were originally released, the movies (and TV show) should be viewed as follows:

• Alien (1979)
• Aliens (1986)
• Alien 3 (1992)
• Alien: Resurrection (1997)
• Alien vs. Predator (2004)
• Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
• Prometheus (2012)
• Alien: Covenant (2017)
• Alien: Romulus (2024)
• Alien: Earth (2025) – TV series

The Alien movies in timeline order

Although the initial run of Alien movies (Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, and Alien: Resurrection) were released in chronological order, as the series developed with spin-offs, prequels, and a TV series, the franchise jumped back and forth around the timeline. This timeline played fast and loose with continuity, with subsequent films becoming disjointed from the initial Alien quadrilogy.

Due to the disjointed nature of these films, the Alien timeline is now considered a little patchy at best and does not strictly follow the same continuity. However, should you wish to watch the Alien movies in chronological timeline order, then view the movies as follows:

• Alien vs. Predator (2004)
• Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
• Prometheus (2012)
• Alien: Covenant (2017)
• Alien: Earth (2025) – TV series
• Alien (1979)
• Alien: Romulus (2024)
• Aliens (1986)
• Alien 3 (1992)
• Alien: Resurrection (1997)

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Who are the cast of the Alien movies and are the films the work of the same director?

Despite only appearing in four entries, Sigourney Weaver is considered the leading name within the Alien movie franchise, having been a key figure in the first four films. Weaver is a well-known actor with a string of hit movies in her portfolio including Gorillas in the Mist, Working Girl, Ghostbusters, and Avatar.

Other notable actors in the Alien movie series include Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright, Yaphet Kotto, Harry Dean Stanton, Ian Holm, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Charles Dance, Brian Glover, Paul McGann, Ralph Brown, Pete Postlethwaite, Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman, Michael Wincott, Brad Dourif, Sanaa Lathan, Colin Salmon, Steven Pasquale, Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, and David Jonsson.

In terms of the directors, the Alien movies are the work of the following:

• Ridley Scott directed Alien, Prometheus, and Alien: Covenant
• James Cameron directed Aliens
• David Fincher directed Alien 3
• Jean-Pierre Jeunet directed Alien: Resurrection
• Paul W. S. Anderson directed Alien vs. Predator
• Greg and Colin Strause directed Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
• Fede Álvarez directed Alien: Romulus

Notable actors in Alien: Earth include Sydney Chandler, Timothy Olyphant, Alex Lawther, Samuel Blenkin, and Essie Davis.

In terms of the Alien: Earth TV series, the show has multiple directors although Noah Hawley is the creative force behind the series.

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What is the best Alien movie?

According to IMDb the Alien franchise is rated as follows:

• Alien (1979) – 8.5/10
• Aliens (1986) – 8.4/10
• Alien 3 (1992) – 6.4/10
• Alien: Resurrection (1997) – 6.2/10
• Alien vs. Predator (2004) – 5.7/10
• Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
• Prometheus (2012) – 7.0/10
• Alien: Covenant (2017) – 6.4/10
• Alien: Romulus (2024) – 7.1/10
• Alien: Earth (2025) – Not yet rated

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Editor/writer

Alex Wiggan

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