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3 weeks ago
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We've been fortunate to experience more than 40 years of Xenomorphs, Chestbursters, and Facehuggers, and the Alien franchise continues to thrive.
The latest film in the franchise, Alien: Romulus, is out, and the aliens are back and better than ever!
Believe it or not, there are only nine films in this widely regarded sci-fi horror series. Audiences still resonate with it because of the strong characters, intriguing premises, monstrous aliens, frightening kill sequences, and epic storytelling.
For ease, I've put the movies in chronological order and included some interesting facts about the franchise:
1. AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
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20th Century Fox / Via youtube.comCast: Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Raoul Bova
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 22%
Plot via IMDB: During an archaeological expedition on Bouvetøya Island in Antarctica, a team of archaeologists and other scientists find themselves caught up in a battle between the two legends. Soon, the team realizes that only one species can win.
Alien Franchise Fact: The character of Ripley was originally written to be a male character.
2. Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
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20th Century Fox / Via youtube.comCast: Reiko Aylesworth, Steven Pasquale, Shareeka Epps
Director: Colin Strause, Greg Strause
Runtime: 1 hour, 34 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 12%
Plot via IMDB: Warring Alien and Predator races descend on a rural Colorado town, where unsuspecting residents must band together for any chance of survival.
Alien Franchise Fact: The Alien prop head the actor wore was five pounds!
Alien Franchise Fact: Ridley Scott was the fifth choice to be Alien's director.
4. Alien: Covenant (2017)
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20th Century Fox / Via youtube.comCast: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup
Director: Ridley Scott
Runtime: 2 hours, 2 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 65%
Plot via IMDB: The crew of a colony ship, bound for a remote planet, discover an uncharted paradise with a threat beyond their imagination, and must attempt a harrowing escape.
Alien Franchise Fact: Star Wars was a heavy influence on Prometheus.
5. Alien (1979)
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20th Century Fox / Via youtube.comCast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
Director: Ridley Scott
Runtime: 1 hour, 57 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Plot via IMDB: After investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin, the crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform.
Alien Franchise Fact: The Alien chest-burster scene was shot with multiple cameras because Ridley Scott could only perform the full effect once since it was very "bloody," and they couldn't keep cleaning it up.
6. Alien: Romulus (2024)
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20th Century Studios / Via youtube.comCast: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux
Director: Fede Alvarez
Runtime: 1 hour, 59 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
Plot via IMDB: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonists come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.
Alien Franchise Fact: The screenplay for Alien was originally called Dark Star.
7. Aliens (1986)
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20th Century Fox / Via youtube.comCast: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn
Director: James Cameron
Runtime: 2 hours, 17 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
Plot via IMDB: Decades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
Alien Franchise Fact: Ridley Scott wanted to take the audience to the edge of stress, similar to The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
8. Alien 3 (1992)
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20th Century Fox / Via youtube.comCast: Sigourney Weaver, Charles S. Dutton, Charles Dance
Director: David Fincher
Runtime: 1 hour, 55 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 44%
Plot via IMDB: Returning from LV-426, Ellen Ripley crash-lands on the maximum-security prison Fiorina 161, where she discovers that she has unwittingly brought along an unwelcome visitor.
Alien Franchise Fact: Conor O’Sullivan, the creature design supervisor on the film, and Ridley Scott built different Xenomorph versions to use on set, ranging from six and a half to nine feet tall.
9. Alien: Resurrection (1997)
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20th Century Fox / Via youtube.comCast: Sigourney Weaver, Winona Ryder, Dominique Pinon
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Runtime: 1 hour, 49 minutes
Rating: R
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 55%
Plot via IMDB: Two centuries after her death, a powerful human/alien hybrid clone of Ellen Ripley aids a crew of space pirates in stopping the aliens from reaching Earth.
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