20th Century Studios has recently released a new trailer for the upcoming filmPredator: Badlands, and it excitingly confirms that the franchise is going to take a long-established crossover in a completely new direction. The release of the new trailer revealed thatElle Fanning’s character, Thia, is a Weyland-Yutani android. Fanning teased at CinemaCon that her characterteaming up with a Predator would be “unprecedented,“but fans of the series were quick to point out that a human had previously teamed up with a Predator in 2004’sAlien vs. Predator.
Now, the newPredator: Badlandstrailerhas indeed shown thatFanning’s Thia will be teaming up with a Predator. The trailer shows a smaller-than-normal Yautja hunting and being hunted on an alien planet while Fanning says that he is “hunting something that can’t be killed,“proving that the two may need to defeat their formidable enemy together. While there is still much that is unknown about the upcoming movie, what audiences have seen so far creates a whole new type ofAlienandPredatorcrossover.
Predator: Badlands Is A New Type Of Alien Crossover After The AvP Movies
Predator: Badlands Does Not Seem To Include The Usual Alien Enemy
The reveal that Fanning’s character is a Weyland-Yutani android is a massive reveal for thePredatorfranchise because it makesPredator: Badlandsa true crossover film that expands onAlien vs. Predator.Weyland-Yutani is one of the biggest villainsthroughout theAlienfranchise, andtheir androids have often caused problems for the human characters inAlienfilmsdue to their need to follow company directives. A Weyland-Yutani android appearing alongside a Predator, then, deepens the shared universe of the two franchises.
While seeing Yautja and Xenomorphs fighting in theAlien vs. Predatormovies is entertaining,Predator: Badlandswill be able to explore more of Weyland-Yutani’s business and motives and how that may impact other alien species through Thia.
Based on the footage that audiences have seen so far, there has been no sign of Xenomorphs, implying that Thia’s reason for being on the Predator’s planet is something else entirely. While seeing Yautja and Xenomorphs fighting in theAlien vs. Predatormovies is entertaining,Predator: Badlandswill be able to explore more of Weyland-Yutani’s business and motives and how that may impact other alien species through Thia. At the same time, itwill still be able tofocus more on the series' first Predator protagonist and his story.
Predator: Badlands Is Actually An Alien Team-Up Movie, Not A Versus Film
Thia Will Need To Work With The Predator
In addition to the new reveal thatPredator: Badlandswould tie into the world ofAlien,Fanning had already revealed that the characters would team up.Predator: Badlandswill be the first time that characters from the two franchises work togetherinstead of opposing each other. While it was initially assumed that Fanning’s character would be a human, her character’s android reveal makes the movie even more exciting. Even if the Xenomorphs do not make an appearance, the two will surely have a big enemy to overcome.
What’s more,Predator: Badlandscreates an interesting opening for Weyland-Yutani to become even bigger players in futurePredatorfilms, depending on when the movie is set. Thetimeline of theAlien vs. Predatormoviesand whether they are canon does have some debate asPrometheusretroactively changed the origins of the Xenomorphs, butPredator: Badlandshas now doubled down on the shared universe between the two. Sincethe previous two crossovers have hinted at Weyland-Yutani’s gains from Predator technology, it will be interesting to find out whether the team up will have honest motives.
Predator: Badlands' Alien Crossover Story Is Better Than Another AvP Film
The New Film Feels Much More Original
Seeing the Yautja and Xenomorphs fighting inAlien vs. Predatorand its 2007 sequel were cool and did break new ground for both franchises at the time, simply makingPredator: Badlandsa repeat ofAlien vs. Predatorwould not have been very exciting. Audiences have already seen the two alien species face off twice — a third would not be necessary. Since it would not have made sense to have the Yautja and Xenomorphs team up either, seeing technology from theAlienseries make its way into a Predator’s world was the best way to combine the two.
Predator: Badlandsis set to be released in theaters on June 13, 2025.
A Weyland-Yutani android interacting with a young Predator is much more clever than simply moving the setting and forcing the two alien species to fight again. It feels like a fresh take on two franchises that have been around for decades, especially considering that bothAlien vs. Predatormovies were not well received by critics. It also highlights the sheer flexibility of thePredatorfranchise and the number of stories the franchise can explore, either in creating new alien or human enemies or by intersecting with other science fiction franchises likeAlien.
Thechronology of theAlienandPredatormoviescan be a bit confusing, and it is yet unknown when in the established timelinePredator: Badlandswill take place. Given that the ending ofAliens vs. Predator: Requiemsaw Ms. Yutani get control of Predator technology in 2004, long before the setting of otherAlienmovies, it could be quite far in the future.Predator: Badlands, then, is a new chance to show off the hunting skills of the titular species along with a technologically advanced Weyland-Yutani ally that could change the direction of the series.
