This category lists articles related to characters in the Alien media franchise, an influential science fiction franchise that began with the 1987 film Predator. The film became a pop culture phenomenon and spawned a sequel and an extensive collection of licensed books, comics, video games, toys, and other products. In 2004 the film series was officially crossed with the Predator series with the release of the film Alien vs. Predator (based on an earlier comic book). That film spawned a sequel and merchandise line of its own, merging the fictional storylines of the two film franchises into a single continuity.