1428 Elm
Fansided

Which Alien movies do you need you watch before Alien: Romulus?

Get caught up before seeing Alien: Romulus in theaters.

By Mads Lennon

Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine in 20th Century Studios' ALIEN: ROMULUS. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Cailee Spaeny as Rain Carradine in 20th Century Studios' ALIEN: ROMULUS. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. /
facebooktwitterreddit

With Alien: Romulus releasing theatrically this week, many film buffs and Alien fans are rushing to do a complete franchise rewatch, but is that really necessary to do before the latest movie in the series? Not quite.

While it's never a bad time to rewatch the Alien movies, if you're in a time crunch, you don't need to fret about cramming in all six films (eight if you include the Alien vs. Predator movies) ahead of your trip to the cinema.

Alien: Romulus is an interquel, meaning it takes place between two films earlier in the franchise, specifically Ridley Scott's original Alien (1979) and James Cameron's Aliens (1986), so you only need to watch, or revisit, Alien to follow along.

Where to stream all of the main Alien movies right now:

  • Alien (1979) on Hulu
  • Aliens (1986) on Hulu & Max
  • Alien 3 (1992) on Hulu
  • Prometheus (2012) on Hulu
  • Alien: Covenant (2017) on Hulu

If you want to watch the Alien vs. Predator films you're in luck because they're both on Hulu right now, too! So a Hulu subscription gets you the entire franchise, but I would stream ASAP because who knows how long they'll be available.

ALIEN: ROMULUS
David Jonsson as Andy in 20th Century Studios' ALIEN: ROMULUS. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved. /

Alien: Romulus also features a video game shoutout

Though the film follows Alien, there are some references and easter eggs to other moments in the franchise, including a callback to the terrifying video game, Alien: Isolation.

Director Fede Álvarez spoke with Inside Total Film podcast where he revealed the movie places phones throughout the film so when viewers see it, they know something bad is going to happen. Phones were used as save points in Alien: Isolation, so those who have played the game will know what it means when a phone shows up on-screen.

Alien: Romulus follows a group of space colonists exploring a derelict space station where they uncover a terrifying lifeform. It stars Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, and Isabela Merced.

Now is a great time to be an Alien fan. In addition to the new film from Álvarez, an Alien television series is in the works at FX from Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley. Alien: Earth is currently planned to be released in 2025.

feed

Home/Aliens