Although the Predator franchise has struggled more than most movie series over the decades, its future finally looks bright again. I’ve got to be honest. Despite how much I want to enjoy all the Predator movies, if I were asked my opinion on the franchise’s future before 2022, the forecast would have been pretty dire. 1987’s Predator is a cult classic that benefits from a strong supporting cast, a killer premise, an appropriately campy central turn from Arnold Schwarzenegger, and groundbreaking special effects work by Stan Winston.

However, as the Predator movies continued, the franchise’s appeal slowly became less clear. 1990’s Predator 2 had its moments, but its bizarre futuristic setting was a distraction and its campy tone lacked the genuine scares of its predecessor. The less said about the Alien Vs Predator movies, the better, and 2010’s Predators failed to compel audiences despite updating the franchise’s setting to a remote alien planet. Even 2018’s The Predator, which boasted direction from Hollywood legend Shane Black, was a flat, predictable, and uninspired reboot.

Prey Was The Predator Movie We’ve Been Waiting For Since The Arnold Schwarzenegger Film

2022’s Predator Prequel Finally Found An Effective Way To Reboot The Series

Luckily, 2022’s Prey saved the Predator series after decades in the doldrums thanks to its canny, original reinvention of the franchise’s original premise. Set on the Great Plains in 1719, Prey followed Amber Midthunder’s Comanche warrior Naru as she avoided detection by a Predator who used her home as its hunting ground. For those who wanted to dig deeper into its subtext, Prey offered an intriguing inversion of Predator‘s commentary on the Vietnam War, taking the perspective of an indigenous character instead of an invading soldier.

However, for anyone who just wanted straightforward thrills, Prey offered this in spades. Prey was the best Predator movie since the original thanks to director Dan Trachtenberg’s efficient, inventive set-pieces, the perfect pacing, and Midthunder’s superb performance. The threat of the Predator was mᴀssively amplified when the movie’s heroes didn’t have futuristic weaponry or even ordinary guns to defend themselves, and Naru’s plight might be the scariest in the series. Luckily, Midthunder’s fearless heroine never buckles under the pressure of facing off against a hulking alien invader.

After decades of Predator movies that tried to reinvent the franchise in increasingly complicated baroque ways, Prey’s unexpected genius came in the prequel’s simplicity. Prey featured less dialogue than earlier Predator movies, with long stretches of the prequel taking place in silence. This made the action more tense and impactful, turning the eventual chase sequences into a tour-de-force. While Prey 2 would be exciting, what impressed me most about the prequel was the fact that it didn’t feel like a reboot, sequel, or follow-up, but rather a totally original project set in the same fictional universe.

Prey’s Success Brought New Life To Predator After Over 30 Years Of Bad Movies

Prey Proved The Predator Premise Still Works Despite Numerous Flops

This is vital since it means the Predator series can continue to succeed without needing to directly copy Prey’s premise. If there is one thing the Predator franchise can’t be faulted for, it is trying new things. Predator 2’s futuristic setting, Predators uprooting the series and setting its story on an alien planet, and The Predator taking the тιтular killer to the modern suburbs prove that the movies have never simply told the same story twice. Thus, it is no surprise that Prey’s director Dan Trachtenberg is following the prequel with a future-set sequel enтιтled Predator: Badlands.

However, Predator: Badlands is more likely to succeed than these earlier flops for a variety of reasons. For one thing, the success of 2022’s Prey proves Trachtenberg has a pedigree with the franchise. The directors of Predator 2, Predators, and The Predator were all franchise newcomers, even though some of them had experience with other franchises. Similarly, Predator: Badlands can tell another straightforward, self-contained story, unlike the disastrous Alien Vs Predator movies. These were let down by byzantine plotting and a plodding pace, as well as a bizarrely misjudged PG-13 rating in Alien Vs Predator’s case.

Predator: Badlands Is Only The Beginning Of A Bright Future For The Predator Franchise

The Predator Movies Can Now Go From Strength to Strength

In an October 2024 interview with 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell, he informed The Hollywood Reporter that there were not one, but two Predator movies on the way. The first was Trachtenberg’s Predator: Badlands, the exciting future-set story that stars Elle Fanning. However, the second, secret Predator movie will reportedly be released before Predator: Badlands.

It is unclear whether the project will receive a theatrical release, but this is fairly exciting news regardless. Ordinarily, I might be a bit uncertain about a franchise like the uneven Predator movies releasing two projects in quick succession, but I understand the decision to strike while the iron is H๏τ. It has been a long time since the Predator franchise felt as exciting and full of potential as the series did when the original movie was released, so it makes perfect sense for the series to release two movies in quick succession as a result.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter