Aliens takes place in 2179, 57 years after the events of Alien. The story follows Ripley after she awakens from hypersleep and is drawn into an investigation on a colony that has lost contact with Earth.
What year does Aliens take place?
The film is set in 2179. TIME’s screen chronology places Aliens in that year, while 20th Century Studios’ official synopsis says Ripley awakens 57 years after the events aboard her ship in Alien.
The sources establish the year and the elapsed interval, not a specific day or month for the film’s events.
How many years after Alien is Aliens?
Aliens takes place 57 years after Alien. The screen chronology dates Alien to 2122 and Aliens to 2179, matching the studio synopsis’s 57-year interval.
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What happens at the start of the story?
After her awakening, Ripley tries to warn others about the creatures she encountered, but she is initially ignored. She joins a military team after contact with colonists on a planet considered safe is lost, according to the studio synopsis. Secondary franchise material identifies the colony as Hadley’s Hope, on LV-426; that location detail is not stated in the studio synopsis.
Where does Aliens fit in the screen timeline?
The following years are the sequence reported in TIME’s overview of the screen chronology:
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| Screen entry | In-universe year | Relation to Aliens |
|---|---|---|
| Alien: Earth | 2120 | Before Alien and Aliens |
| Alien | 2122 | 57 years before Aliens |
| Alien: Romulus | 2142 | Between Alien and Aliens |
| Aliens | 2179 | The film’s setting |
The listed years give the broad screen chronology; they do not establish a precise date within each year. A fan-made chronology also places Alien 3 in 2179, but that is a broader franchise placement, not a date established here by Aliens itself.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How certain is the timeline?
The 2179 setting is supported by TIME’s chronology, and the 57-year gap is independently stated in the official studio synopsis. The date of the colony mission is therefore clear at year-level, but the sources cited here do not pin it to a month or day.
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Franchise material beyond the screen entries can include games, scenario books, and fan timelines. The sources consulted do not establish a single controlling canon policy for every tie-in, so such details should be distinguished from the film’s year and the studio’s stated interval.
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