How to watch the Alien films in order

Key Takeaways

  • Alien and Predator franchises converged in the Alien vs Predator films, creating one cinematic universe.
  • Online theories and Easter eggs connect Blade Runner to the Alien Universe, expanding the lore.
  • New Alien and Predator films, including Alien: Romulus and Badlands, offer future content for fans.



We all love a cinematic universe, but it isn’t often that two major franchises become linked after the fact. Thanks to the Alien vs Predator films, the Alien and Predator franchises converged to take place in the same timeline. Now, there are 12 movies in total to watch if you feel like revisiting what’s known as the Alien Universe. The oldest is Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic Alien, set in 2122. However, the earliest film chronologically is the latest film, Prey, set in 1719.

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Further complicating things, the films’ creators have planted easter eggs in other movies. Coupled with online theories, this has resulted in the inclusion of Blade Runner into the Alien Universe. (It shares the same director as Alien, Ridley Scott.) To help you make sense of the Alien-Predator timeline, we put all the films in chronological order, with Blade Runner as a bonus.


Now’s a great time to dive-in to the shared universe of Aliens and Predators. There’s a new Alien film in the works from director Fede Alvarez called Alien: Romulus due to hit theaters on August 16, 2024, that will be set between the first and second Alien films. As far as a new Predator movie, 20th Century has put Dan Trachtenberg in charge of those aliens after he directed 2022’s surprise hit Prey. He will direct a new Predator film set in the future called Badlands, as well as overseeing other Predator-based content. Also, don’t forget Disney‘s first Alien TV show has wrapped filming and is due out on FX in 2025. It’ll be the first TV series based on the classic film series, and is set three decades before the original Alien film.

We will be spoiling all the films below. If you want a spoiler-free watch order, go to the bottom of this article.



1 Prey

Comanche Warrior vs Predator

Prey (2022)

Prey follows a young woman training to become a Comanche warrior who has to face off with a Predator.

Director
Dan Trachtenberg

Writers
Patrick Aison

Starring
Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Sarah Desjardins

Run Time
114 minutes

Set in 1719 on the American Great Plains, Prey stars Amber Midthunder as Naru, a young woman training to become a Comanche hunter. Unfortunately, a predator decides to hunt her and the rest of the hunters in her community. Prey released on Hulu on 5 August 2022 in the US, and in the UK, it’s available on Disney+. It was written by Patrick Aison and directed by Dan Trachtenberg. It features a cast almost entirely of First Nation’s talent, including Midthunder and Dakota Beavers.

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2 Predator

The first Predator film


Predator (1987)

Predator follows a team of elite commandos on a rescue mission in Central America.

Director
John McTiernan

Writers
Jim Thomas, John Thomas

Starring
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall

Run Time
107 minutes

Alan “Dutch” Schaefer (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his team of elite soldiers are sent on a mission to rescue hostages from a Central American jungle. Soon after landing, the team encounters evidence that the mission isn’t all that it seems. In fact, they’re the ones being hunted by a Predator alien.

Carl Weathers stars as Dutch’s friend, Dillon. And John McTiernan directed the film. Shane Black plays Hawkins and would go on to direct another entry in the series.

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3 Predator 2

The predator comes to LA


Predator 2 (1990)

An LAPD detective must square off against a Predator who’s hunting vicious gangmembers.

Director
Stephen Hopkins

Writers
Jim Thomas, John Thomas

Starring
Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Kevin Peter Hall

Run Time
108 minutes

This Predator sequel traded in the jungles for the skyscrapers of Los Angeles. Danny Glover stars as Michael R Harrigan, a lieutenant on the LAPD fighting against warring drug cartels. The heavily armed feud between the cartels and the police draw the attention of a Predator looking for new prey. When Harrigan begins to suspect something out of this world is murdering gang members, he meets Special Agent Peter Keyes (played by Gary Busey), who leads a special government task force hoping to capture the Predator.

Stephen Hopkins directed Predator 2.

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4 Alien vs Predator

A heavyweight fight between classic movie monsters

Alien vs Predator (2004)

When ancient ruins are discovered beneath the artic, it puts humanity on a collision course with Predators and Aliens.

Director
Paul W.S. Anderson

Writers
Paul W.S. Anderson

Starring
Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Raoul Bova

Run Time
101 minutes

When a satellite discovers a heat signature beneath the ice of Antarctica, the owner of the Weyland Corporation, Charles Bishop Weyland (played by Lance Henriksen), assembles a team to investigate. It’s headed by a guide named Alexa Woods (played by Sanaa Lathan). Once there, the team discovers a pyramid under the ice built by an unknown alien civilization.


Paul WS Anderson directed Alien vs Predator.

5 Alien vs Predator Requiem

Introducing the Predalien: an alien-predator hybrid

Alien Vs Predator: Requiem (2007)

The ancient conflict between Aliens and Predators breaks out in a small town.

