Aliens vs. Predator is canon, but even the movie forgets it happened
While these films could easily be considered "non-canon" in the wider Alien and Predator world, an AvP story proves that these films are in fact canon.
While many aspects of the Alien vs. Predator franchise have been well-received by fans -- such as the comics, novels, and video games -- one area where it's been conspicuously lacking is movies, which is why there still aren't any AvP movies in the works today. Make (at least, for now). However, just because movies aren't everyone's favorite AvP medium doesn't mean they aren't classics. In fact, one Alien vs. Predator comic explicitly states that the events of the AvP movie do take place in the same continuity as the Alien and Predator franchises - and there's a reason in the world why these The events of the movie just aren't remembered.
"Alien vs. Predator" was released in 2004, and while it's not the silver screen's greatest movie, it does do a good job of recreating everything fans loved about the original Dark Horse comic series. Aside from the background and backstory of the ancient civilization, the movie could also be a scene-by-scene play from the original Aliens vs. Predator comics, where at least one Predator is willing to fight alongside humans to stop the aliens and end up as an accepted human being. Clans of the Predator followed her unknowingly through their bloody rituals. Even the sequel, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, brings to life the iconic beast Predalien (first seen in Alien vs. Predator: Duel) exclusive to the hybrid series. So, for the most part, the movie hit it out of the park - but in general, fans disagreed, and the franchise was killed after this particular arc was complete. In the realm of comics, however, this storyline actually continues into the future, as it's always been part of the established lore.
Alien vs Predator Movies are Canon, & the Big Deletion Explains How
In Mike Kennedy and Roger Robinson's Alien vs. Predator: Beasts of Civilization, a group of humans who have been stranded on a hostile planet for some time finally receive some good news as a rescue ship lands at their camp . Unfortunately, while the presence of the ship is good news, the information of those on board is far from it. As it turns out, the ship could have gotten there earlier, but they had to avoid being spotted by a Predator ship apparently flying around the planet - and it wasn't long before humanity discovered why. Apparently, this planet is a Predators may have been hunting xenomorphs for hundreds or even thousands of years, and this realization came after humans discovered a Predator pyramid on the planet's surface, with writing and hieroglyphs reminiscent of ancient times on Earth. Civilization - including one particular team of synths who can't be located exactly, but are known to exist.
At this point in the Alien vs. Predator canon, an event known as the "Great Deletion" took place, the result of a virus humans created to destroy the composite, but what actually happened was the deletion of the human collective Archive each memory drive. This comic takes place after the Great Deletion of the AvP, though some of the lost information remains in small fragments on the synth's memory drives - which is why this pyramid looks so familiar. The Predator pyramids discovered by humans in this installment are the same ones in 2004's Alien vs. Predator, just on a different planet. While that alone is enough to earn the film "classic status," the comics go a step further and actually reference events from these films, even if the references are subtle.
Thus, due to the big deletion, the other Alien and Predator movies are only Not remembering the events of the two Alien vs. Predator movies -- but, as stated, not remembering them doesn't mean they didn't happen, and this comic confirms that the events of those movies are, in fact, canon.
