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Alien Xenomorph Timeline

Chronology · 29 media · updated

Alien Movies in Order: Chronological and Release - Vertical View

The Alien films were not released in story order. Prometheus and Alien: Covenant are prequels, Alien: Earth takes place two years before Alien, and Alien: Romulus sits between Alien and Aliens. This page lists every Alien movie, series and short film by the year its story takes place, with its release date. The two Alien vs. Predator films are on the Predator movies timeline. Switch to the detailed view to read the synopsis of each story.

See also: Alien and Predator movies in one timeline · Predator movies timeline

Main movies and series at a glance

Story yearTitleTypeReleased
2093 Prometheus movie 2012
2104 Alien: Covenant movie 2017
2120 Alien: Earth TV series 2025
2122 Alien movie 1979
2137 Alien: Isolation - The Digital Series TV series 2019
2142 Alien: Romulus movie 2024
2179 Aliens movie 1986
2179 Alien 3 movie 1992
2381 Alien Resurrection movie 1997

In release order

  1. Alien (1979), set in 2122
  2. Aliens (1986), set in 2179
  3. Alien 3 (1992), set in 2179
  4. Alien Resurrection (1997), set in 2381
  5. Prometheus (2012), set in 2093
  6. Alien: Covenant (2017), set in 2104
  7. Alien: Isolation - The Digital Series (2019), set in 2137
  8. Alien: Romulus (2024), set in 2142
  9. Alien: Earth (2025), set in 2120

Questions

How many Alien movies are there?

There are seven Alien films: Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), Alien Resurrection (1997), Prometheus (2012), Alien: Covenant (2017) and Alien: Romulus (2024). The two Alien vs. Predator films (2004 and 2007) and the series Alien: Earth (2025) come on top of those.

When does Alien: Romulus take place?

Alien: Romulus is set in 2142, 20 years after Alien (2122) and 37 years before Aliens (2179).

Do Aliens and Alien 3 take place in the same year?

Yes. Both are set in 2179. Alien 3 opens right after the end of Aliens, when an escape vehicle from the Sulaco crashes on Fiorina 161.

Is Alien vs. Predator canon?

On this site the two Alien vs. Predator films count as canon on the Predator side. Both are set in 2004, so they appear on the Predator movies timeline and on the combined Alien and Predator timeline.