HBO Max is home to some of the biggest sci-fi and fantasy franchises to ever grace the big and small screens, and it’s officially added yet another iconic franchise to its collection!
This April, the Alien franchise has landed on HBO Max, giving subscribers the chance to revisit the groundbreaking saga that redefined sci-fi horror or experience it for the first time. That’s right, as of April 1, HBO Max has welcomed the Alien franchise to its catalog, giving fans the chance to enjoy not only the original films but also a variety of extended cuts of the franchise!
On April 1, HBO Max added six films from the Alien franchise to its collection, as well as special extended and director's cuts of the sci-fi classics. This list includes:
- Alien
- Alien: Director's Cut
- Aliens
- Aliens: Director's Cut
- Alien 3
- Alien 3: The Assembly Cut
- Alien Resurrection
- Alien Resurrection: Special Edition
- Alien vs. Predator
- Alien vs. Predator: Extended Cut
- Alien vs. Predator: Requiem: Extended Cut
- Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Two days later, on April 3, HBO Max completed the collection with the addition of Alien Romulus, the latest installment of the franchise, which hit the big screens back in 2024. And no, I did not forget about Alien: Covenant and Prometheus. These two films happened to already be available on HBO Max, as they were acquired previously for the platform.
With the addition of Alien, Aliens, Aliens 3, Alien Resurrection, Alien vs. Predator, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, and Alien Romulus, fans are finally able to host a proper marathon of the iconic franchise via HBO Max... or at least of the Alien films. If you want to be able to watch the full Alien and Predator movie catalog, you'll have to tag in Hulu, which is home to the Predator movies as well as to the Alien franchise's first venture into television via the series Alien: Earth.
With the franchise now at your fingertips, the only thing left to decide is how to watch it. Should you go in release order or follow the timeline chronologically to piece together the story from beginning to end? There really is no wrong or right answer when it comes to the best way to watch the Alien movies, but if you're new to the franchise and wondering where to start, here’s the best way to watch the Alien movies in order of their release as well as in order of where they take place chronologically within the franchise:
Alien movies in order by release date
- Alien (1979)
- Aliens (1986)
- Aliens 3 (1992)
- Alien: Resurrection (1997)
- Alien vs. Predator (2004)
- Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
- Prometheus (2012)
- Alien: Covenant (2017)
- Alien Romulus (2024)
Alien movies in chronological order by franchise timeline
- Alien vs. Predator - Set in the year 2004
- Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem - Set in the year 2004
- Prometheus - Set in the year 2089
- Alien: Covenant - Set in the year 2104
- Alien - Set in the year 2122
- Alien: Romulus - Set in the year 2142
- Aliens - Set in the year 2179
- Aliens 3 - Set in the year 2179
- Alien: Resurrection - Set in the year 2379
It's unclear how long the films will be available to stream on HBO Max, so don't wait to dive into the amazing franchise that is Alien and host a marathon of the films!