What Exactly is the Alien/Predator Universe?

[tmc_6882]

http://ohilodude.wordpress.com/2014/08/ ... -universe/

An Editorial by Avery Hinks.

Over the years, there have been many connections between the Alien and Predator movies through feature films, comic books, novels, and even video games. It is a vastly expanding universe with a lot of great lore behind it, and today I am going to take some time to look at the feature films that make up the Alien/Predator Universe.

I will break down each individual film that takes place in this universe, as well as point out the connections and crossovers between each individual film, and show where each film is placed in the continuity. There will be some films in here that I’m sure some of you had no idea were even remotely part of this universe. But don’t worry, I will explain myself.

The films (and one TV series) I will be breaking down are:
â—¾Alien (1979)
â—¾Blade Runner (1982)
â—¾Aliens (1986)
â—¾Predator (1987)
â—¾Predator 2 (1990)
â—¾Alien 3 (1992)
â—¾Alien: Resurrection (1997)
â—¾Soldier (1998)
â—¾Firefly (2002)
â—¾AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
â—¾Serenity (2005)
â—¾Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
â—¾Predators (2010)
â—¾Prometheus (2012)

I will be talking about the movies mostly in order of release date. So, without any further preparation, let’s dive into the Alien/Predator Universe, and start where it all began:

Alien was directed by Ridley Scott and was a very influential Sci-Fi/Horror film for the time it came out. This movie saw a group of space explorers travel to the planet LV-426. What they find is nothing they would have ever expected.

This movie introduces us to lots of things that will be important to this universe later on.

It introduces us to Weyland-Yutani Corp. The technological industry that is ultimately involved in everything in this universe, including the space exploration team in Alien. Weyland-Yutani Corp. was founded by a technological mastermind named Weyland many years before the events in Alien.

We also see what is referred to as the “Space Jockey”. A large extraterrestrial being sitting in a chair, appearing to be wearing some sort of breathing apparatus.

The origin of the Space Jockey and the ship that it’s in were not explained at the time. However, we do learn a lot more about it in later films, that I’ll get to eventually.

From this movie we can also see that Androids, machines made to look like humans, are not all properly programmed and can take a very dark, evil turn. This is seen when the android, Ash, tries to kill the whole crew. The Androids are also product of Weyland’s creation, and that will be important later as well.

And of course, the most important thing we’re introduced to is the Xenomorph. The deadly alien of which the title refers to. This alien is an almost unstoppable force, and there is much in store for them as this universe expands.

From this movie we learn that a “Face-Hugger” hatches from an egg, latches onto a human’s mouth, then a baby Xenomorph breaks through its stomach and grows up extremely fast.

This movie takes place in the year 2123, so needless to say, it’s set pretty far down the timeline. So before I go forward, I’ll go back a few years, and give you a look at earth in this universe.

Blade Runner (1982)

Blade Runner sees Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), who is a special cop known as a “Blade Runner” tracking down and killing the last remaining Replicants on earth. It takes place in the year 2019.

A Replicant is a type of machine created by a man named Eldon Tyrell. It is a machine that looks, walks, talks, and even has emotions just like humans. Making them more advanced than the Androids seen in Alien. The Replicants, like Androids, do have a dark side, and at some point had an evil outbreak and therefore were hunted by Blade Runners.

Eldon Tyrell is also a technological mastermind. However, after creating something that could have destroyed humanity, it was clear that he met his downfall.

And since Ridley Scott directed both this and Alien, he decided to throw in a few Easter eggs, loosely connecting the two films together.

The most notable is the exact same Purge screen seen in both a Spinner vehicle from Blade Runner, and the ship from Alien.

But the big connection that Blade Runner has in this universe, lies within Prometheus.

Prometheus (2012)

Prometheus takes place in the year 2093 and sees a Weyland space exploration group on a different mission, before the events of Alien.

In this movie, we see Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce), the supposed founder of Weyland Corp.

He is really old for the majority of the film, but there were also viral videos released before the movie that showed a young Peter Weyland speaking in front of a crowd at a TED Talks event.

Weyland talks about the creation of Androids, and just technological advancements in general. This viral video takes place in the year 2023, placing it 4 years after the events in Blade Runner. So it’s strange that Weyland would try to do the exact same thing Tyrell did only a few years ago.

But there is one more thing that ties it all together, something Peter Weyland wrote, talking about his mentor for developing his ideas. This piece of writing can be seen in the Prometheus Blu-ray.

Weyland speaks of “A mentor and long-departed competitor,” meaning the mentor died, which Eldon Tyrell did in Blade Runner. He speaks of their corporation being “like a God on top of a pyramid overlooking a city of angels.”

Eldon Tyrell’s head quarters was a large pyramid-shaped building elevated high up in the sky, looking over Los Angeles, also known as the City of Angels, just as Weyland describes it.

