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44% Alien 3 (1992) 55% Alien Resurrection (1997) These four movies make up the Ripley quadrilogy, named after the barely surviving heroine, a career-defining role for Sigourney Weaver. Starting out as an regular officer on a commercial rig in deep space, Ripley is thrust to the forefront when an invasive (in more ways than one) parasite alien ...
- In space no one can hear you binge-watch.
- How Many Alien Movies Are There?
- 1. AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
- 2. Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
- 3. Prometheus (2012)
- 4. Alien: Covenant (2017)
- 5. Alien (1979)
- 6. Aliens (1986)
- 7. Alien 3 (1992)
- 8. Alien Resurrection (1997)
By Matt Fowler
Updated: Jan 9, 2024 11:14 pm
Posted: Oct 17, 2023 7:00 pm
The Xenomorph from the Alien film franchise is one of the coolest, most nefarious movie monsters ever hatched, with its acid blood, mouths-within-mouths, and diabolical claws. It pretty much single-handedly (and multi-teethily) invented the space horror genre and gave an entire generation a new boogeyman to fear.
We haven't had a new Alien movie since 2017's Alien: Covenant, though the Ridley Scott has reportedly seen the new Alien movie from Fede Álvarez and loved it. With this in mind, you may be wanting to do a full rewatch of the Alien franchise (including the Alien/Predator films, which are set on Earth).
But what's the correct order to watch them in? We've got you covered. Below you'll find full listings for the Alien movies, in both chronological and theatrical release orders.
There are a total of eight movies in the Alien franchise — four in the mainline series of films, two Predator crossovers, and two prequels. There is a ninth film currently in development from Don't Breathe filmmaker Fede Alvarez, with Ridley Scott on board as a producer. It's set to begin filming in 2023 under the current title of Alien: Romulus.
The story of the Xenomorphs begins, time-wise, in the first of the two crossover films for the franchise, AVP. Set in 2004, Alien vs. Predator, from Resident Evil/Event Horizon's Paul W. S. Anderson, brought to life a "battle of the titans" concept that first originated in a 1989 comic. In the film, humans discover that Predators (aka the "Yautja") have been coming to Earth for thousands of years. Old cults worshipping them would sacrifice themselves to a Xenomorph Queen's brood -- the facehuggers -- producing adult Xenomorphs, so the Predators could hunt the "ultimate prey." Sufficed to say, things go badly during the Predators' 2004 hunting trip.
Where to Watch: Hulu to stream, Amazon Prime Video to rent
Still set in our modern times, and therefore still happening before everything else in the Alien franchise, crossover sequel Aliens vs Predator: Requiem picks up right where AVP left off. An Alien-Predator hybrid -- the "Predalien" -- is now on the loose in a small Colorado town. A skilled, veteran Predator arrives to help clean up the mess and an ample amount of carnage ensues. This would be the final crossover film of the Alien franchise. You can see our guide to the Predator movies in order for more info.
Where to Watch: Starz to stream, Amazon Prime Video to rent
Oscar-winning director Ridley Scott returned to the franchise he created in 1979 with the star-studded prequel film, Prometheus. Here, in the late 21st Century, Peter Weyland (presumedly a descendant of AVP's Charles Weyland) funds a cosmic trip into the unknown, following a star map left on Earth that might lead the crew of the Prometheus to the beings who created humankind. Sadly, the crew also stumbles across these creators' bio-weapon -- the Xenomorph. Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, and Charlize Theron star.
Read our review of Prometheus.
Still in prequel mode here, as Alien: Covenant is a sequel to Prometheus, the story picks up 11 years later and follows a colonization ship. The crew gets pulled out of stasis years early and heads to a different target planet, a possible "utopia," to track down a distress signal. The downed ship emitting the message, however, is connected to the previous movie and contains all sorts of sinister things -- ranging from Xenomorphs to androids. The film doesn't exactly take us up to the doorstep of 1979's Alien, as there's room for more story if deemed so, but it does get us close. Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, and a returning Michael Fassbender star.
