Are the Alien and Predator movies set in the same universe? Timeline, canon and recons explained

There were crossovers between these Alien And Predator franchises, but there is debate about whether Alien vs. Predator is canon in the official timelines. Both these Alien And Predator Series revolves around a race of deadly and relentless extra-terrestrial monsters, so it made sense for them to eventually face off. Since they were both started by the same studio (20th Century Fox, now 20th Century Studios), the crossover was too good to pass up. This led to 2004’s Alien vs. PredatorA modern-day, Earth-bound sci-fi adventure. It was followed by the direct sequel, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem.

Mashing the Alien And Predator franchises together in a shared continuity created a lot of confusion because the Alien Films take place in the distant future while the Predator Films take place in the present day. On top of that, the later entries in the Alien franchise dived into the Xenomorphs’ origin story, and the origin story is not in line with the canon established in Alien vs. Predator. In the end, the question of whether the crossovers are canon can be answered by digging into the two franchises.

The Xenomorph exists in Predator movie canon

A Predator 2 Easter Egg brought the franchise together

The notorious xenomorph of the Alien Franchise is confirmed to exist in the canon of the Predator films. A memorable scene from Predator 2 Introduced audiences to the predator’s trophy room, where it keeps the skulls of its most powerful victims as a sort of souvenir of their battle. Most of the skulls that appear in the trophy room are random alien skulls. But one of them should be familiar to fans of the Alien Series: A long, slender xenomorph skull seen in the Alien Movies. This was the first confirmation of a shared canon between the two franchises.

This Easter egg did not only confirm that the xenomorphs exist in the Predator universe; It also confirmed that the predator running rampant on the streets of Los Angeles once managed to kill a xenomorph. The fact that a xenomorph was successfully killed by the Predator in Predator 2 – Arguably one of the weakest predators in the series – just goes to show how great these predators are at hunting. Seeing how deadly the xenomorphs were against the marines in Aliens suggested the two species would make for formidable opponents.

Alien Vs. Predator officially combined the two movie franchises

The 2004 movie had the monsters fighting each other

The concept of the xenomorphs of the Alien Franchise and the hunters of the Predator Franchise come face-to-face originated in Aliens vs. PredatorA 1989 comic book written by Randy Stradley and Chris Warner. The comic saw the Xenomorph Queen and her children taking on the Predators on the recently colonized planet of Ryushi (which, unbeknownst to the colonizing humans, was being used as a hunting ground by the Predators).

The comics proved to be so popular that the series ran intermittently until 2020. This comic book arc, paired with the trophy plot Easter egg in Predator 2Confirmed that Fox’s two biggest monster movie franchises have some shared mythology. In 2004, director Paul WS Anderson brought the crossover concept to the screen Alien vs. Predator. This was the movie that officially combined the two franchises in their original medium. It was a modern-day take on classic horror crossovers like Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man.

In the movie, a downed Predator spaceship and a reawakened xenomorph queen terrorize a group of explorers who find an ancient pyramid buried under the ice in Antarctica. This crossover movie was followed by a direct sequel, Aliens vs. Predator: RequiemIn 2007, as well as video games and tons of other comic books.

Prometheus & Covenant confirmed Alien Vs. Predator is not canon to the alien movies

Ridley Scott’s return to the Alien franchise reconnects the Alien origins

After the critical failure of Alien vs. Predator And its sequel, Ridley Scott – the legendary director of the original Alien Movie – returned to the Alien Franchise with a series of prequels detailing the origins of the Xenomorphs. Prometheus Began to fill in the aliens’ backstory, explaining that they were intentionally created to be soulless killing machines.

The series probably works better than a typical haunted house movie transplanted into outer space, with the aliens left as unexplained monsters lurking in the darkest corners of the galaxy. But Prometheus Created a whole mythology that explained where they came from and who created them.

Scott continued the prequel storyline in Alien: Covenant. Alien: Covenant Returned to the roots of the series as a horror franchise with gruesome scenes, but it still focused on the aliens’ background and how they came to be. in both Prometheus And Alien: CovenantThe diabolical android dude is seen creating the familiar xenomorph of the others Alien Movies. since the Alien Prequels take place in the 22nd century – long after the present-day setting of Alien vs. Predator – They deleted the crossover films from the franchise canon.

Alien and Predator are better perceived as different timelines

The movies are best enjoyed as their own franchise

The Alien vs. Predator films were nowhere near strong enough to be worth changing the canon of both franchises to accommodate them, so it’s best to think of the Alien And Predator series as two different timelines. One way to look at it is that The Alien Movies and the Alien vs. Predator Crossovers are canon to these Predator Franchise, but the Predator Movies are not canon to these Alien Franchise.

The continuity of the comics and video games in the franchises played by their own rules, ignoring the Alien vs. Predator crossovers, so it’s needlessly confusing to think of them as one shared timeline. Keeping these Alien And Predator Franchises in their own separate timelines give the filmmakers in each respective franchise more freedom in the stories they can tell.

If the Alien vs. Predator Films have been received better, then fans may be more willing to do the mental gymnastics required to make canonical sense of the crossover. Ignoring these Alien vs. Predator Movies allowed Scott to come up with his own story for the Xenomorphs in Prometheus. If he had considered the existing crossover canon, he would not have been able to set the prequel in the future.

Could Alien and Predator cross over again?

Fede Álvarez pitched a crossover idea

Although both of these franchises are decades old, They have recently proven that there are a lot of stories left to tell and a lot of passion still remaining among fans. Although Ridley Scott’s return to the franchise in Prometheus And Alien: Covenant Resulting in some bold movies that were ultimately divisive, the movie returned to its roots with the latter Alien: RomulusA gruesome and brutal sci-fi horror movie that serves as a terrific reminder of what fans love about the movies.

Similarly, in the aftermath of the Alien vs. Predator Movies, the Predator Franchise struggled to get back on its feet. After two underperforming sequels with Predators And the peacemaker The franchise brilliantly scaled things back with the period-set prequel Prey. Once again, a simpler approach proved to be the best idea, with prey Breathing new life into this series after so long.

Director Dan Trachtenberg is still with a new one Predator Movie called Badlands Which is said to be set in the future. This determines whether another attempt at a crossover can actually occur. With the disappointment of the first Alien vs. Predator moviesIt may seem risky to take another shot at the idea. However, with the franchise to peak again, it is an exciting prospect to revisit. actually, Alien: Romulus Director Fede Álvarez pitched an Alien vs. Predator Collaboration with Trachtenberg:

Maybe it’s something I have to co-direct with my buddy Dan. Maybe we should do like Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez Dusk till dawn. It’s like a half, and it’s a cut. It depends on how well this ( Romulus ) does, if people want to see that.

While it is far from confirmed, the idea of ​​another Alien vs. Predator Movies are no longer so popular.