How Predator: Badlands Fits Into the Predator and Alien Universes

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The original Predator film, released in 1987, unexpectedly launched a franchise that has evolved into something quite different: a funny and heartwarming action movie about a found family. Director Dan Trachtenberg (Prey, Predator: Killer of Killers) delivers this surprising new take with Predator: Badlands, which is now playing in theaters.

The film Badlands follows Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), a young Predator struggling to earn his place within his clan. He tries to prove himself by hunting a Kalisk – a powerful, seemingly unkillable monster that even frightens his father, the clan leader – and taking its skull as a trophy. However, after crash-landing on the dangerous planet Genna, Dek realizes he’s in over his head. Luckily, he meets Thia (Elle Fanning), an android who offers to guide him through Genna’s perils in exchange for a ride to the Kalisk’s cave – the last place her missing lower body was seen. This is where the story connects to the universe of Alien.

How Predator: Badlands connects to Alien

Thia was sent to Genna by the powerful and ruthless Weyland-Yutani corporation to find the Kalisk for their profit. During the mission, she and other androids were attacked, and she lost both of her legs, leaving her stranded. She hoped her close lookalike, Tessa (also played by Dakota Fanning), would rescue her, but Tessa proved more loyal to Weyland-Yutani’s goals than to Thia. Tessa saw Thia’s connection with Dek as a weakness and ultimately betrayed her. However, Tessa couldn’t defeat the combined strength of Dek, Thia, and their energetic alien companion, Bud (voiced by Rohinal Nayaran), who is revealed to be the Kalisk’s offspring.

The Alien and Predator franchises have crossed over before, starting with the 2004 film Alien vs. Predator and continuing with the 2007 sequel Aliens vs Predator–Requiem. However, the new film Badlands takes a different approach by focusing on the Predator as the main character, with only a thematic link to the Alien series. Producer Ben Rosenblatt explains that to make audiences connect with the Predator character, Dek, the movie intentionally features no human characters.

Rosenblatt explained that Trachtenberg wanted characters resembling humans but not actually humans, suggesting robots. Dan then pointed out that Weyland-Yutani was known for making robots, leading to a perfect combination of ideas.

Director Trachtenberg decided to set Badlands far into the future – at least 300 years from now – to avoid conflicting with the storylines of newer Alien and Predator projects like Alien: Romulus and Alien: Earth. This makes Badlands the first film in the Predator series to take place so far in the future.

Director Trachtenberg explained to the Hollywood Reporter that a key to making their movie work was setting it far in the future of both the Predator and Alien universes. This way, they avoided conflicting with any existing or planned stories. When they started working on Badlands, Trachtenberg wasn’t even fully aware of the Alien: Earth project, and he didn’t know the details of Fede Álvarez’s Romulus either. He decided the best approach was to set their film as far removed from those projects as possible.

What’s next for Predator?

Director Trachtenberg, when creating Badlands, prioritized a fast-paced story over extensive character backgrounds. He used the established history of the original Predator as a guide for the new series. He explained to the Hollywood Reporter that what made the original Predator stand out was its unique approach – unlike typical slasher villains like Michael Myers or Jason, the Predator had a culture and fought with a specific code. Trachtenberg has subtly expanded on this aspect in Badlands, offering glimpses into the Predator’s culture to provide context and make the main character, Dek, more relatable and engaging as he faces his challenges.

At the end of Badlands, Dek brings Thia and Bud back to his home planet and gets revenge for his brother by winning a fight against their father. But the very last shot of the movie suggests they might have a new, even bigger problem on the way – Dek’s mother’s spaceship appears in the distance.

Director Trachtenberg has ideas for continuing the Predator franchise beyond Prey. He shared with SFX that he came up with three potential follow-up concepts. He’s already identified one as Killer of Killers and another as Badlands, with a third idea still in development. He emphasized that these ideas aren’t simply based on Prey’s success, but on creating something truly new and unique within the sci-fi and Predator genres. He hopes to explore this third concept once Badlands is complete.

After a recent appearance in Killer of Killers, Arnold Schwarzenegger might return as Dutch in a future Predator movie. Producer Rosenblatt told Deadline that getting Schwarzenegger back is their biggest goal, and they’ve always hoped he would revisit the role that helped make both the franchise and his career famous.

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2025-11-07 16:06