The Predator and Alien timelines are deeply intertwined, even if their combined timeline doesn’t quite work. Oddly enough, these two franchises first began to intertwine in comics, with the epic Dark Horse Presents #36 pitting the two monstrous creatures against one another. This was intended as the tease for a miniseries, and soon Dark Horse was regularly publishing so-called AVP comics. The movies themselves first began to connect to one another in Predator 2, when a Yautja trophy wall featured a very recognizable skull.
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Don’t expect a straightforward timeline, because continuity is a mess with the Alien and Predator timelines (even if, as in this list, you choose to ignore tie-in comics, novels, and games). Predator: Badlands has finally made the connectivity matter, though, because this movie features the Alien franchise’s Weyland-Yutani Corporation as a major force to be reckoned with. Given that’s the case, it’s time to take a step back and rewatch these stories in timeline order – no matter the contradictions.
841 – Predator: Killer of Killers episode 1
Set in the year 841, Predator: Killer of Killers episode 1 sees a Viking warrior Ursa lead an attack on a rival clan. The battle between the rival clans is interrupted by the arrival of a Yautja, who seeks to prove himself by killing the greatest warriors of the time.
1609 – Predator: Killer of Killers episode 2
Predator: Killer of Killers episode 2 jumps forward in time to 1609, when the feud between two Japanese samurai is interrupted by a Yautja.
1719 – Prey
Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey tells the tale of a young Comanche woman named Naru (Amber Midthunder), whose ordinary life is turned upside-down by a Yautja’s campaigns. Prey‘s post-credits scene teases further Predator activity around this time (explained by Killer of Killers episode 4).
1942 – Predator: Killer of Killers episode 3
In 1942, a Yautja vessel intervenes during air battles in World War II. U.S. pilot John J. Torres finds himself on the front lines of a very different battle, and it will take all his ingenuity to survive. The final scenes of this episode jump forward in time to the aftermath of the Second World War.
1987 – Predator
John McTiernan’s Predator stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Alan “Dutch” Schaefer, leader of an elite paramilitary unit who encounter a Yautja while on a mission in the Central American rainforest. Set around the time of its release, Predator is the movie that launched this entire franchise.
1997 – Predator 2
Stephen Hopkins’ Predator 2 jumps forward in time to 1997 (technically the future, since the movie was made in 1990). Hopkins presents a dystopian vision of Los Angeles, with the city wracked by a heatwave and gang violence on the streets. A Yautja enters into this chaotic world, hunting and killing any who cross his path, with Danny Glover’s Mike Harrigan working to stop the rampage.
1997 – Predator: Killer of Killers episode 4
It’s impossible to precisely place Predator: Killer of Killers‘ final episode, because this is set on an alien world. The stars of previous episodes have been kept in cryogenic suspension, preserved as trophies for gladiatorial combat. What is certain, though, is that this episode has to be set after 1997; Killer of Killers‘ post-credit scene teases that the heroes of Predator and Predator 2 have been taken as well.
2004 – Alien vs. Predator
Helmed by Paul S. Anderson, Alien vs. Predator is set in 2004 – the year of the film’s release. This reveals that the Yautja have been visiting Earth for millennia, and are responsible for many early advancements in human civilization. Once a century, they undertake a rite of passage in which a group of humans are sacrificed as hosts for Xenomorphs so the Yautja can revel in the “ultimate hunt.” Alien vs. Predator sits uncomfortably with many of the Alien movies, and was ignored by Ridley Scott.
2004 – Alien vs. Predator: Requiem
Spinning directly out of the events of the previous movie, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem kicks off when a Yautja ship crashes in Colorado while carrying Xenomorph facehuggers. Directed by the Brothers Strause, it shows just how dangerous the war between these two aliens would be if it spun out into the real world.
2010 – Predators
Directed by Nimród Antal, Predators stars Adrien Brody as a mercenary named Royce who leads a squad as they struggle to survive on an alien planet – a subversion of the usual Predator formula. It doesn’t take the group long to realize this planet is essentially a game reserve, and they are the game, hunted by Yautja for sport.
2018 – The Predator
Shane Black’s The Predator revives the franchise with an unusual story in which a Yautja ship crashlanded on Earth. In another subversion, The Predator reveals the Yautja are splicing other races’ DNA into their own to try to improve their ability as hunters. This rewrites the iconic scenes in which Yautja tear out the spines of their opponents, revealing they’re actually seeking spinal fluid for their experiments.
2093 – Prometheus
Ridley Scott’s 2012 movie Prometheus is easily the most cerebral movie in the Predator and Alien timeline, with the crew of the spaceship Prometheus following a starmap discovered among historic artifacts on Earth. The explorers uncover an alien race known as the Engineers, revealed to be the creators of life on Earth; the movie sets up the origin of the Xenomorphs, but this has been contradicted by Alien: Earth.
2104 – Alien: Covenant
A sequel to Prometheus, Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant and establishes Michael Fassbender as the creator of the Xenomorphs after the lost ship is discovered by colonists in 2104. This is deliberately ignored by Alien: Earth, with Noah Hawley preferring a different riff on the original movies.
2120: Alien: Earth season 1
Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth is set in 2120, finally showing events on Earth during this time period. It sets up Weyland-Yutani’s interest in alien races, while establishing a different origin for the Xenomorphs, who are clearly established on other planets. Alien: Earth has been renewed for a second season, which will continue this story.
2122 – Alien
Ridley Scott’s Alien is set in 2122, starring Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley as a crew member on the space tug Nostromo. This fateful mission sees the crew discover a derelict vessel on the planet LV-426, and soon they’re dealing with a Xenomorph.
2142 – Alien: Romulus
Fede Álvarez’s Alien: Romulus is next in chronological order. The story is designed to pick up straight after the first Alien movie, kicking off after Weyland-Yutani retrieve a large cocoon from the wreckage of the Nostromo. Unlike Alien: Earth, Romulus is deliberately connected to Prometheus through a black goo that is central to the creation of Xenomorphs.
2179 – Aliens
James Cameron’s Aliens is the rare sequel that is often seen as better than the first movie. Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley returns, waking up out of cryo-stasis after 57 years in hibernation. Weyland-Yutani claim to doubt her story, sending an expedition back to LV-426, now a colony world – and chaos is soon unleashed.
2179 – Alien 3
Directed by David Fincher, Alien 3 is set immediately after the events of Aliens. Weaver’s Ripley crashes on the penal colony Fiorina “Fury” 161, but a facehugger survives the crash too – meaning it’s not long until Xenomorphs emerge. This is the brutal end of Ripley’s story.
2381 – Alien: Resurrection
Just over 200 years after Alien 3, the United Systems Military clone Weaver’s Ripley and a Xenomorph Queen. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s sees the cloned Ripley battle to protect the Earth from the threat of the newborn Xenomorphs.
The Far Future – Predator: Badlands
Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg recently confirmed this movie is set in the far future – the farthest forward the timeline has gone so far. Badlands stars Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as a Yautja named Dek who wishes to prove himself in battle against a monstrous challenge. He stumbles across a Weyland-Yutani expedition – the first time the main Predator franchise has officially exploited the Alien universe, drawing all the threads together at last.
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