When Does the Film "Alien vs. Predator" (2004) Take Place?
"Alien vs. Predator" (released for Vietnamese-speaking audiences as "Cuộc Chiến Dưới Tháp Cổ"/"Battle Under the Ancient Tower") is a horror science fiction film written by Paul W. S. Anderson with Shane Salerno [adapting "Dark Horse Presents" #34-#36 v1 (1989) by Randy Stradley with Chris Warner] and released August 12th, 2004.
It takes place on the fictional Alien vs. Predator timeline in the year:
We know this because, during a very early scene, Professor Sebastian De Rosa's assistant Thomas' point-of-view is represented by a digital video camcorder's screen which includes a timestamp in the corner that clearly displays "10/08/04" for October 8th, 2004 AD. Later, the exact date becomes a plot point as Professor De Rosa discovers an ancient calendar he resets to “10 10 2004” as part of a ritual that was first performed at the start of human civilization. The story ends later on the same day.
There's a variety of small changes. Most importantly, it includes a 1904 AD prologue in addition to the main action that still takes place in 2004 AD. It opens with a white-on-black title card reading: "ANTARCTICA OCTOBER 10TH 1904". There appears to be no way to confirm this date with context.
2004 AD
We know this because, during a very early scene, Professor Sebastian De Rosa's assistant Thomas' point-of-view is represented by a digital video camcorder's screen which includes a timestamp in the corner that clearly displays "10/08/04" for October 8th, 2004 AD. Later, the exact date becomes a plot point as Professor De Rosa discovers an ancient calendar he resets to “10 10 2004” as part of a ritual that was first performed at the start of human civilization. The story ends later on the same day.
Furthermore, the very first shot of the film includes a title card over the footage that reads: "OCTOBER 3RD 2004 LOW EARTH ORBIT WEYLAND CORPORATION SATELLITE PS12".
It is a chronologically midway film in the Alien vs. Predator timeline (the chronological fourth film to feature a Yautja predator and the chronological first film to feature a Xenomorph alien) and can be watched either at its timeline point or as an extended flashback [along with "Alien vs. Predator: Requiem" (2007)] between "Alien 3" (1992) and "Alien: Resurrection" (1997).
There is a longer cut of the movie called the "Unrated Edition" and released November 22nd, 2005.
