To date, there have been eight feature films in the Aliens franchise – including two crossovers with the Predator franchise. The first movie debuted almost 40 years ago in 1979, and the most recent was released just last year. Unlike many horror franchises that pop out cheap sequels, the Aliens movies have always had massive budgets and top-tier creative talent like Ridley Scott, James Cameron, David Fincher, Joss Whedon, Paul W.S. Anderson, and many others.
Here’s a list of every Aliens movie along with basic cast & crew information, synopsis, trailers, and handy IMDb links for your convenience:
Alien
1979’s Alien is the first film in the franchise. The movie is directed by Ridley Scott, written by Dan O’Bannon & Ronald Shusett, and stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, and John Hurt. Alien has a runtime of 116 minutes.
Synopsis:
The time is the future. The crew aboard a massive commercial space vehicle is enroute to earth with a load of extraterrestrial ore when they are sidetracked by mysterious signals from a nearby planet. The signals seem to be calls for help and when the space ship arrives they find a ruined, moldering spacecraft and within it egg-like living organisms.
Aliens
1986’s Aliens is the second movie in the Alien franchise. The film is directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron, David Giler, and Walter Hill, and stars Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, and Carrie Henn. Aliens has a runtime of 137 minutes.
Synopsis:
Fifty-seven years after surviving an apocalyptic attack aboard her space vessel by merciless space creatures, Officer Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) awakens from hyper-sleep and tries to warn anyone who will listen about the predators. Although she is ignored at first, when contact with colonists on a planet thought safe is suddenly lost, Ripley and a military team are sent to confront the aliens.
Alien 3
1992’s Alien 3 is the third film in the Alien franchise. The movie is directed by David Fincher, written by Vincent Ward, David Giler, Walter Hill, and Larry Ferguson, and stars Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, and Charles Dance. Alien 3 has a runtime of 116 minutes.
Synopsis:
After escaping from the alien planet, the ship carrying Ellen Ripley crashes onto a remote and inhabited ore refinery. While living in the ore refinery until she is rescued by her employers, Ripley discovers the horrifying reason for her crash: An alien stowaway. As the alien matures and begins to kill off the inhabitants, Ripley is unaware that her true enemy is more than just the killer alien.
Alien: Resurrection
1997’s Alien: Resurrection is the fourth movie in the Alien franchise. The film is directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Joss Whedon, and stars Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, and Dominique Pinon. Alien: Resurrection has a runtime of 109 minutes.
Synopsis:
200 years after her last adventure, Ripley is cloned by military scientists, who extract an alien queen from her chest and exploit the fact that both Ripley and the alien are genetic hybrids. Meanwhile, Ripley teams up with a group of smugglers, including an advanced female android, to combat the rampaging aliens in a lab ship that’s hurtling toward earth…
AVP: Alien Vs. Predator
2004’s AVP: Alien Vs. Predator is technically the fifth film in the Alien franchise and the third in the Predator franchise. The movie is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, written by Anderson, Dan O’Bannon, and Ronald Shusett, and stars Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, and Raoul Bova. AVP: Alien Vs. Predator has a runtime of 96 minutes.
Synopsis:
An environmental technician partners with a doomed predator, becoming a “hunter” when her team of explorers is caught between rampaging aliens and the ruthless predators who “seeded” them for a coming of age rite in an ancient, automated pyramid beneath the hostile antarctic surface.
Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
2007’s Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem is the technically the sixth movie in the Alien franchise and the fourth in the Predator franchise. The film is directed by Colin & Greg Strause, written by Shane Salerno, and stars Reiko Aylesworth, Steven Pasquale, and Shareeka Epps. Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem has a runtime of 101 minutes.
Synopsis:
The iconic creatures from two of the scariest film franchises in movie history wage their most brutal battle ever – in our own backyard.
Prometheus
2012’s Prometheus is the seventh film in the Alien franchise. The movie is directed by Ridley Scott, written by Jon Spaihts & Damon Lindelof, and stars Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, and Michael Fassbender. Prometheus has a runtime of 124 minutes.
Synopsis:
A team of scientists and explorers travels to the darkest corners of the universe searching for the origins of human life. Instead they find a dark, twisted world that hides a terrifying threat capable of destroying them… and all mankind!
Alien: Covenant
2017’s Alien: Covenant is the eighth movie in the Alien franchise. The film is directed by Ridley Scott, written by Jack Paglen, Michael Green, John Logan, and Dante Harper, and stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, and Billy Crudup. Alien: Covenant has a runtime of 122 minutes.
Synopsis:
The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination they must attempt a harrowing escape.