Ridley Scott’s Alien Is Leaving Netflix in December 2026

Ridley Scott directed several iconic science fiction films, including Blade Runner and The Martian. Few have had the lasting impact of his 1979 science-fiction horror film Alien. By blending slasher-movie terror with the vast isolation of space, the film helped reshape the genre and introduced audiences to one of cinema’s most memorable monsters.

Alien is set to leave Netflix on Dec. 1. Subscribers have only a few weeks to watch Scott’s R-rated film before it leaves the service.

The film’s first sequel, James Cameron’s Aliens, will leave Netflix on the same day. It’s a last chance for fans to revisit both films on the platform.

What is Alien about?

Released in 1979, Alien follows the crew of a commercial spacecraft on its journey home. The crew awakens after receiving a mysterious distress signal from a nearby moon. When they investigate, they find an alien organism that attaches itself to one of them. What seems at first to be a medical emergency becomes a nightmare when the creature escapes and hunts the crew one by one.

Sigourney Weaver stars as Ellen Ripley in Alien, which launched a franchise that has spanned multiple decades and genres.

The franchise’s most recent film is Alien: Romulus (2024), which returned to the series’ space-horror roots. Earlier films, including Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017), starring Michael Fassbender as an android, focused more on the origins and mythology of the Xenomorphs. The series has also expanded into video games, including the recent Alien: Rogue Incursion.

With Alien and Aliens leaving Netflix on Dec. 1, fans will need to turn to other streaming services to watch the franchise. There’s still time to catch these two entries before they leave.

Source: Polygon