How to watch all Alien movies in chronological order

Alien: Romulus, which hit theaters Friday, brings audiences back to the universe Ridley Scott created. It's been 45 years since Scott's original Alien flick kicked off the ongoing franchise, and a rewatch of the various sequels and prequels is definitely in order. Whether you're looking to curate a marathon or are revisiting the franchise for the first time, take note: Every Alien film is available to stream now.

Released in 1979, Alien stars Sigourney Weaver in her role as Ellen Ripley that made her a star. The film follows the crew of the Nostromo, a commercial spaceship, as they investigate a distress call in space. They discover an aggressive alien species wreaking havoc in a broken spacecraft, turning their rescue mission into a fight for survival.

Weaver reprised her role as Ripley in three of the franchise's six installments: James Cameron's Aliens, David Fincher's Alien 3, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Alien Resurrection. She returned to voice the character in the 2014 video game Alien: Isolation.

Aliens - Sigourney Weaver - Ripley Newt — From left: Sigourney Weaver as Ripley and Carrie Henn as Newt in Aliens.

20th Century Fox

Fede Álvarez (2013's Evil Dead and Don't Breathe) directed Alien: Romulus, a standalone story set between the events of Alien and Aliens. It's worth noting that Fede's sequel and Noah Hawley's Alien TV series are not compatible.

How should one even watch the Alien films? The entire storyline jumps all over the place – the original series consistently sets the story in the future, the prequels explore the creature's origins far in the past, and the Alien vs. Predator films exist in an entirely different reality. Like many fans, I don't consider them canon.

You can watch the Alien series in chronological order, so the prequels come first. I suggest starting with the 1979 original and going in the order of theatrical release. And if you want to understand Alien: Romulus even better, you can trim the proverbial fat of the series and limit your movie marathon to three of the six installments.

Ready to take the express elevator straight to hell? Here's how to stream all the Alien movies.

Read more: The trailer for “Alien: Romulus” brings the breathtaking horror back to space

These three Alien films connect Romulus

Since Alien: Romulus takes place between the events of the first two films, it goes without saying that watching Alien and Aliens will help give further context to the story of Romulus. After three decades, Ridley Scott returned to the director's chair in 2012 for the polarizing prequel Prometheus. These three titles influence the story and aesthetic of Alien: Romulus.

Here's how to watch all the Alien movies in chronological order in the US

Prometheus (2012)
Alien: Covenant (2017)
Alien (1979)
Aliens (1986)
Alien 3 (1992)
Alien Resurrection (1997)

Each of the Alien films listed above—including Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)—can be streamed by U.S. viewers on Hulu. The same goes for Alien: Romulus, which was originally scheduled to premiere on the streamer before hitting theaters.

Hulu/CNET

Hulu starts at $8 per month for streaming with ads, while Hulu without ads costs $18 per month. If you prefer a cable-like experience, you can opt for Hulu with Live TV for a monthly fee of $77. This option includes more than 90 channels, Disney Plus, Hulu content on demand, and ESPN Plus (with ads).

You can also opt for one of the Disney packages: Hulu and Disney Plus with ads for $10 per month; Hulu and Disney Plus without ads for $20 per month; Hulu, Disney Plus, and ESPN Plus with ads for $15 per month; Hulu and Disney Plus without ads and ESPN Plus with ads for $25 per month; and the Hulu, Disney Plus, and Max mega package – the ad-based version costs $17 per month, while the ad-free version costs $30 per month.

James Martin/CNET

Max has an Alien movie available to stream: James Cameron’s action-packed sequel “Aliens.”

Subscriptions cost $10 per month (with ads) or $17 per month (ad-free). To watch in 4K, you can also sign up for the Ultimate plan for $21 per month. The mega bundle of Hulu, Disney Plus, and Max might also be interesting. The ad-based package costs $17 per month, while the ad-free version costs $30 per month.

Where to watch all the Alien movies in the UK

Hulu is not available to viewers in the UK. Instead, viewers can find every single Alien film on Disney Plus.

James Martin/CNET

Disney Plus subscriptions in the UK are split into three plans. The Standard plan with ads costs £5 per month, the Standard plan costs £8 per month (or £80 per year) and the Premium plan costs £11 per month (or £110 per year).