Ancient astronauts refer to a pseudoscientific set of beliefs which holds that intelligent extraterrestrial beings visited Earth and made contact with humans in antiquity and prehistoric times. Proponents suggest that this contact influenced the development of modern cultures, technologies, religions, and human biology. A common position is that deities from most, if not all, religions are extraterrestrial in origin, and that advanced technologies brought to Earth by ancient astronauts were interpreted as evidence of divine status by early humans.
Sphere is a 1987 novel by Michael Crichton, his sixth novel under his own name and his sixteenth overall. It was adapted into the film Sphere in 1998.
The Cosmic Cube is a fictional object appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. There are multiple Cubes in the Marvel Universe, all of which are depicted as containment devices that can empower whoever wields them. Although the first version, introduced in Tales of Suspense #79 and created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, originated on Earth as a weapon built by Advanced Idea Mechanics, most are of alien origins.
Doraemon: Nobita Drifts in the Universe is the 1999 Japanese animated epic space opera film. It is the second Doraemon film released after Hiroshi Fujimoto's departure, based on the 19 volume of the same name of the Doraemon Long Stories series. This is the third movie solely produced by Fujiko Production following The Record of Nobita's Parallel Visit to the West (1988) and Nobita's Great Adventure in the South Seas (1998). This movie commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Doraemon film series. It was released on March 6, 1999, together with Doraemon: Nobita's the Night Before a Wedding and Funny Candy of Okashinana!?. It is the 20th Doraemon film.
Predator: Concrete Jungle is a 2005 action video game developed by Eurocom for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles. In the game the player controls a disgraced Predator who must regain his honor by killing the humans who have stolen his technology. The game is named after the first volume of the Dark Horse Comics Predator comics series, but does not share the same plot.
The Predator, also known as Yautja, is the titular extraterrestrial species featured in the Predator science fiction franchise, characterized by its trophy hunting of other 'challenging' species for sport. First introduced in the film of the same name, the creatures returned in the sequels Predator 2 (1990), Predators (2010) and The Predator (2018), and the prequel Prey (2022), as well as the crossover films Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).
Batman/Aliens is a crossover between the Batman and Aliens comic book franchises. It was published in 1997. A sequel was released in 2003.
Monsters vs. Aliens is a 2009 American 3D computer-animated monster comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Conrad Vernon and Rob Letterman from a screenplay written by Letterman, Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky, and the writing team of Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger. Featuring the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson, Paul Rudd, and Stephen Colbert, the film involves a group of misfit monsters hired by the United States Armed Forces to stop the invasion of an extraterrestrial villain and save the world in exchange for freedom.
Transmorphers is a 2007 American science fiction alien invasion film released direct-to-DVD on June 26, 2007. It was written and directed by Leigh Scott and produced by David Michael Latt and The Asylum, "a studio whose work gets slightly more respect than the Girls Gone Wild series, and slightly less than backyard-wrestling DVDs", according to Keith Phipps of AVClub. Transmorphers was developed as a mockbuster, intending to capitalize on Michael Bay's Transformers. The film was followed by a 2009 prequel, titled Transmorphers: Fall of Man.
Predator is an American science fiction action anthology media franchise centered on the film series depicting humankind's encounters with an intelligent race of extraterrestrial trophy-seeking hunters known as the "Yautja". Produced and distributed by 20th Century Studios, the series began with Predator (1987), directed by John McTiernan, and was followed by three sequels, Predator 2 (1990), Predators (2010), The Predator (2018), and one prequel, Prey (2022). The series has led to numerous novels, comics, and video game spin-offs such as Predator: Concrete Jungle (2005) and Predator: Hunting Grounds (2020). The Alien vs. Predator franchise combines the continuities and universe of the Alien franchise with the Predator franchise and consists of two films as well as varying series of comics, books, and video games. Unlike the Alien franchise, which features a continuous story arc, the Predator films are more non-linear, instead focusing on individual encounters with the Predators spread across multiple timeframes.
Blood Monkey is a 2007 American direct-to-video natural horror film produced by RHI Entertainment and directed by Robert Young. It aired on various video on demand channels, before officially premiering in the United States on the Syfy Channel on January 27, 2008. Filmed in Thailand, it is the first film in the Maneater Series produced under an agreement with Syfy.
DNA is a 1997 American science fiction action film starring Mark Dacascos and Jürgen Prochnow, and directed by William Mesa. Filming took place in the Philippines. The film was retitled ADN - La menace for its French DVD release, and Scarabée for its television showing. It is also known as Genetic Code in some areas of Europe and Genosaur in Russia.
Ancient astronauts have been addressed frequently in science fiction and horror fiction. Occurrences in the genres include:
Alien Abduction is a 2005 science-fiction thriller film produced by The Asylum, and one of few by the same studio not produced to capitalize on the release of another film. It was released with the tagline: "The war of the worlds has just begun!", referencing the 1898 novel The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, which would be adapted to film by The Asylum two months later.
Battle of Los Angeles is a science fiction action film by The Asylum, which premiered on Syfy on Saturday March 12, 2011, and was released to DVD on March 20, 2011. The film is directed by Mark Atkins and is a mockbuster of the Columbia Pictures film Battle: Los Angeles, which is inspired by the events of the Great Los Angeles Air Raid of 1942. The official trailer uses clips from another Asylum film, War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave and video game and film of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and The Dark Knight Rises by screenplay David S. Goyer.
Shake, Rattle and Roll Fourteen: The Invasion is a 2012 Filipino science fiction horror anthology film directed by Chito S. Roño, and the fourteenth installment of the Shake, Rattle & Roll film series. The film stars an ensemble cast including Dennis Trillo, Lovi Poe, Janice de Belen, Herbert Bautista, Paulo Avelino, Martin Escudero and Vhong Navarro.
Alien Abduction is a 2014 American found-footage science fiction horror film and the directorial debut of Matty Beckerman. The movie was released to VOD on April 4, 2014, and also had a limited theatrical run. The film stars Riley Polanski as an autistic 11-year-old boy who records his ordeal as an alien abductee.
Alien 2: On Earth, also known as Alien Terror, is a 1980 science fiction horror film, written and directed by Ciro Ippolito before the trademark Alien was registered. It was released following the success of the 1979 film Alien as an unofficial sequel, albeit having little connection to the film.
Fire and Stone is a comic book series crossover set in the fictional universe of the Alien vs. Predator franchise. It was first published by Dark Horse Comics in the fall of 2014 and continued until 2015 and was followed by the comic book series Life and Death (2016–2017). The comic book series is considered part of the extended universe of the Alien and Predator franchises, being set after the events of Prometheus.
