Alien returns to the cinema: where is Romulus located in the chronology of the science fiction saga? – Cinema News
Including Ridley Scott's two prequels and its clashes with the Predator, “Alien: Romulus” is the ninth installment in the saga launched in 1979 in theaters. But do you know where Fede Alvarez's film ranks in relation to the others?
There was Ridley Scott's film, which started it all in 1979, and then its three sequels. They also follow the character of Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and take place respectively 57 years (Aliens and Alien 3) and 257 years later (Alien: Resurrection).
There are also two prequels, signed by Ridley Scott: Prometheus takes place 29 years before Alien, and Covenant 18 years before the fatal flight of the Nostromo. Finally, there are two confrontations between the xenomorph and the Predator, which seem disconnected from the main saga and should not be linked to Romulus either.
Expected on August 14 in our theaters, the feature film directed by Fede Alvarez (Evil Dead, Don't Breathe) takes place between the events of Alien and Aliens. However, it is not a sequel or a spin-off, but a sort of mix of the two called “sidequel”.
An opus that takes place in an already established universe, and which introduces us to new characters (subject to a surprise in this case). Romulus would therefore be to Alien what Jason Bourne: The Legacy was to the films carried by Matt Damon, namely an independent feature film, parallel to the central story, of which it nevertheless takes up the established codes.
From Alien to Romulus, the timeline of the saga
- Prometheus: 2093 (year of his action)
- Alien Covenant: 2104
- Alien: 2122
- Alien Romulus: 2142
- Aliens: 2179
- Alien 3: 2179
- Alien, the resurrection: 2379
If you plan to (re)watch the saga in the chronological order of its events, you therefore do not have “that” three films to (re)watch before discovering Romulus, and as many afterwards.
If you go by the release dates, you'll have to catch up on six of them before you can go screaming in theaters, where you'll be heard more than in space. By your neighbor already.