The New Predator: Badlands Trailer Confirms An Epic Crossover Is Coming Our Way

Disney and 20th Century Studios released a new trailer for the upcoming "Predator: Badlands" today, and it offered up a much more thorough look at director Dan Trachtenberg's live-action follow-up to 2022's much-acclaimed "Prey." While that movie took things back to the distant past, this new entry in the franchise will take us deep into the future. It also, very evidently, is going to deliver a big sci-fi crossover, possibly even building out a new cinematic universe. Get ready for a new "Alien"/"Predator" shared universe.

The first "Badlands" trailer introduced us to Elle Fanning's character, an android named Thia. Eagle-eyed fans noticed that her eyes featured a Weyland-Yutani logo, referencing the company that produces androids in the "Alien" universe. That seemed to be laying the groundwork to bring these universes together for the first time since the "Alien vs. Predator" movies in the early 2000s. This latest trailer makes it unquestionably clear that's exactly what's happening.

For one, we see Thia in bad shape with the words "Weyland-Yutani" appearing on screen in plain sight. The final shot of the trailer also features Thia and her young Predator friend squaring off against a big robot machine not unlike the loader from the end of "Aliens." Without coming right out and saying it, it's obvious what's happening here. The studio is also keeping the specifics largely under wraps, as the official synopsis, which reads as follows, keeps things pretty vague:

"Predator: Badlands," which stars Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, is set in the future on a remote planet, where a young Predator, outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in Thia (Fanning) and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.

There are other hints within the latest "Badlands" trailer that suggest more is going on as well. At one point, Thia says, "You've come to the most dangerous planet in the universe" while speaking to the unnamed young Predator at the center of the story. She then adds, "You're after a creature that can't be killed. The definitive apex predator."

The planet remains unnamed and there are quite a few big, dangerous creatures in the trailer. But reading between the lines, it very much seems like Thia could be talking about a Xenomorph, as opposed to anything we're actually seeing on screen. Whether or not a Xenomorph appears in this movie, though, the outcome is the same: the "Alien" movies and the "Predator" movies clearly exist in the same universe. That carries major implications.

"Alien vs. Predator" was a solid box office hit in 2004, leading to the much-maligned sequel "Alien vs. Predator: Requiem." These movies are not part of the "Alien" canon any longer, but there has always existed a belief amongst fans that they are canon in the "Predator" universe. With what Trachtenberg is doing here, it seems likely that Disney would excise those movies from the canon entirely.

The other important thing to discuss is last year's "Alien: Romulus." Directed by Fede Alvarez, the ending of "Romulus" saw Rain (Cailee Spaeny) and Andy (David Jonsson) heading off to some unknown world. Without diving too far into speculative territory here, could their final destination involve Predators and Xenomorphs? The evidence is mounting that a more meaningful crossover is in the cards.

So what is that endgame, exactly? Another "Alien vs. Predator" movie? That would make sense, but 20th Century Studios head Steve Asbell addressed that very question in an October 2024 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, suggesting it wouldn't be so simple as that. Here's what he had to say about it:

"It wouldn't be in the way you think. That's the thing. Not in the way that it will just be called Alien vs. Predator or anything like the original movies. If we do this, they'll be organically created out of these two franchises that we've continued with characters that we fall in love with and those characters will combine...perhaps."

Where does that leave us? We know for sure that an "Alien: Romulus" sequel is already in the works. That could help further build a bridge to this "Predator" crossover, whatever shape that takes. As Asbell says, it wouldn't be as reductive as an "AvP" reboot. Doing any more speculating regarding the specifics seems like a fool's errand. We'll likely know a lot more once "Badlands" comes out.

The other key thing is that the animated "Predator: Killer of Killers" added some crazy s*** to the lore, making it clear that just about anything is possible in this universe. If Xenomorphs exist in the same galaxy as the Yautja, they've undoubtedly come across one another's paths before. We'll have to wait and see how Trachtenberg decides to connect those dots.

"Predator: Badlands" hits theaters on November 7, 2025.