Alien Movie Watching Order

This watching order is designed to give an outline of the Alien movie franchise. It explains what order to watch the Alien movies and looks at any connections between them. 

Jump to: Original Series – Rebirth – Alien vs. Predator

Original Series

The Alien film franchise starts with Alien (1979). This film starts the entire Alien franchise and is the first entry in the original series of films.

The original Alien series proceeds in a very straightforward manner. It starts with Alien (1979), which is followed relatively closely by Aliens (1986), which is immediately followed by Alien 3 (1992). Finally, Alien Resurrection (1997) concludes the saga at a point long after the events of Alien 3. All of these films follow a singular narrative thread focused on Ellen Ripley.

Prequel Series

After the release of the first four Alien films, Prometheus (2012) was released. This movie started a new series set within the same continuity of the original series, though taking place decades before. This prequel series explores some of the lore behind the original series, specifically relating to the Xenomorphs themselves and humanity's progress through space.

Like the original series, the prequel series is very straightforward. It starts with Prometheus (2012) and continues in Alien: Covenant (2017). This series is set to continue with a third film at some point in the future. All of these films follow a singular narrative thread focused on an android named "David".

Alien vs. Predator

The Alien vs. Predator series features the Xenomorphs from the Alien films. Though it contains ties to the original series, it is disconnected from the narrative running through those films and contains points that contradict them, implying that this series does not take place within the same continuity. Instead, the Alien vs. Predator films are generally viewed as spin-offs, rather than an integral part of the franchise.

There are only two films in the Alien vs. Predator series. Alien vs. Predator (2004) starts the series and is immediately followed by Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007), which concludes it. These films both focus on a clash between the Xenomorph and Predator races.

All Watching Orders