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Looks like the hunt is back on, but with a twist. The Predator franchise is returning with a brand-new movie, Predator: Badlands, and fans are already dissecting the trailer for clues. One big question? Is this secretly setting up another crossover with the Alien universe?
Yup, the trailer is giving off major Alien vs. Predator vibes and not just because of the killer creatures.
Predator: Badlands will be the seventh official movie in the Predator series (eighth if you count the animated film dropping later this year), or ninth if you include the two Alien vs. Predator films. And honestly? Maybe we should be counting them, because this new movie could be canonizing those crossovers after all.
The trailer, which dropped just yesterday, has sparked plenty of theories, with eagle-eyed fans spotting a key detail: the Weyland-Yutani logo.
If you know your sci-fi lore, that name probably made your ears perk up. Weyland-Yutani is the shady mega-corp from the Alien series, you know, the ones who treat human lives as disposable in their endless pursuit of profit (and xenomorphs). Technically, the xenomorphs are the antagonists, but let’s be real: Weyland-Yutani is the real monster behind the curtain.
So, what’s the deal? The logo appears multiple times in the Badlands trailer. Most noticeably, it’s on Elle Fanning’s character’s uniform… and even reflected in her eyes, which might suggest she’s an android. That’s a big deal, androids have been a staple of the Alien franchise from the start, and this visual callback feels intentional.
In fact, that eye detail mirrors what we saw in Andy the android from Alien: Romulus, further cementing the theory that these worlds are linked.
So, Are We Getting an Alien Crossover?
This opens up a galaxy of possibilities. If Weyland-Yutani exists in the Predator timeline, could the Xenomorphs be lurking in the shadows too? We’ve seen these universes collide before in AVP and its sequel. Critics weren’t kind to those films, but they’ve developed a bit of a cult following over the years. And now that Disney owns both franchises? A revival seems totally within reach.
Predator plot details so far
We still don’t know a ton about Badlands, but here’s what’s been confirmed: the story centers on a young Predator who’s been exiled from his clan. Instead of being the usual terrifying monster in the shadows, this time, the Predator is actually the protagonist. Even wilder? He teams up with Elle Fanning’s character, who, again, might be a Weyland-Yutani android. Team-ups like this are rare in these films, so this direction alone is enough to make the movie stand out.
Where does this fit in the canon?
Now, here’s the big lore question: How does this movie fit into the tangled timelines of Alien and Predator? The AVP films gave us one version of how the Xenomorphs and Predators first clashed, but movies like Prometheus and Alien: Covenant offered completely different origin stories. Will Badlands bring the two timelines together? Will it rewrite the rules again? Or are we getting a totally new mythology?
Honestly, at this point, anything’s possible. Who knows maybe they’ll surprise us with a Predator: The Musical. (Kidding… unless?)