The next entry in the Predator franchise, Predator: Badlands, is poised for a vast departure from the elements of the surprise hit Prey, which already has me concerned. Prey was released directly on Hulu in 2022, and was showered with critical acclaim en route to becoming one of the streaming platforms’ most-watched movies in the period after its release. It provided a much-needed refresh for the franchise after a string of underwhelming adventures, and rekindled interest from both studios and moviegoers in the race of vicious yet honorable alien hunters at the center of the Predator movies.

Dan Trachtenberg, the director of Prey, will return in that role for Predator: Badlands with a screenplay produced once again by the tandem of Trachtenberg and Patrick Aison. The success of Prey proved that Trachtenberg understands what makes the Predator such a unique and awesome movie monster, so Predator: Badlands should have a baseline of quality based solely on Trachtenberg’s return. However, footage revealed at CinemaCon, where ScreenRant was in attendance, has me concerned that the new movie will stray too far from what made Prey such a success.

Predator: Badlands Is Taking A Big Risk By Doing The Exact Opposite Of What Made Prey Great

A Predator From Antiquity Was Refreshing For The Franchise

The first look revealed at CinemaCon 2025 is not available online, but ScreenRant was on-hand to get the details. The limited footage that was revealed proved that in lieu of Prey‘s Earth-bound adventure, Predator: Badlands is far more futuristic and “otherworldly.” The footage showed the Predator astride some sort of speeder bike, a heated sword, and a new enemy that supposedly can’t be killed. Perhaps most significantly, the movie’s star, Elle Fanning, appeared to introduce the footage, and noted that her character teams up with the movie’s primary Predator.

Prey brought the franchise back to its simplistic, ultra-violent roots, peeling back the lore and technology to revive the notion of a warrior one-on-one with a ᴅᴇᴀᴅly Predator. Predator: Badlands appears to be doing the exact opposite; it’s exploring new narrative ground with the human-Predator team-up, and new ground on the Predator franchise’s extensive timeline. Neither element is a distinct sign that the new stand-alone movie will be worse than Prey or unsuccessful in any way, but pivoting so hard after rejuvenating the franchise has me somewhat concerned, to say the least.

If This Is Predator: Badlands, I Hope We Get A Proper Prey 2 In The Future

The 2022 Surprise Hit Deserves To Be Revisited

It’s already been announced that Predator: Badlands likely won’t tie back into Prey, despite early speculation that the “Badlands” тιтle could be a reference to the very ground on which Naru and her fellow Comanche warriors hunted. While a tie-in or some Easter eggs are still possible, Predator: Badlands is intended to be a stand-alone movie as opposed to a continuation of any past storyline. If that’s the case, then a direct sequel to Prey needs to become a priority for the franchise in the very near future.

Fortunately, Prey 2 has already been confirmed, and while Predator: Badlands is obviously up first, Prey 2 could follow shortly thereafter for Trachtenberg. While it’s still far too early for any story details to be released, Amber Midthunder has already expressed her interest in returning as Naru and claims that she’s at least heard about some of the ideas for the sequel. The original Prey was so good that it deserves to be revisited after Predator: Badlands, especially with the franchise’s strongest protagonist since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch Schaefer back on board.