Credit: Inside the MagicThe first official trailer for Predator: Badlands (2025) has made contact.
Following on from 2022’s Prey, which premiered on Hulu and Disney+ in 2022, breaking streaming records and receiving wide praise, Predator: Badlands is the sixth live-action film in the ongoing Predator series (or eighth if you include the two Alien vs. Predator spinoffs).
While Amber Midthunder’s Naru is nowhere to be seen, with the film offering up a new playground in the form of an alien planet, Badlands brings back director Dan Trachtenberg, who helmed the 2022 prequel to the iconic 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger-led actioner.
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Similarly to Prey, which was the first in the franchise to take place before Predator (1987), taking place in 1719, and also star a female protagonist, Badlands will break new ground by focusing on a Predator, with Dimitrius Schuster–Koloamatangi taking on the role as as Dek, a Yautja (the official species name given to the titular alien),who, according to the synopsis from The Walt Disney Company, is a “young Predator” who has been “outcast from his clan” and “embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary” with “an unlikely ally in Thia” (Elle Fanning), who’s a Weyland-Yutani android, which reconnects the franchise with Alien following the two Alien vs. Predator films.
However, before we even see Thia in the trailer, who appears to be restrained, we get a signature shot of the inside of a Yautja’s ship — at a trophy display, to be precise.
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At this point in the Predator franchise, it’s no mystery that the titular, dreadlocked alien hunts for sport, challenging itself to worthy opponents, whether it’s on Earth or somewhere else in the cosmos.
Predator 2 (1990) left audiences’ jaws hanging when a similar scene showed the skull of a Xenomorph from the Alien franchise on full display, which eventually led to the Predator/Alien crossover comic books, video games, and, of course, the two films, Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).
Now, Badlands has formed an unexpected connection with another iconic sci-fi franchise filled with hostile extra terrestrials. Keeping your eyes peeled, check out the opening scene in the first official trailer for Predator: Badlands from 20th Century Studios below:
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Several skulls line the wall of the Yautja ship: human, ape, and even a Tyrannosaurus Rex (which suggests that these hunters have been around for tens of millions of years at the very least). However, the one that instantly catches the eye is the one slap-bang in the center: it’s the skull of one of the aliens from the classic ’90s blockbuster, Independence Day (1996).
While this is yet to be confirmed by director Dan Trachtenberg, many fans are already in agreement that the skull does indeed belong to one of the nasty little green men who obliterated iconic landmarks around the world back in 1996 but ended up making the mistake of going up against Will Smith’s Steven Hiller and Jeff Goldblum’s David Levinson.
But does this signal the beginning of a new shared cinematic universe between all three iconic sci-fi franchises, Predator, Alien, and Independence Day? After all, Predator 2‘s inclusion of the Xenomorph skull led to an entire crossover franchise.
For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens, but as all three properties in question reside under The Walt Disney Company following its acquisition of 20th Century Fox in 2019, never say never.
Another New Predator Movie
Predator: Killer of Killers is an animated movie heading to streaming service giants Hulu (United States) and Disney+ (international) on June 6.
“The anthology story follows three of the fiercest warriors in human history: a Viking raider guiding her young son on a bloody quest for revenge; a ninja in feudal Japan who turns against his Samurai brother in a brutal battle for succession; and a WWII pilot who takes to the sky to investigate an otherworldly threat to the Allied cause,” The Walt Disney Company synopsis for Predator: Killer of Killers reads. “But while all these warriors are killers in their own right, they are merely prey for their new opponent — the ultimate killer of killers.
Watch the trailer for Predator: Killer of Killers from 20th Century Studios Canada below:
Predator: Killer of Killers is also directed by Dan Trachtenberg, with Josh Wassung, from animation company The Third Floor, serving as co-director.
Predator: Badlands releases in theaters on November 7.
What do you think about this new shared cinematic universe? Share your thoughts in the comments down below!