Short answer: if you are watching Alien for the first time, release order is the safest route because it preserves the way the franchise originally introduced Ripley, the xenomorphs, Weyland-Yutani and, only later, the prequels. If you want to follow the events by in-universe chronology, the main sequence is: Prometheus, Alien: Covenant, Alien: Earth, Alien, Alien: Romulus, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection.
Recommended Alien watch order for first-time viewers
Release order works better as a first experience because each entry was created with the audience's existing knowledge in mind. That prevents later explanations, references and reinterpretations from changing the surprise of the original film too early.
- Alien (1979)
- Aliens (1986)
- Alien 3 (1992)
- Alien: Resurrection (1997)
- Prometheus (2012)
- Alien: Covenant (2017)
- Alien: Romulus (2024)
- Alien: Earth (series, 2025)
This is also the approach used by the Hulu guide, which recommends release order to new viewers. Alien: Earth was released after Romulus, even though its story takes place much earlier.
Alien chronological order inside the story
| Entry | Timeline period | Role in the saga |
|---|---|---|
| Prometheus | 2089 to 2093 | Opens the prequel era and explores the Engineers, humanity's origins and biological technology that precedes later conflicts. |
| Alien: Covenant | 2104 | Continues David's story and brings the prequels closer to the imagery and organisms associated with the Alien saga. |
| Alien: Earth | 2120 | Takes place on Earth two years before Alien and expands the role of corporations, synthetics, cyborgs and hybrids. |
| Alien | 2122 | The Nostromo incident establishes Ripley and the classic core of the franchise. |
| Alien: Romulus | 2142 | An interlude between Alien and Aliens, with consequences tied to what happened to the Nostromo. |
| Aliens | 2179 | Ripley returns after decades in hypersleep and encounters the colony crisis on LV-426. |
| Alien 3 | 2179 | Directly continues the events of Aliens, without a major time jump between the two films. |
| Alien: Resurrection | 2379 | Jumps about 200 years after Alien 3 and moves the story into a distant phase of the timeline. |
The Hulu chronology guide places Covenant in 2104, Alien in 2122, Romulus in 2142, Aliens and Alien 3 in 2179, and Resurrection in 2379. For Prometheus, the film opens with the archaeological discovery in 2089 and moves forward to the Prometheus mission in 2093, so it is useful to treat it as a block spanning those years.
Where Prometheus fits and why it comes first chronologically
Prometheus was released after the four Ripley-centered films, but it takes place before all of them. The story follows an expedition searching for the Engineers and introduces elements that later return in Alien: Covenant. The official 20th Century Studios page presents the film as a search for the origins of human life that ends with a threat capable of putting humanity at risk.
Watching Prometheus first makes sense in a chronological marathon, but it changes the way the universe is revealed. For a first viewing, starting with 1979's Alien better preserves the original mystery and lets the prequels work as a retroactive expansion.
Where Alien: Earth fits on the timeline
Alien: Earth occupies a very specific point: 2120, two years before the events of Alien. Disney confirms both the year and creator Noah Hawley's intention to make the series accessible to people who have never watched an Alien film.
That allows two viewing approaches. In chronological order, the series goes after Covenant and before Alien. For a first-time experience, it can be saved until after the films because it was produced decades later and works with corporate and technological concepts that carry different weight once the viewer already knows the saga.
It is also important not to confuse chronological proximity with narrative dependence. Being set in 2120 does not mean you must watch Prometheus and Covenant before the series. Its official presentation was designed to allow an independent entry point.
Where Alien: Romulus fits between Alien and Aliens
Alien: Romulus is set in 2142, after the Nostromo incident and before Ripley's return in Aliens. Disney officially described the film as a story set between Alien and Aliens, while the 20th Century Studios page presents it as a return to the franchise's sci-fi horror roots.
In practical terms, Romulus works as an interlude twenty years after Alien. That is why it should come immediately after the 1979 film in chronological order. In release order, however, it belongs after Covenant because it was made for an audience already familiar with both the classics and the prequels.
Is Alien vs. Predator required?
No. For a main Alien route, the two crossovers, Alien vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, can be treated as an optional crossover branch. Hulu's own guide separates the seven Alien films from the two additional Predator crossover films, reaching nine only when those crossovers are included.
This is useful because the AVP films operate on a different temporal and mythological track from the main sequence presented by Prometheus, Covenant, Alien: Earth and the Ripley films. To understand the central chronology, you do not need to insert AVP before Prometheus or between the main films.
Two ready-made viewing routes
Route 1: first time
Alien → Aliens → Alien 3 → Alien: Resurrection → Prometheus → Alien: Covenant → Alien: Romulus → Alien: Earth.
This order follows the franchise's real-world evolution, preserves reveals and shows how later entries reinterpret concepts introduced decades earlier.
Route 2: in-universe chronology
Prometheus → Alien: Covenant → Alien: Earth → Alien → Alien: Romulus → Aliens → Alien 3 → Alien: Resurrection.
This order works best for a rewatch because it makes the historical progression of the universe visible, from the Engineer-related expeditions to the distant era of Resurrection.
What stays outside this main chronology
Games, novels, comics, promotional shorts and other extensions can occupy specific places on the timeline, but they are not required to answer the watch-order question for the films and series. Keeping them outside the main route prevents a basic marathon from turning into a list of dozens of works with different levels of connection.
The practical answer is therefore simple: Prometheus opens the chronology, Alien: Earth enters in 2120 shortly before the 1979 classic, Romulus fills the space between Alien and Aliens, and AVP can remain an optional add-on.
