Fans of the Alien franchise can finally return to the terror-filled universe of Xenomorphs and have the Alien movie marathon of their dreams from the comfort of their home with the digital release of Alien: Romulus.
Directed by Fede Álvarez (Evil Dead and Don’t Breathe), Alien: Romulus is the ninth film in the 45-year franchise and takes Alien back to its horror roots. Speaking at the Gotham Awards in Los Angeles last year, lead star Cailee Spaeny said Romulus takes place in between Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) and James Cameron’s 1986 sequel Aliens.
After releasing on digital platforms on 15 October, Álvarez made a fittingly twisty announcement at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles: not only will it launch on Blu-Ray this December, it’ll also drop on VHS – the first major Hollywood film to do so since 2006.
There are now five films in the mainline series, as well as two prequels and two Alien vs Predator movies to sink your teeth into, and all can be viewed from the comfort of your home. No judgement if you need a few pillows to cover your eyes.
While the first eight are available to stream on Disney+, you’ll need to rent or buy the digital version on Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV (or wait for the physical release in December) if you want to complete your Alien marathon. But how to tackle it? There are two ways to watch the films – in chronological order (from the beginning of the Alien timeline to the end) or in the order each film was released. Keep scrolling to find out how to do both, starting with the chronological order.
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If you’re looking to stream the Alien movies, the first eight of them are available to watch on Disney+. The ad-based plan costs £4.99 per month, the standard plan costs £8.99 per month or £89.90 per year and the premium plan costs £12.99 per month or £129.90 per year.
How to watch the ‘Alien’ films in chronological order
1. ‘AVP Alien vs. Predator’ (2004)
The first of the Predator crossovers, Weyland funds an expedition to Antarctica in the hopes of finding the source of a mysterious heat, discovering that it’s the aliens. To make matters worse, Predators turn up on Earth to hunt down the other aliens.
2. ‘Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem’ (2007)
In the second Predator film, humans are once again caught in the crossfire as the Predators and aliens go to war in the middle of Gunnison, Colorado.
3. ‘Prometheus’ (2012)
In the first of the two prequels to the original Alien franchise, a space crew heads out on a mission to find out the origins of humanity, where they find an ancient civilisation and a malevolent alien.
4. ‘Alien: Covenant’ (2017)
A colony ship is heading for a new and (what they think) uninhabited planet, only to realise that the paradise world hosts a deadly lifeform intent on killing them.
5. ‘Alien’ (1979)
The movie that kicked it all off. When the Nostromo space crew picks up a transmission from a nearby moon and finds a colony of alien eggs, attaching to one of the crew, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and her team find themselves fighting for their lives aboard their space tug.
6. ‘Alien: Romulus’ (2024)
Set 20 years after the first Alien movie, Romulus is a standalone film that sees a group of space colonists come face to face with a terrifying lifeform as they scavenge an abandoned space station. It is currently available to rent and buy from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV, and will launch on Blue-Ray and VHS on 2 December in the UK, though it’s unsure how many VHS tapes will be available or when you can pre-order.
7. ‘Aliens’ (1986)
James Cameron takes over the reins in Aliens. Ripley wakes up 57 years later to find that the aliens she battled have grown stronger. Together with a new crew, she embarks on a mission to kill the aliens for good.
8. ‘Alien 3’ (1992)
The only survivor after the events of Aliens, Ripley crash lands on wasteland Fiorina 161, alongside an alien organism, and has to lead a planet of prisoners into war, all the while discovering she’s got an alien queen growing inside her.
9. ‘Alien: Resurrection’ (1997)
Set 200 years after the events of Alien 3, Ripley has been cloned by the military, so they can extract the alien queen embryo, but her DNA fuses with the queen, seeing the aliens escape.
How to watch the ‘Alien’ films in release order
- Alien (1979)
- Aliens (1986)
- Alien 3 (1992)
- Alien Resurrection (1997)
- AVP Alien vs Predator (2004)
- Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
- Prometheus (2012)
- Alien: Covenant (2017)
- Alien: Romulus (2024)
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