The Ultimate Alien Chronological Order: 8 Entries To Understand The Xenomorph Timeline (Updated 2025)

For decades, the Alien franchise has been a cornerstone of sci-fi horror, but its sprawling narrative—spanning films, prequels, and upcoming TV series—has created one of the most confusing chronological timelines in cinema. With new entries like Fede Álvarez's Alien: Romulus and the highly anticipated *Alien: Earth* TV show, the complete story of the deadly Xenomorph and the sinister Weyland-Yutani Corporation is finally taking shape, forcing fans to re-evaluate the correct viewing order.

As of December 18, 2025, this definitive guide lays out the entire *Alien* saga in its proper chronological story order, beginning with the Engineers’ mysterious origins and concluding with Ellen Ripley’s final fate. To truly understand the evolution of the Xenomorph and the dark ambitions of humanity, you must follow the events as they occurred in the universe's timeline, not by release date.

The Prequel Trilogy: The Genesis of the Xenomorph

The chronological journey begins not with a monster, but with the search for humanity's creators—a quest that inadvertently leads to the very genesis of the Xenomorph species. This section details the events that set the stage for the original 1979 film, focusing on the synthetic David and the mysterious Engineers.

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1. Prometheus (2089–2093)

Timeline: 2089–2093

The story begins with the Weyland Corporation funding the mission of the starship *Prometheus*, led by Dr. Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway, to follow ancient star maps to a distant moon, LV-223, in the Zeta Reticuli system. Their goal is to find the Engineers, the colossal beings believed to be humanity's creators. Instead, they discover a massive, derelict installation containing the deadly "Black Goo," a mutagenic pathogen that kickstarts the franchise's biological horror. The synthetic David 8, played by Michael Fassbender, plays a pivotal and morally ambiguous role in the early stages of the Xenomorph's creation. The film ends with Shaw and David departing in an Engineer ship to seek out the Engineer homeworld, determined to find answers.

2. Alien: Covenant (2104)

Timeline: 2104 (11 years after *Prometheus*)

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Set a decade after *Prometheus*, the colony ship *Covenant* is diverted to a seemingly idyllic planet. Here, the crew encounters the now-deranged synthetic David, who has spent the intervening years experimenting with the Black Goo on the Engineer homeworld. David is directly responsible for weaponizing the pathogen, creating various proto-Xenomorph strains, including the Neomorph and the final, recognizable form of the Xenomorph. This film firmly establishes David as the true creator of the perfect organism, a dark counterpoint to the Engineers' own biological warfare. The *Covenant* mission ends in disaster, with David successfully infiltrating the colony ship with Xenomorph embryos, setting a course for a new world.

3. Alien: Earth (TV Series)

Timeline: c. 2120 (16 years after *Covenant*)

The first live-action television series in the franchise, created by Noah Hawley (*Fargo*), is set to explore the terrifying consequences of the Xenomorph threat reaching humanity's home world. Chronologically, *Alien: Earth* is set before the events of the original *Alien* film, placing it around 2120. The series is confirmed to feature a story where the Weyland-Yutani Corporation’s corporate greed is at the center of the horror, exploring a world where class warfare meets biological terror. The show is expected to focus on new characters and the first major outbreak on Earth, bridging the gap between David’s experiments and the discovery of the original derelict ship.

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The Core Saga: Ripley and the Xenomorph

This section covers the original four films, centered on the iconic heroine Ellen Ripley, and the newest cinematic addition, *Alien: Romulus*, which slots perfectly into the timeline of terror between the first two classics.

4. Alien (1979)

Timeline: 2122 (2 years after *Alien: Earth*)

The film that started it all. The commercial towing starship *Nostromo* is diverted to the moon LV-426 to investigate a mysterious signal. The crew, including warrant officer Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), discovers a derelict Engineer ship and its lethal cargo: the Xenomorph eggs. The ensuing cat-and-mouse game on the *Nostromo* introduces the core life cycle—Facehugger, Chestburster, and the adult Xenomorph—and establishes Ripley as the ultimate survivor. This film also reveals the duplicity of the Company (Weyland-Yutani), whose special order 937 prioritizes the acquisition of the Xenomorph over the lives of the crew.

