Which Movies You Should Watch Before Alien: Romulus (& Which You Can Skip)

Viewers do not necessarily need to watch every single movie in the franchise before diving into Alien: Romulus. The new installment is the ninth overall feature in the Alien franchise, which kicked off with the 1979 Ridley Scott classic of the same name and has since gone on to spawn a variety of sequels, prequels, crossovers, and an upcoming FX television series set on Earth. The multimedia franchise, which generally focuses on various groups of humans – especially those including Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) – encountering ravenous alien monsters known as Xenomorphs, also includes comic books, novels, and video games.

The upcoming Alien: Romulus was directed and co-written by Fede Álvarez, who has previously dabbled in franchise filmmaking with titles including Evil Dead (2013) and The Girl in the Spider’s Web, though he has also helmed the notable original horror movie Don’t Breathe, which spawned its own sequel. The cast of Romulus, which is led by up-and-coming star Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla, Civil War, Mare of Easttown), also includes David Jonsson (Rye Lane), Archie Renaux (Shadow and Bone), Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold), Spike Fearn (Tell Me Everything), and newcomer Aileen Wu.

You Should Watch Alien & Aliens Before Romulus

The Original Classics Provide Vital Context

While not everything has been revealed about the Alien: Romulus timeline, the movie is set to be an interquel taking place between the original 1979 movie Alien and its 1986 sequel Aliens. Thus, it is massively important to view the original movie before seeing Romulus. In addition to the movie being a well-respected classic that is worth seeing in general, there may be direct plot lines that feed into Romulus. Even if that is not the case, the interquel plays on the overall aesthetic and universe of the original movie, so a watch would be necessary for providing vital context.

While Romulus takes place before the 1986 sequel, which is set 57 years after the original movie, it would likely be important for prospective viewers to see both of the first two Alien movies. Because the prequel to Aliens is being made with the full knowledge that viewers have likely seen that 1986 movie, it will probably feature call-forwards that explain plot elements that have already appeared in the James Cameron feature. This could include behind-the-scenes goings-on at Weyland-Yutani, the corrupt corporation that is a primary antagonistic force throughout the franchise.

Alien 3 & Alien: Resurrection Could Be Skipped

Both Sequels Come Far Too Late In The Timeline

The latter Alien movies in the main branch of the series are likely much safer to skip. While Alien 3 takes place in the same year as Aliens and thus is more of a direct continuation, Resurrection operates more like a legacy sequel and is set more than 200 years later, though Ripley is able to appear due to her character being cloned. It seems unlikely that the plot threads set up in Romulus will extend so much down the franchise timeline that an intimate knowledge of the plots of either film would be necessary.

In addition to taking place far enough down the timeline, neither movie has been particularly well-received. The Fincher movie has 48% from critics and 46% from audiences on the review aggregator service Rotten Tomatoes, while its follow-up has 55% and 39% respectively. While Alien 3 has had something of a critical evaluation in recent years, especially in the wake of the alternative Assembly Cut, which was released in 2003, it is possible that the filmmakers behind Romulus would want to avoid drawing comparisons to either of the more divisive sequels.

Prometheus & Covenant Are Unlikely To Connect To Romulus But Are Still Worth Watching

The Alien Prequels Occupy A Unique Place In The Franchise

Those who have time to watch the Alien prequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant can certainly do so, as they do take place before the events of Romulus in addition to adding interesting texture to the universe. The movies are both unique visions that see original filmmaker Ridley Scott returning to the franchise after having largely been uninvolved in its sequels for more than 30 years. They are also the highest-rated movies of the entire franchise on Rotten Tomatoes since 1986, with Prometheus earning 73% and Covenant earning 65%. See a breakdown of the critic scores for the entire franchise below:

However, it ultimately seems unlikely that either movie will connect directly to Alien: Romulus. In fact, Prometheus is so indirectly connected to Alien itself that it became a particularly divisive installment, something that may have resulted in the Xenomorph being placed front and center in Covenant, even though that movie also featured the return of core Prometheus storylines and the character David (Michael Fassbender). Given Romulus‘ seemingly more direct connection to the 1979 movie, most of the prequels’ worldbuilding will likely not play into its story.

You Can Definitely Skip The Alien vs. Predator Movies

The Canon Of The Crossover Spinoffs Is Dubious

One of the most unusual Alien subfranchises is the duology of crossovers with the Predator movies. Both movies take place more or less concurrently with the years in which they were released, placing their settings in the mid-2000s. This makes them the earliest installments in the chronological timeline of the entire franchise, as even Prometheus takes place primarily in 2089, more than six decades after the year it was released. However, it seems entirely unlikely that Alien: Romulus will have any direct connection to either movie.

Related

Are The Alien & Predator Movies Set In The Same Universe? Timeline, Canon, & Retcons Explained

The Alien and Predator franchises have had crossovers before, but the question of whether they share a universe and timeline is a complicated one.

For one thing, involving the Predator movies would likely include renegotiating a complicated licensing agreement, as well as canonical complications considering the fact that the rival franchise has continued on its own since 2007 with installments including 2010’s Predators, 2018’s The Predator, and 2022’s Prey. For another, the movies are the two worst-reviewed installments in the entire franchise. This placement in the overall canon has always been questionable, but those factors combined will likely result in them being completely ignored by Alien: Romulus.

Alien: Romulus

Alien: Romulus is the seventh film in the Alien franchise. The movie is directed by Fede Álvarez and will focus on a new young group of characters who come face to face with the terrifying Xenomorphs. Alien: Romulus is a stand-alone film and takes place in a time not yet explored in the Alien franchise.

Director

Fede Alvarez

Release Date

August 16, 2024