At a glance
| First film | Alien (1979) |
| Creature | Xenomorph |
| Central human | Ellen Ripley, in the first four films |
| Studio line | 20th Century, now Disney |
Overview
The Alien franchise starts with a commercial towing vehicle, a distress signal, and a creature that uses a human body as an incubator. Ridley Scott‘s Alien (1979) is a haunted-house film on a ship. James Cameron‘s Aliens (1986) is a war film. The later entries split: two sequels that keep Ripley, two prequels that ask where the creature came from, and a 2024 film that goes back to the original scale.
The films
Alien kills the crew of the Nostromo one at a time. Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, is the last survivor. Aliens sends her back with Marines and adds Newt. Alien 3 (1992), directed by David Fincher, kills the found family in the opening and strands Ripley in a prison colony. Alien Resurrection (1997) clones her. Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017), both directed by Scott, follow the android David and the Engineers. Alien: Romulus (2024), directed by Fede Álvarez, is set between Alien and Aliens and does not use Ripley.
The company is Weyland-Yutani. The ship computer in the first film is Mother. The creature was designed by H. R. Giger. Those three facts are the parts every sequel has to acknowledge or dodge.
Films on this site
Trivia
- Scott directed the first film and the two prequels. He did not direct Aliens.
- Ripley is in four films. The prequels and Romulus are about other people.
- The chestburster was kept from most of the cast. The reactions are partly unfaked.
- Giger’s design is sexual on purpose. The sequels inherit that whether they want to or not.
- Alien vs. Predator is a crossover line, not part of the main Scott continuity.