Director
Colin Strause, Greg Strause

Writers
Shane Salerno

Starring
Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz

Run Time
94 minutes

This Alien vs Predator sequel picks up directly after the events of the 2004 film: we see a Predator spaceship carrying an Alien-Predator hybrid crash in Colorado right as Dallas Howard (played by Steven Pasquale) is returning to reunite with his younger brother Ricky (Johnny Lewis). The ship releases the Predalien onto the town, along with facehugger aliens, which create more Xenomorph (Aliens). If that wasn’t enough, the last surviving Predator calls in reinforcements.

Greg and Colin Strause directed this installment.


6 The Predator

The U.S. government captures a Predator

The Predator (2018)

A U.S. Army sniper helps capture a Predator monster, but that just leads to more problems for him.

Director
Shane Black

Writers
Fred Dekker, Shane Black

Starring
Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Olivia Munn

Run Time
107 minutes

A Predator ship crash-lands, and a surviving Predator attacks a US Army team in the middle of a rescue mission. Army Sniper Quinn McKenna (played by Boyd Holbrook) incapacitates the extraterrestrial monster, but soon, both he and the Predator are taken into custody by the US government and Special Agent Will Traeger (played by Sterling K Brown).

Shane Black, who starred in the original Predator as Hawkins, directed this film.

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7 Predators

The hunt is on


Predators (2010)

A group of seemingly random people awaken on a strange world stalked by Predators.

Director
Nimród Antal

Writers
Alex Litvak, Michael Finch

Starring
Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne, Topher Grace

Run Time
107 minutes

A group of people including a Spetnaz soldier, Israeli Defense Forces sniper, multiple drug cartel enforcers, and a death row inmate are led by a mysterious soldier named Royce (played by Adrien Brody) through a jungle, which they parachuted into while unconscious. Soon, the group finds themselves being hunted by two different groups of Predators.

Nimrod Antal directed Predators.

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8 Prometheus

An origin story for Aliens

Prometheus (2012)

A recently translated ancient language leads a group of scientists to journey across space to a distant planet.

Director
Ridley Scott

Writers
Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof

Starring
Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron

Run Time
124 minutes

The opening scene of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus shows the Alien race (known as Engineers) seeding life on Earth before jumping to the year 2089. There, a discovery by archeologists Elizabeth Shaw (played by Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway (played by Logan Marshall-Green) leads the Weyland Corporation to dispatch the duo on an investigation of the planet LV-223. Guy Pearce plays Peter Weyland in this film. He’s the son of Charles Bishop Weyland in Alien vs Predator.


Lis Anna-Langston directed Prometheus

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9 Alien Covenant

Who made the Aliens?

Alien: Covenant (2017)

A colony ship’s crew investigates a seemingly idyllic planet, but they find the disturbed android David there.

Director
Ridley Scott

Writers
John Logan, Dante Harper

Starring
Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup

Run Time
122 minutes

Set 11 years after Prometheus in 2104, The Covenant is a colonization ship headed toward Origae-6 when it suffers damage from a shockwave, forcing the ship’s android Walter (played by Michael Fassbender) to awaken the human crew members. While repairing the ship, the crew discovers the transmission of a human voice from a nearby habitable planet. Fassbender plays not only Walter but also Peter Weyland’s android, David, from Prometheus.

Ridley Scott returned to the Alien series to direct Covenant.

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10 Alien

The film that started the universe

Alien (1979)

A mining crew on their way home answers a distress beacon on a desolate planet.

Director
Ridley Scott

Writers
Dan O’Bannon, Ronald Shusett

Starring
Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt

Run Time
117 minutes

This is actually the oldest film on this entire list (and possibly the best), but it’s set father along in the Alien Universe timeline. In 2122, the crew of the Nostromo is on their way back to Earth when they receive a transmission from a nearby moon known as LV-426. When they respond to the beacon, executive officer Kane (played by John Hurt) is attacked by an Alien that emerges from an egg-like cocoon. This film introduces Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley.

Alien was directed by Ridley Scott.

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11 Alien: Romulus

Bridging the gap between the first two films


Alien: Romulus (2024)

A new story in the Alien universe explores what happened between the first two Alien films, and how the xenomorphs took over LV-426.

Director
Fede Álvarez

Writers:
Fede Álvarez, Rodo Sayagues

Starring
Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux

In theatres
August 16, 2024

The Alien franchise looks to return to its horror roots with the latest entry in the franchise. The film is written and directed by Fede Álvarez, who’s known for his work on horror films like 2014’s Evil Dead and 2016’s Don’t Breathe and trailers for the film have shown off the emphasis on scaring the audience with the different types of xenomorphs.

