The follow-up to 2024’s Alien: Romulus was already promising, but Predator: Badlands just made the next Alien movie unmissable. While all the Predator movies have their moments, director Dan Trachtenberg’s 2022 prequel Prey is the first truly unmissable entry into the franchise since the 1987 original. As such, it was exciting to hear that there were not one but two Predator movies arriving in 2025 from Trachtenberg. The first is the upcoming anthology movie Predator: Killer of Killers, which pits Predators against human warriors from various historical eras.
Predator: Killer of Killers looks like an exciting way to expand on the central idea of Prey, but the first teaser for Predator: Badlands proves Trachtenberg’s second 2025 Predator project might be even better. Little was known about Predator: Badlands save that it is set in the future and stars Elle Fanning, but the first teaser trailer for the movie showcased a shocking twist that could change the franchise forever. Shortly before the Alien franchise’s canon is changed by Alien: Earth, Predator: Badlands revealed a huge connection to the rival sci-fi horror franchise.
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In the first teaser for Predator: Badlands, Elle Fanning’s character Thia can be seen bound by tree branches. Her eyes power off, revealing Fanning’s Predator: Badlands character is a Weyland-Yutani synthetic. This means not only that the two franchises officially take place in the same universe, but that their timelines are closer than ever to intersecting. 2024’s Alien: Romulus takes place between Alien and Aliens, while Alien: Earth will begin a year before the events of 2012’s Alien prequel Prometheus.
Predator: Badlands could now act like Godzilla: King of the Monsters before Alien: Romulus’s sequel becomes the franchise’s Godzilla vs. Kong equivalent.
In comparison, Predator: Badlands takes place at an unspecified point in the future. As such, since Weyland-Yutani synthetics exist at this point in the shared timeline, it is reasonable to suggest that Predator: Badlands could happen around the same time as Alien: Romulus’ sequel. Unlike every earlier Predator movie, Predator: Badlands is set to follow the story of a Predator rather than their human prey. This means the movie is less likely to feature Xeonomorphs, as this could distract from its intriguing central innovation.
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That said, Predator: Badlands still sets up a perfect chance for the two franchises to redeem 2004’s infamous Alien Vs Predator and its equally ignominious sequel, Aliens Vs Predator: Requiem. While these movies were bad enough for the plot of Prometheus to retcon them completely, Predator: Badlands could now act like Godzilla: King of the Monsters before Alien: Romulus’s sequel becomes the franchise’s Godzilla vs. Kong equivalent.
A showdown between the two тιтans of sci-fi horror cinema still holds an undeniable appeal, but Alien Vs Predator arrived at a low point for both franchises. In contrast, Prey was a critical hit, Alien: Romulus was a box office success, and both Predator: Badlands and Predator: Killer of Killers are currently generating mᴀssive hype by trying bold new things with the franchise. As such, Alien: Romulus’s sequel is now even more exciting than ever as Predator: Badlands links the Alien franchise closer to the series.
