A Complete Guide To The Alien Cinematic Universe

The Prequels

It seemed like an odd choice at the time of its announcement – that Ridley Scott would make his return to the helm of the Alien franchise, without Ripley, and with a prequel – as opposed to a fifth core film. But, thanks to the breadth of detail established by those four initial movies, scope certainly existed to explore universal origins.

While the first of the prequels – Prometheus – is an important chapter in the Alien Universe, it is also intended to stand apart from it, because it deals with a much bigger set of themes than any of the other movies. By contrast, the second prequel – Alien: Covenant – is intended to be an Alien film in the truest sense of the word (or as much as that is possible without Ripley). As of spring 2017, Ridley Scott has suggested that there could be up to two more prequels before the story links directly into the events of 1979’s Alien.

Prometheus (2012)

Directed by: Ridley Scott
Written by: Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Logan Marshall-Green, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall, Kate Dickie, Emun Elliott, Benedict Wong, Patrick Wilson, Ian Whyte, Daniel James.
Notable universe developments: The origins of humanity are revealed, along with the early days of the Weyland Corporation’s space exploration policies; early steps in the evolution of the Xenomorph are revealed.

A space vessel is seen leaving a planet as a humanoid figure ingests a strange liquid and begins to dissolve into a nearby waterfall – combining its DNA with the fast-flowing water. It’s implied that this is the beginning of human life on Earth.

In Scotland, in 2089, archaeologists Charlie Holloway and Elizabeth Shaw make a discovery regarding an ancient starmap that indicates connections with other cultures. Their work has led them to theorize about an alien race of Engineers who created humanity, and this work brings them to the attention of Peter Weyland – the CEO of Weyland Corporation – who is a man of advancing years. Weyland funds a space mission in which Shaw and Holloway – along with a crew – will follow the starmap to the moon LV-223 to investigate their theory further. They travel aboard the Prometheus in stasis, monitored by an android named David, and arrive in 2093.

In addition to David, Shaw and Holloway, the Prometheus is manned by Mission Director Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), Captain Janek (Idris Elba), geologist Fifield (Sean Harris), biologist Milburn (Rafe Spall), medic Ford (Katie Dickie), and pilots Chance and Ravel (Emun Elliott and Benedict Wong). Upon arrival at their destination, a team sets out from the ship to explore, and discovers vast stone structures, a statue of a head (resembling the humanoid seen in the opening sequence), a decapitated humanoid body, and a number of other corpses. While exploring the structure, the nature of some of the team members is revealed. David secretly removes a cylindrical object from the structure to take back to the ship. Millburn and Fifield become anxious, but get lost inside the structure as they attempt to flee. The rest of the team is forced to return to the ship by an advancing storm.

Back in the ship’s lab, investigation of the remains found inside the structure reveal that these humanoid creatures share the same DNA as humans, and David secretly finds that the cylinder he smuggled on board contains a strange liquid. As an experiment, he adds some to Holloway’s drink without his knowledge. Back in the structure, Millburn has been killed by a small snake-like creature, which has also sprayed Fifield’s helmet with a corrosive fluid – sending him to floor to lie with his face in a large puddle of the same strange liquid David smuggled onto the ship.

Returning to the structure, the team find Millburn and David locates a control room containing an Engineer who is alive and in stasis. The starmap displayed in the control room seems to indicate Earth as a possible point of focus. Holloway falls desperately ill and tries to return to the Prometheus. However, citing quarantine protocols, Meredith Vickers refuses him entry. Instead, she persuades him to self-immolate with a flame-thrower. Elizabeth Shaw also begins to experience strange physical symptoms, and a scan of her abdomen indicates that she’s pregnant – despite having previously been declared medically sterile. The conception is the result of Shaw and Holloway becoming physically intimate after he unwittingly ingested the liquid, and Shaw uses an automated surgical table to remove a strange squid-like creature from her body.

It transpires that Peter Weyland is also aboard the Prometheus, having travelled with them in stasis, and that he’s father to Meredith Vickers. He explains his actions as being motivated by the desire to address the Engineers directly, and ask them to extend his life. Fifield, meanwhile, has mutated and returned to the Prometheus – killing a number of crew before being killed himself. Before Weyland returns to the structure with a team, Captain Janek theorizes that the location is a former military base for the Engineers, ravaged by a bioweapon – the liquid – that got out of control. Weyland uses David to wake the sleeping Engineer for the purpose of conversation, but the Engineer rips the android’s head off, kills Weyland, and begins to activate the panels around him, which are actually the controls of a spaceship.

Realizing that the Engineer intends to travel to Earth and unleash the liquid bioweapon, Shaw warns Captain Janek, who stops it by slamming the Prometheus into it, after ejecting the lifeboat. Vickers is killed in the collision. The alien that Shaw removed from her abdomen has grown in size, and Shaw finds it inside the lifeboat. She uses it to attack the surviving Engineer when he attacks her, and it overpowers him by penetrating his throat with its probocis. Shaw takes the head of David the android, and another Engineer ship, and heads off in the direction of the Engineer world, seeking more answers. Back on LV-223, though, an alien bursts through the Engineer’s chest.

Alien: Covenant (2017)

Directed by: Ridley Scott
Written by: Michael Green, John Logan, Jack Paglen
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Noomi Rapace, Billy Crudup. Danny McBride, Demian Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Amy Seimetz, Jussie Smollett, Callie Hernandez, Nathaniel Dean, Alexander England, Benjamin Rigby, James Franco, Tess Haubrich, Guy Pearce, Uli Latukefu, Matt Scaletti.
Possible universe developments: Further evolutionary steps for the Xenomorph; insight into the early ambitions of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, with regard to the Xenomorph.

This is a ‘true’ sequel to Prometheus, despite following a different crew as they travel aboard a colony ship named Covenant. Though the synopsis reads like a familiar Alien tale – with a crew stumbling upon a previously unknown world, only to be set upon by vicious alien creatures – this film does also feature narrative continuity with the previous movie – confirmed by the presence of Elizabeth Shaw, for example.