And lastly, Weyland says, “he chose to replicate the power of creation in an unoriginal way.” Remember what Tyrell’s creations were called: REPLICANTS. Boom! There it is. Eldon Tyrell was the mentor of Peter Weyland. They worked together, shared ideas, and when Tyrell died, all those ideas were left in the hands of Peter Weyland, to create Androids, and try to improve on Tyrell’s Replicants. Even though some would still turn out evil, as seen in Alien.

Weyland goes on to further describe the Replicants, and it perfectly matches how the Replicants are in Blade Runner.

There are also some theories that Vickers, Charlize Theron’s character in Prometheus, is a Replicant.

Seeing how she is clearly not a human, but she can still show emotion, unlike the Android in the film: David (Michael Fassbender).
So perhaps Tyrell’s masterwork isn’t totally extinct.

Side note: The movie Soldier (1998), starring Kurt Russell is said to be a spiritual sequel to Blade Runner. There are many references to this, but the biggest one is that the Spinner vehicle from Blade Runner can be seen among the wreckage on the planet in this movie. Also, this movie is about yet another space exploration, which places it in this universe quite nicely.
But now, back to Prometheus:

Prometheus also shares a lot of connections to Alien. We see the origin of a Space Jockey.

As well as its ship.

We also see a Space Jockey-altered facehugger, and a Space Jockey-altered Xenomorph.

But also an ancient carving of a Xenomorph Queen on the inside of the Space Jockey’s ship.

Since I haven’t talked about the Xenomorph Queen yet, I guess the next movie to go to is:

Aliens (1986)

Aliens takes place in the year 2179. This movie sees Ellen Ripley, after being woken up from Chryogenic sleep after the events of Alien, go on another space exploration, and once again find Xenomorphs. Except this time, there are a lot more of them.

And we once again learn that the Xenomorphs are extremely deadly.

We are also introduced to an Android named Bishop (Lance Henriksen). The name of this character will be important later on, so don’t forget about him.

And of course, as I mentioned earlier, the Xenomorph Queen is in this movie. She hatches all the eggs that become facehuggers, which become Xenomorphs. The Queen is even more deadly than the regular Xenomrophs, and she also appears in another movie later on.

But for now, let’s take a look at the other type of alien in this franchise. This will take us to the earliest point in this timeline:

Predator (1987)

Predator takes place in 1987 and sees a commando of soldiers on a rescue mission in a Central American jungle.

However, while they are there, they find themselves hunted by an Extraterrestrial warrior, referred to as the Predator.

Predator is loaded with armor, weapons, thermal vision, and an invisibility cloaking mechanism.

He hunts humans for sport and wants to challenge himself. Which is why he resists from killing any human who is unarmed.

The Predator may even be deadlier than a Xenomorph, which is why what we see in the sequel may surprise you.

Predator (1990)

This one takes place in 1997, 10 years after the first Predator movie. This time the Predator is in New York, and is pretty much picking off any human he can.

The big thing this movie shows us though, is the inside of the Predator’s ship. We see more Predators, therefore telling us that there are lots of these things and they are going all over the galaxy.

But by far the most interesting thing in the Predator’s ship, is the trophy case.

Let’s get a closer look at that.

The Trophy Case

Recognize anything? Yep, that’s a Xenomorph skull. A Predator has successfully hunted and killed a Xenomorph. This is the first time a link between these movies was ever shown on screen, and right after this movie came out, the big crossover movie was immediately put in development. And rightfully so.

AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)

This movie takes place in the year 2004, and sees a Weyland exploration group go investigate something in the depths of the Arctic.

This team is lead by a man named Charles Bishop Weyland, played by Lance Henriksen. Remember the Android named Bishop? It was based on the look of Charles Bishop Weyland.

So this would mean that Peter Weyland wasn’t actually the founder of Weyland Corp, but it was actually Charles Bishop Weyland. I guess this would mean Peter Weyland is probably his Grandson, considering how old Charles Weyland is in this movie.

Anyways, the exploration team finds themselves in an underground pyramid, where a Xenomorph Queen has been sleeping for centuries. They awaken the Queen, facehuggers attack, and Xenomorphs are on the loose.

Meanwhile, a Predator ship is also on its way to the pyramid, and an epic brawl begins between Xenomorphs, Predators, and helpless humans.

And Charles Bishop Weyland is killed by a Predator. Just thought I’d throw that in there.

We also learn about some ancient history that had gone on between the Predators and Xenomorphs. In Ancient Egypt, Predators would use humans as hosts for facehuggers, so they could create Xenomorphs, and hunt them for sport, as Predators do.

It seems Predators have ruled the galaxy for a very long time.

