The Alien franchise, a popular sci-fi film franchise since its beginnings in the 1970s, continues to thrive, reaching its peak in the upcoming Alien: Romulus, which is both the next and current entry in the franchise despite its origins in the 1970s. The Alien films and spinoffs have a confusing chronology, exacerbated by Prometheus, which some viewers didn’t realize was related to Alien. Alien: Romulus may further complicate the continuity, but it could provide a new starting point for the series.

The Prometheus duology marks the beginning of the Alien franchise timeline

Released 30 years after the original Alien, the 2012 film Prometheus is the first entry in the Alien timeline and is set before Alien: Romulus. It follows the crew of a spaceship who discover artifacts related to the origins of humanity, but also link them to the Constructors, a group of extraterrestrial humanoid aliens who threaten humanity. The story begins in the year 2089 and continues until 2093.

The film is set in the same world as the Alien films and has ties to the Weyland Corporation. However, the film ends with Dr. Elizabeth Shaw’s mutant offspring impregnating an engineer, resulting in an ancestral version of the Xenomorphs from the main Alien films. The connection between the film and Alien is not initially clear.

This prequel series continued in 2017 with Alien: Covenant, set 11 years after the end of Prometheus. There, it was revealed that the “perfected” Xenomorphs were intentionally designed by none other than David, the human-like android from the previous film. Still, several mysteries remained unanswered at the end of the film. Most notably, the crashed Engineer ship later seen in the original Alien film had yet to be explained. So far, this is the last Alien film to be released, and it is unknown if there will ever be a direct sequel to bridge the gap with the later films.

The classic Alien series takes place less than two decades after the Prometheus films

The first Alien film is set in 2122, 18 years after Alien: Covenant and slightly before Alien: Romulus. The crew of the Nostromo, led by series protagonist Ellen Ripley, find themselves confronted by Xenomorphs as one infects another, killing them one by one. Weyland-Yutani, a fusion since Prometheus, is looking for a Xenomorph specimen for their own nefarious purposes. In between, engineers land on LV-426 and lay several Xenomorph eggs.

The story continues in Aliens, which is set in 2179. The time jump and Ripley’s same age are due to her being in cryosleep in the meantime and LV-426 becoming a colony during the time jump. Unfortunately, a legion of Xenomorphs are awakened, forcing Ripley and a crew of soldiers to go in and fight them.

Both Aliens and its sequel, Alien 3, were set in the year 2179. The latter film ended with Ripley, now host to the young Xenomorph Queen, sacrificing herself to eradicate the species once and for all. The fourth film was Alien: Resurrection, set 202 years later in the year 2381 and following a clone of Ellen Ripley.

Scientists have created replicas of Ripley and the Xenomorphs using blood samples from the real Ripley. The new Xenomorph queen with mutated genes gives birth to a human-looking hybrid. The cloned Ripley and the Auriga crew have offspring as they head to Earth. This is the latest installment in the Alien series, with the timeline remaining unchanged with the new film Alien: Romulus.

When does Alien: Romulus take place?

Alien: Romulus, the seventh main Alien film, takes place between the events of Alien and Aliens, 20 years after the first film. It is a standalone film, not a sequel to the Prometheus duology. The story follows a group of space colonists who encounter a deadly Xenomorph while investigating a lost spaceship. The film uses practical effects instead of CGI, making the Xenomorph scarier than ever and enhancing its “old-school” feel.

Alien: Romulus is a narratively standalone film and will likely not be directly connected to the first Alien film or Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. The film’s success will depend on its box office returns, as Alien: Covenant was a disappointment. Alien: Romulus’ title will have a mythological reference, similar to Prometheus. If successful, the film could receive direct sequels that tie more closely into the events of Aliens. Additionally, an additional prequel comic for Alien: Romulus will be released later in 2024.

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