--- description: Alien Covenant is a sequel to 2012's Prometheus but a prequel to the original Alien films starring Sigourney Weaver. Here's how it connects. title: Here's How 'Alien: Covenant' Fits Into the 'Alien' Timeline image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a0eb7423a5fb73e/6988cd2bab6d776e0e6ae16b/alien-covenant-fb.jpg?branch=production ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's How _Alien: Covenant_ Fits Into the Overall _Alien_ Timeline  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent May 16, 2017 6:14 PM CUT  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent May 16, 2017 6:14 PM CUT The 2012 _Alien_ prequel _Prometheus_ left audiences with more questions than answers about the origin story of the viscious creatures that Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) battled in the original franchise. [_Alien: Covenant_](http://time.com/4777753/alien-covenant-review/ "undefined"), out on May 19, offers an origin story of sorts, finally answering some of fans’ biggest questions and connecting _Prometheus_ with director Ridley Scott’s 1979 original. _Covenant_‘s premise: Shortly after the disappearance of the Prometheus expedition, the crew of a colonizing expedition stumbles upon a mysterious signal and decides to investigate. Here’s how it fits into the timeline of the _Alien_ films, no spoilers.  20th Century Fox ### **Year 2091:** **_Prometheus_** **(2012)** Two archeologists, Elizabeth Shaw ([Noomi Rapace](http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,2003059,00.html "undefined")) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green), find a “star map” that they interpret as an invitation from the aliens who created humanity, “Engineers.” Peter Weyland ([Guy Pearce](http://time.com/3643891/guy-pearce-music-video/ "undefined")), the elderly CEO of Weyland Corporation, funds their expedition to hunt down our galactic ancestors. They set out on the Prometheus with a crew that includes an android named David ([Michael Fassbender](http://time.com/4468877/alicia-vikander-michael-fassbender-relationship/ "undefined")) but find more than they bargained for when they arrive at the mapped-out planet. ###  20th Century Fox ### **Year 2103:** **_Alien: Covenant_** **(2016)** Crew members on a colonizing expedition on the ship Covenant (Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride and Michael Fassbender as another android among them) stumble upon what appears to be a message from Shaw and follow it to a planet inhabited by unfriendly creatures. ### **Years 2103-2122:** **Possible** **_Alien: Covenant_** **Sequels** After the release of _Prometheus_, Ridley Scott [said](http://collider.com/prometheus-2-sequels-ridley-scott-noomi-rapace/ "undefined") that there would be at least three more prequels to the original _Alien_, including _Covenant_. He called them “origin stories” that would answer “basic questions” about the _Alien_ universe. He has reportedly [already written the sequel](http://collider.com/alien-covenant-sequel-ridley-scott/ "undefined") to _Covenant_.  20th Century Fox ### **Year 2122:** **_Alien_** **(1979)** The original film: A distress signal wakes the crew of the ship Nostromo from stasis. They fly to a planet to investigate only to encounter an alien creature that is able to mate with one of the humans. The resulting alien hybrid attempts to take them out one-by-one. Ellen Ripley ([Sigourney Weaver](http://time.com/4623421/sigourney-weaver-quick-talk/ "undefined")) takes on the alien. ### **Year 2179:** **_Aliens_** **(1986)** After drifting through space in stasis for 57 years, Ripley is saved. She tells her employers at the Weyland-Yutani Corporation that the Nostromo was attacked by an alien. The moon where the Nostromo crew discovered the alien is now a colony, and when Earth loses communication with it, Ripley joins an expedition to investigate. They find the aliens have multiplied and attempt to save a little girl survivor named Newt ([Carrie Henn](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001343/ "undefined")). ### **Year 2179:** **_Aliens 3_** **(1992)** Ripley and Newt and the others who escaped from the events of _Aliens_ crash land on a penal colony made up of criminals with double Y chromosomes, a condition that makes them extra violent. Ripley discovers that an alien stowed away on her escape pod, so she must join forces with the prisoners to fight the multiplying aliens.  20th Century Fox ### **Year 2379:** **_Alien: Resurrection_** **(1997)** Two centuries after the death of Ripley, scientists create a clone of her in order to harvest and raise the alien embryo inside of her and breed a new alien species. When crew member Annalee Call ([Winona Ryder](http://time.com/4653107/winona-ryders-facial-expressions-deserve-their-own-sag-award/ "undefined")) discovers what’s going on, she tells Ripley, who has been made stronger because of the alien DNA and has acid blood. Ripley takes on the aliens she birthed. ### **Years 2379 —** **?:** **Possible** **_Alien: Resurrection_** **Sequel** Sigourney Weaver has expressed interest in making an _Alien 5_ movie. Both Joss Whedon and James Cameron were at times attached to a possible sequel, but it never came to fruition. Most recently, _District 9_ director and writer Neill Blomkamp wrote a script for a fifth _Alien_ film that was endorsed by both [Cameron](http://io9.gizmodo.com/james-cameron-thinks-neill-blomkamps-aliens-sequel-scri-1784210612 "undefined") and [Weaver](http://ew.com/article/2016/07/13/sigourney-weaver-aliens-sequel-neill-blomkamp/?xid=entertainment-weekly%5Fsocialflow%5Ftwitter "undefined"), but Blomkamp said on Twitter the chances of the project moving forward are [“slim.”](https://twitter.com/NeillBlomkamp/status/822685837418635264 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4746727/alien-covenant-timeline/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4746727/alien-covenant-timeline/"},"headline":"Here's How Alien: Covenant Fits Into the Overall Alien Timeline","datePublished":"2017-05-16T18:14:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-24T06:56:46.101Z","description":"The new movie is a Prometheus sequel and Alien prequel","url":"https://time.com/4746727/alien-covenant-timeline/","keywords":["movies"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a0eb7423a5fb73e/6988cd2bab6d776e0e6ae16b/alien-covenant-fb.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a0eb7423a5fb73e/6988cd2bab6d776e0e6ae16b/alien-covenant-fb.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Film Review Alien: Covenant","caption":"This image released by Twentieth Century Fox shows a scene from \"Alien: Covenant.\" ( via AP)","creditText":"Twentieth Century Fox/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4746727/alien-covenant-timeline/","name":"Here's How Alien: Covenant Fits Into the Overall Alien Timeline"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"This Video Is No Longer Available","description":"The new movie is a Prometheus sequel and Alien prequel","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/fKodeUO6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2026-06-23T15:00:44.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4746727/alien-covenant-timeline/","duration":"PT10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4746727/alien-covenant-timeline/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```