In the very last shot of the movie, back on the Predator’s ship, we see a Xenomorph burst out of a Predators chest, that had been attacked by a facehugger earlier in the movie. It appears to be some sort of Predator-Alien hybrid. Later known as the Predalien.

Which brings us to the next movie, that takes place directly after AVP.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)

In this movie, the Predator’s ship crash lands in a small town, and the Predalien escapes and wreaks havoc on the people of the town. Then, it is up to the Predator to kill it.

More chaos ensues, and by the end, the Predator is successful, but lots of people died along the way.

So at this point, we’ve seen a facehugger combine with a human, a Space Jockey, and a Predator.

And there’s still another Predator story to go through.

Predators (2010)

This movie sees humans, randomly chosen, dropped on the Predator planet, for the Predators’ hunting season. As they go through lots of deadly situations, we get a lot of insight of what the Predator’s planet is like. We see all different types of Predators and the habitat they live in. It is very interesting to finally get a look at this part of the Alien/Predator universe.

This movie, although not specified, probably takes place in the year 2010, 9 years before Blade Runner.

Well, now that we’ve gotten through the Predator sequels, there are still two more Alien sequels to get through.

Alien 3 (1992)

This movie takes place in the year 2185. It sees Ellen Ripley finally return to Earth, after once again being frozen at the end of Aliens.

alien3second

This takes place roughly 90 years after Prometheus, which is the last we saw of Earth until now. Since then, Earth has become a very different place. There are large groups of monks living in dark buildings, and Earth has basically just become a dark place to live.

This would explain why in Aliens, lots of people were living in a large spaceship, and trying to find a new planet to inhabit.

And considering how dark the world already looked in Blade Runner, its completely understandable that Earth would end up this way.

Anyway, a facehugger managed to make it to earth as well, and now there is a Xenomorph terrorizing humans on Earth for the first time since Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, that we know of.

Side note: the character Morse (Danny Webb) is apparently rumored to be appearing in Prometheus 2. That would be interesting.

At the end, Ellen Ripley dies, the Xenomorph is defeated, and it seems the Alien story is over.

…But it’s not over yet!

Alien: Resurrection (1997)

This one takes place roughly 200 years after Alien 3, in the year 2371. Ellen Ripley is revived as a powerful human/Alien hybrid clone who must continue her war against the Aliens.

It’s a weird and confusing concept, and it doesn’t really bring anything new and/or insightful into this expansive universe, so there’s no need to say any more about it.

But what about the future of Earth? What happens after the dark age shown in Alien 3?

Firefly (2002) and Serenity (2005)

Firefly and Serenity take place 500 years in the future. Which means they take place in the early 2500s, probably around 2506. This TV series and movie show an earth that has become a baron wasteland, but is also technologically advanced beyond belief. There is lots of space travel, lots of aliens, and it is an all out epic sci-fi adventure.

This is the future of the Earth that we were first introduced to in Predator, and began its downfall in Blade Runner.

But I know there’s one thing you’re still waiting for: evidence. Evidence that proves Firefly and Serenity are part of the Alien/Predator universe. Well, that’s easy. The evidence lies in the very first episode of Firefly.
Inside one of the vehicles in the pilot episode, on the screen in the vehicle, a very recognizable logo can be seen.

Yep, right at the top of the screen is the Weyland-Yutani Corp logo. After all these dark years on earth, Weyland’s company has continued to live on in the technology industry. This very clear logo is what links Firefly and Serenity to the Alien/Predator universe.

Well, that’s the end of it. Here is a full continuity timeline of the films on this list:
â—¾Predator — 1987
â—¾Predator 2 — 1997
â—¾AVP: Alien vs. Predator — 2004
â—¾Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem — 2004
â—¾Predators — 2010
â—¾Blade Runner — 2019
â—¾Soldier — Some time after 2019
â—¾Prometheus — 2093
â—¾Alien — 2122
â—¾Aliens — 2179
â—¾Alien 3 — 2185
â—¾Alien: Resurrection — 2371
â—¾Firefly — 2506
â—¾Serenity — Some time after 2506

There are of course, other movies of this universe currently in development. There’s a new Predator movie directed by Shane Black, Prometheus 2, currently titled “Paradise”, and a Blade Runner sequel.

I encourage you to go watch all these movies in order of continuity. It’s a lot of fun. And if you haven’t seen any of the movies on here, then go watch them!

[33cl33]

Alien 3 is on a prison planet, with absolutely none of those plot, setting or character details. He did get the actor's name right, though.

[BA2]

And no aliens in Firefly. At all.

I think film makers can tip a nod to other works that have influenced / inspired them without it implying any literal continuity of plot or setting.

[daphne]

You forget about Outland, which at the time of its release was pseudo-billed as a sort of spiritual sequel to Alien.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082869/