The film is set between the events of the 1979’s Alien and 1987’s Aliens, and will presumably tell the story of how the mining colony on LZ-426 discovered the derelict ship that crashed there at the end of Alien Covenant. Cailee Spaeny is set to star in the new film, and her character looks to be inspired by Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley from the original Alien films.

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12 Aliens

Back to LV-426


Aliens (1986)

Ripley is asked to go back to the planet where they found the Alien after the Weyland corporation lost contact with a colony there.

Director
James Cameron

Writers
James Cameron

Starring
Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton

Run Time
137 minutes

Ripley is awoken from stasis after 57 years of floating through space. The Weyland-Yutani Corporation dismisses her claims about finding the ship full of Xenomorph eggs on LV-426 because the planet is now the site of a successful colony known as Hadley’s Hope. That is until they suddenly lose all communication with the colony – at which point they ask Ripley to return as a consultant to a group of marines. The film also stars Michael Biehn as Corporal Dwayne Hicks and Bill Paxton as Private Hudson.

Aliens is directed by James Cameron.

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13 Alien 3

Ripley and an Alien land on a prison planet with no hopes of escape


Alien 3 (1992)

Ripley is again awoken from cryosleep, and of course, there’s an Alien facehugger who’s been waiting for her to wake up.

Director
David Fincher

Writers
David Giler, Walter Hill, Larry Ferguson

Starring
Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance

Run Time
114 minutes

Set immediately after Aliens, the ship carrying the survivors of Hadley’s Hope catches fire. A survival pod is ejected and crash lands on Fiorina 161, a prison planet populated by violent male inmates. The only survivor is Ripley and a facehugger, which soon attaches onto an inmate’s dog. Once full-grown, the Xenomorph begins working its way through the prisoners.

This film marks the debut of director David Fincher.

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14 Alien Resurrection

Ripley is resurrected along with a xenomorph

Alien Resurrection (1997)

A resurrected Ripley helps a crew of mercenaries escape an Alien outbreak aboard a Weyland-Yutani ship.

Director
Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Writers
Joss Whedon

Starring
Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Ron Perlman

Run Time
109 minutes

Alien Resurrection sees a 200-year jump forward in the timeline to 2379. Scientists aboard the USM Auriga have cloned Ripley to harvest the embryo of a Queen Xenomorph. Of course, the full-grown Alien queen escapes with the help of some other lab-grown Xenomorphs, and it’s up to Ripley and a group of mercenaries including Wynona Ryder as Annalee Call and Ron Pearlman as Ron Johner.


Jean-Pierre Jeunet directed this installment.

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The following films are not directly in the Alien timeline but could be considered to exist in the same universe.

15 Blade Runner

A sci-fi neo-noir story set in a futuristic Los Angeles

Blade Runner (1982)

A Blade Runner is tasked with tracking down a dangerous group of lab-engineered advanced humans known as replicants.

Director
Ridley Scott

Writers
Hampton Fancher, David Webb Peoples

Starring
Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young

Run Time
117 minutes

Rick Deckard (played by Harrison Ford) is a former police officer who’s taken up the profession of a Blade Runner. His job is to track down rogue synthetic humans known as replicants. His latest case is to fund and retire four Nexus-6 replicants led by Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer).


The film is set in 2019, so about 100 years before the events of 1979’s Alien, but Ridley Scott, the director of both films, sees the films as intrinsically linked, saying once in a Blade Runner director’s commentary: “This world could easily be the city that supports the crew that go out in Alien. So, in other words, when the crew of Alien come back in, they might go into this place and go into a bar off the street near where Deckard lives. That’s how I thought about it.”

Watch after Predators (2010)

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16 Soldier

A thrown-out soldier faces off with the young team that replaced him


Soldier (1998)

A soldier who’s been trained since birth to fight is thrown out when a newer model soldier is unveiled.

Director
Paul W.S. Anderson

Writers
David Webb Peoples

Starring
Kurt Russell, Jason Scott Lee, Connie Nielsen

Run Time
99 minutes

Soldier is probably the most surprising movie on this list. It follows the story of a group of orphans, born in 1996 and raised to be the perfect soldiers. An opening montage shows the group through their early training and through 40 years of fighting under the leadership of Sgt. Todd 3465 (played by Kurt Russell). If you look closely, you’ll notice some of the wars the soldiers fight in are the same ones the replicant Roy Batty was a veteran of in Blade Runner. When a new group of genetically enhanced soldiers replace Todd’s group, he finds himself dumped on a trash planet experiencing life for the first time.

Soldier was written by David Peoples, who co-wrote Blade Runner and has said he views the films as occurring in the same universe, so if we’re counting Blade Runner, we have to count this movie, too.

Watch after Blade Runner (1982)


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17 Blade Runner 2049

A sequel a long-time in the making

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

A replicant Blade Runner stumbles upon a mystery that leads him to the door of Deckard, the Blade Runner from the original film.