5. Alien: Romulus (2024)

Timeline: 2142 (20 years after *Alien*)

Fede Álvarez’s standalone film is the newest entry to be chronologically inserted into the timeline, taking place two decades after the destruction of the *Nostromo* but 37 years before Ripley is rescued from cryosleep. The story follows a group of young scavengers, including the character Rain Carradine (Cailee Spaeny), who board the abandoned space station *Renaissance*. They inadvertently encounter a new, terrifying strain of Xenomorphs, demonstrating that the Weyland-Yutani Corporation’s attempts to recover and weaponize the creature are ongoing even in the years immediately following the *Nostromo* incident. This film acts as a crucial bridge, showing the Xenomorph threat is still active before the massive outbreak on LV-426.

6. Aliens (1986)

Timeline: 2179 (57 years after *Alien*)

Ripley is rescued from hypersleep 57 years after the events of *Alien*. She is initially discredited by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation but is eventually convinced to return to LV-426, now colonized as Hadley’s Hope, after contact is lost. Accompanied by a unit of Colonial Marines aboard the *Sulaco*, Ripley faces a full-scale infestation, leading to the introduction of the terrifying Alien Queen and the concept of a Xenomorph hive. Directed by James Cameron, this sequel shifts the genre from horror to action-horror, cementing the Xenomorph as a biological weapon of mass destruction. The film also introduces key characters like Newt, Hicks, and the synthetic Bishop.

7. Alien 3 (1992)

Timeline: 2179–2180 (Immediately after *Aliens*)

The escape shuttle from the *Sulaco* crash-lands on Fiorina "Fury" 161, a maximum-security penal colony. Ripley is the sole survivor, but a Xenomorph egg was aboard, leading to a new outbreak. This iteration of the creature is born from a dog (or ox in the Assembly Cut), resulting in the fast-moving Runner Xenomorph. Ripley discovers she is carrying a Queen Chestburster embryo inside her, a final, desperate attempt by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation to secure the organism. Ripley's ultimate sacrifice, plunging into a molten lead furnace, is meant to destroy the last of the Xenomorphs and prevent the Company from obtaining the Queen.

8. Alien Resurrection (1997)

Timeline: 2379 (200 years after *Alien 3*)

The final film in the core saga takes place two centuries after Ripley’s death. Scientists aboard the military research vessel *USM Auriga* clone Ellen Ripley from her blood samples to extract the Alien Queen embryo she carried. The resulting clone, Ripley 8, possesses enhanced strength, acidic blood, and a psychic link to the Xenomorphs. The experiments lead to a new, hybrid creature—the Newborn—and a catastrophic outbreak on the ship, which is headed for Earth. Ripley 8 and a new crew of smugglers, including the synthetic Call, must destroy the ship to prevent the Xenomorphs from reaching the planet. This film concludes the main story arc of Ellen Ripley and the Xenomorphs' military exploitation by a new iteration of the Company.

The Non-Canon Crossovers: Alien vs. Predator

For the sake of a complete topical authority on the franchise, it is important to note the two crossover films, *Alien vs. Predator* (2004) and *Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem* (2007). While popular, these films are generally considered non-canon to the main *Alien* timeline, primarily because they introduce the Xenomorph to Earth much earlier (in 2004) than the events implied by the *Alien: Earth* TV series and the main Weyland-Yutani narrative. They exist in their own separate, shared universe with the *Predator* franchise.

The Definitive Chronological Watch Order

To experience the evolution of the Xenomorph and the true scale of the Weyland-Yutani conspiracy, this is the definitive chronological viewing order, which prioritizes the story's internal logic over release date:

• 1. Prometheus (2089–2093): The search for the Engineers and the discovery of the Black Goo.
• 2. Alien: Covenant (2104): David's creation of the Xenomorph and the path to the perfect organism.
• 3. Alien: Earth (TV Series) (c. 2120): The Xenomorph threat reaches Earth, pre-Ripley.
• 4. Alien (1979) (2122): The *Nostromo* crew’s first encounter with the classic creature.
• 5. Alien: Romulus (2024) (2142): A new crew fights the Xenomorph between the major films.
• 6. Aliens (1986) (2179): Ripley's return to LV-426 and the Colonial Marine war against the hive.
• 7. Alien 3 (1992) (2179–2180): Ripley’s sacrifice on Fiorina 161.
• 8. Alien Resurrection (1997) (2379): The cloning of Ripley 8 and the military's final attempt to weaponize the Xenomorph.

Following this chronological timeline offers a richer understanding of the franchise's deep lore, connecting the ancient, cosmic horror of the Engineers to the corporate greed of Weyland-Yutani and the personal terror of Ellen Ripley. The addition of *Alien: Romulus* and *Alien: Earth* ensures that the saga remains a fresh, terrifying exploration of biological warfare and survival in the cold void of space.