Read our review of Alien: Covenent.
Space would never feel the same after Ridley Scott's landmark horror film, Alien, which featured the hardscrabble crew of a commercial space tug, the Nostromo, accidentally discovering a moon full of Xenomorph eggs. With no knowledge of what these creatures are or how they cocoon inside humans before bursting out and rapidly growing into killing 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 also made our list of one of the best Sci-Fi movies of all time.
Terminator director James Cameron, before creating his own landmark sequel with T2: Judgment Day, gifted us with Aliens, taking the slow-boil brutality of the Ridley Scott original and ramping it up into a full-tilt masterpiece. Sigourney Weaver, returning as Ellen Ripley, would solidify herself as an action hero icon in this thrilling, endlessly-quotable film that would introduce the world to idea of space marines AND space marines getting their asses kicked, pal! Aliens would handily feature more than one Xenomorph (hence the plural title) as well as stars Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen (who would play Charles Weyland decades later in AVP) and Carrie Henn.
Where to Watch: DirecTV to stream, Amazon Prime Video to rent
An appreciation for Alien 3 eventually bubbled up over the past 30 years but at the time David Fincher's directorial debut (three years before Se7en) would be deemed thin, grim, and, essentially, disappointing regarding Ripley's story (despite it giving us one of the most iconic images from the franchise, seen above). Alien 3 picks up right where Aliens left off, as the Colonial Marine spaceship, the Sulaco, is destroyed from within by a Xenomorph and an escape pod carries Ripley to a planet housing a penal colony. There, she and the inmates must deal with a rampaging alien before it massacres them all.
Where to Watch: Hulu to stream, Amazon Prime Video to rent
The final film in the Ripley Saga, Alien Resurrection, hurls us 200 years beyond the events of Aliens and Alien 3 and into the inner workings of a military project aboard the USM Auriga that uses Ellen Ripley clones (and kidnapped humans) to try and successfully breed Xenomorphs. The City of Lost Children and Amélie's Jean-Pierre Jeunet directs this bizarrely-horrific chapter with cartoonish flare, casting Ron Perlman, Dan Hedaya, J. E. Freeman, Brad Dourif, and Michael Wincott as the story's new space grunts. The film ends with a possible tease of Xenomorphs headed to Earth, though we'd never get that story as a follow up (only in crossover prequel form with AVP).
Where to Watch: Hulu to stream, Amazon Prime Video to rent
- Alien - June 22, 1979. A cabin fever-style horror film aboard a spaceship, Alien supersedes good genre films as a standard-setting technical masterpiece.
- Aliens - July 18, 1986. Seven years after Alien was released, a sequel was brought to life by young gun James Cameron. Fresh off his success with The Terminator, Cameron rebooted Alien as an action film centered around the same protagonist.
- Alien 3 - May 22, 1992. After years of experience directing music videos, young director David Fincher was gifted an opportunity to direct the third installment of the Oscar-winning Alien franchise.
- Alien: Resurrection - November 26, 1997. Another five years later and Alien returned with the final entry in Weaver’s saga, Alien: Resurrection. Written by Joss Whedon (The Avengers), and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie), Alien: Resurrection resurrects Ripley after her fiery sacrifice at the end of Alien 3 in the form of a clone hundreds of years after her death.
Aug 28, 2024 · Cast: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux. Director: Fede Alvarez. Runtime: 1 hour, 59 minutes. Rating: R. Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%. Plot via IMDB: While scavenging the deep ends of a ...
Aug 8, 2024 · Alien. 1979. 8.5 (982k) During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer.
Aug 29, 2024 · Watch all Alien movies in order with our comprehensive list, from the 1979 original to Romulus, and including the Alien vs. Predator crossovers.
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Aug 17, 2024 · Where to Watch: Hulu to stream, Amazon Prime Video to rent. 5. Alien (1979) Space would never feel the same after Ridley Scott's landmark horror film, Alien, which featured the hardscrabble crew of a commercial space tug, the Nostromo, accidentally discovering a moon full of Xenomorph eggs.