Director
Denis Villeneuve

Writers
Hampton Fancher, Michael Green

Starring
Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas

Run Time
164 minutes

K (played by Ryan Gosling), is a replicant Blade Runner. While out on an assignment, he discovers a box that has the remains of a replicant that died during a cesarean section, which is unusual because replicants aren’t supposed to reproduce. The ensuing investigation reveals that the body of the replicant is Rachael (played by Sean Young), a special replicant designed by Eldon Tyrell, who ran off with Rick Deckard (played by Harrison Ford) in the original Blade Runner. The film was directed by Denis Villeneuve. As far as easter eggs go, keep your eyes peeled for the replicants in jars that K sees while he’s escorted through the Wallace Corporation. They have a sneaky resemblance to the Engineers.


Watch after Soldier (1998)

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18 Optional: Firefly and Serenity

A sci-fi series before its time

Firefly (2002) and Serenity (2005)

The TV series Firefly and it’s companion movie Serenity are both set in the Alien universe.

Run Time
119 minutes

Director
Joss Whedon

Starring
Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk

Writers
Joss Whedon

This Joss Whedon TV series and its feature film are also theorized to be part of the Alien Universe, although we wouldn’t exactly call it canon. The series is set in the year 2517, which would be 138 years after Alien Resurrection and another 200 years after the rest of the events in the universe. There’s no need to look further than the first episode for the connection to the Alien Universe. During a space dogfight, you get a view of the hud of one of the weapons aboard the spaceship Serenity, where you can see the Weyland-Yutani corporation logo from Alien.


Watch after Alien Resurrection (1997)

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FAQ

Q: How to watch the Alien Universe in chronological order

This is a version of the guide above, complete with bonus/optional Alien Universe timeline movies, but free of spoilers. We’ve also included the two newest films and TV series where they are reportedly set. Alien: Romulus will take place between the first two Alien films, while the new TV series is reported to take place 3 decades before the original Alien film. Badlands, the latest predator film, will take place sometime in the future.


  1. Prey (2022)
  2. Predator (1987)
  3. Predator 2 (1990)
  4. Alien vs Predator (2004)
  5. Alien vs Predator Requiem (2007)
  6. The Predator (2018)
  7. Predators (2010)
  8. Badlands (2025)
  9. Blade Runner (1982)
  10. Soldier (1998)
  11. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
  12. Prometheus (2008)
  13. Alien: TV series (2025)
  14. Alien Covenant (2017)
  15. Alien (1979)
  16. Alien: Romulus (2024)
  17. Aliens (1986)
  18. Alien 3 (1992)
  19. Alien Resurrection (1997)
  20. Optional: Firefly (2002 to 2003 TV series) and Serenity (2005 TV series)

Q: How to watch the Alien Universe in theatrical release date order

Again, this is a version of the guide above, but free of spoilers and also in the order in which they premiered in theaters or on TV.

  1. Alien (1979)
  2. Blade Runner (1982)
  3. Aliens (1986)
  4. Predator (1987)
  5. Predator 2 (1990)
  6. Alien 3 (1992)
  7. Alien Resurrection (1997)
  8. Soldier (1998)
  9. Optional: Firefly (2002 to 2003 TV series)
  10. Optional: Serenity (2005 TV series)
  11. Alien vs Predator (2004)
  12. Alien vs Predator Requiem (2007)
  13. Prometheus (2008)
  14. Predators (2010)
  15. The Predator (2018)
  16. Alien Covenant (2017)
  17. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
  18. Prey (2022)
  19. Alien: Romulus (2024)
  20. Badlands (2025)


Q: How to watch the Alien movies only in chronological order?

The next Alien film, Alien: Romulus, is set to hit theaters on August 16, 2024. Fede Álvarez will write and direct the new film that’s reportedly set between the events of Alien and Aliens. Here’s all the Alien films in chronological order.

  1. Alien vs Predator (2004)
  2. Alien vs Predator Requiem (2007)
  3. Prometheus (2008)
  4. Alien Covenant (2017)
  5. Alien (1979)
  6. Alien: Romulus (2024)
  7. Aliens (1986)
  8. Alien 3 (1992)
  9. Alien Resurrection (1997)

Q: How to watch the Predator movies only in chronological order

The next entry in the Predator franchise is set to be released in 2025. It’s titled Badlands and Dan Trachtenberg will return to direct. The film will be set in the future, making it the first Predator film not set in the past or present. Here’s all the Predator films in chronological order.

  1. Prey (2022)
  2. Predator (1987)
  3. Predator 2 (1990)
  4. Alien vs Predator (2004)
  5. Alien vs Predator Requiem (2007)
  6. The Predator (2018)
  7. Predators (2010)
  8. Badlands (2025)

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