Predator: Badlands Is A Major Sci-Fi Crossover Done Right

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for "Predator: Badlands."

If this is any indication of where the "Predator" franchise is headed in the years ahead, consider us fully and completely in the bag for whatever comes next. Starting with 2022's "Prey," director Dan Trachtenberg put on a clinic on how to successfully revitalize and reimagine a classic property for modern blockbuster filmmaking — simply by introducing instant fan-favorite characters that audiences would eagerly follow from one story to the next. It's a shockingly forward-thinking approach that defies most conventional thinking these days, oftentimes prioritizing lazy sequel-bait writing or "expanded universe" bullet points catering to conference rooms full of suits. Then came this year's animated "Killer of Killers" and especially "Predator: Badlands," the latter of which couldn't possibly be a more ideal example of crossover ambitions done right.

On its face, "Badlands" doesn't appear all that interested in teeing things up for the inevitable "Alien vs Predator" reboot reported to be in the cards ... and that's exactly what makes it so effective. The only real setup for the crossing of the extraterrestrial streams is limited to what has already been shown in the marketing. Elle Fanning's Weyland-Yutani synths Thia and Tessa, along with the rest of the company's intrusive presence on the "death planet" Genna, are the extent of any actual bridge between either side of the franchise divide. No Xenomorphs, no conspicuous-looking eggs, no teases that Michael Fassbender's murderous David is lurking around any corners. It's as counterintuitive a move as we've seen in any recent genre movie.

It's also the correct one. By doing more with less, Trachtenberg proves that not all brand expansions are built equally. And, thanks to some surprising amounts of studio restraint, "Badlands" has us more excited for the future than ever before.

Although "Predator: Badlands" is the furthest thing from a superhero movie, the temptation to pull an "Iron Man 2" or "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" must've been overwhelming. Both misbegotten sequels have gone down in fanboy lore as two of the most ill-advised attempts to speed-run themselves into a shared universe. Where the Marvel movie crowbarred in extraneous characters that would later play a role in 2012's crossover for the ages, "The Avengers," Zack Snyder's 2016 DC film made its intentions known right from that clunky-sounding subtitle and the infamous exposition dump that stopped the movie in its tracks to show us various teasers for the Justice League.

There's an alternate universe where "Badlands" could've done much the same thing with its "Alien" connections, taking advantage of the generally positive reaction to last year's "Alien: Romulus" and forcing unnatural crossovers where they don't belong. Thankfully, it doesn't appear that 20th Century Studios pressured Dan Trachtenberg into making one of the biggest mistakes of either franchise to this point (other than, you know, those disastrous "Alien vs. Predator" movies). From a purely corporate standpoint, it would've made a lot of sense. The groundwork was already laid with both "Prey" and "Alien: Romulus," two very different movies that nevertheless reinvigorated interest in both properties and left plenty of room for sequels. So why not kill two birds with one stone and make a single crossover that merged both stories together?

Instead, Trachtenberg managed to emerge unscathed from the big-budget quagmire and deliver the (mostly) self-contained adventure he had intended all along — a rare win for creativity over commerce.

Some fans may come away disappointed that what they see from "Badlands" is what they ultimately get, but there's a method to the "madness" of keeping this particular "Predator" story focused on, well, the "Predator" of it all as opposed to the "Alien" side of the equation. The first teaser for the film raised plenty of eyebrows when it revealed Elle Fanning's disembodied synth Thia rolling her eyes backward and showing off that unmistakable Weyland-Yutani logo. Had this been the extent of her appearance in the film, those fears certainly would've been justified. But rather than exist merely for "Alien" fans to gawk at something familiar, Thia goes on to play an integral role as half of an unlikely duo with Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi's Yautja Dek.

Thia's entire existence as a synth factors into why Dek even gives her a second glance in the first place, setting up a nuanced and comprehensive arc for both characters. It almost becomes a running joke early on that the single-minded Yautja only sees this synth as a "tool," agreeing to save her life during their first meeting only because she may prove helpful during his hunt for the alien kaiju Kalisk on this monster-eat-monster world. Not only does their bizarre dynamic benefit each one mutually, but it also helps ground the film's thematic message in the most potent idea of all: an alien conditioned to act like a machine learning empathy from a machine that behaves more human-like than anyone else.

Could Trachtenberg and writer Patrick Aison have included even more overt "Alien" references? Sure, but that minimalist approach only has us even more excited for the actual "Alien"/"Predator" crossover to come. "Predator: Badlands" is now playing in theaters.