The people who are in charge in Hollywood are constantly trying to breathe new life into older franchises that had been dormant for a while. It happens across all major genres, but it feels especially prominent when it comes to sci-fi movies. The most notable attempt at this is Star Wars, which followed up an iconic trilogy by delivering a prequel trilogy over a decade later and then another sequel trilogy after another decade plus. Other examples include Star Trek being brought back with a great 2009 film, Terminator continuing to put out new installments after the initial two great entries, and Blade Runner 2049 giving us a legendary sequel to a fantastic sci-fi project. There were also reboots and revivals, like Matt Reeves bringing Planet of the Apes back to life with a stellar trilogy of his own. In 2018, a sci-fi film franchise was meant to get a new hit that would bring it back to prominence.
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The Predator film series got off to a hot start. The 1987 original is a beloved classic of the ’80s and although the second installment isn’t as good, it’s still an enjoyable film. 2010’s Predators has been overlooked and forgotten, yet was actually an underrated movie. In 2018, The Predator was planned to turn this franchise into a modern hit, yet that didn’t happen.
The Predator Failed To Bring New Life To The Series
A lot of attempted franchise revivals feel like they’re a recipe for disaster but that wasn’t the case with The Predator. It had almost everything any fan of the series could have wanted from a new iteration. For starters, Shane Black was a great choice for the director, especially coming off the heels of The Nice Guys. This is a filmmaker who knows how to make a fun action flick. It also had a strong cast lined up, with Sterling K. Brown, Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Alfie Allen, Trevante Rhodes, and more.
When you add in a premise that follows a group of soldiers struggling with PTSD and a disgruntled scientist as they work together to fight off a pair of Predators, The Predator sounds like a good movie. Unfortunately, the film ended up being a huge swing and a miss. Critics said that although it featured the level of violence that fans wanted from the franchise, it was a hollow film that never gave the audience any reason to care about the characters or the plot.
While it was true that none of the previous sequels had lived up to the original Predator from 1987, those movies weren’t really considered bad. The Alien vs. Predator spin-offs were poorly received but even 2010’s Predators has a solid 65% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, The Predator remains at 34%, which is the lowest of the franchise. The box office didn’t help either, as the film only made around $160 million on a budget of about $88 million. Those aren’t the kind of numbers that give a studio confidence, meaning that instead of saving the franchise, it went back under wraps.
A 2022 Reboot Saved The Predator Franchise
It took four years before another attempt was made at rejuvenating the Predator franchise and this one went a different route. Released in 2022 directly to Hulu, Prey took the series all the way back to the 1700s. It follows a young Comanche woman who wants to prove herself as a hunter to the rest of her people when she comes upon a Predator and fights to protect everyone from it. The cat-and-mouse battle between her and the Predator is incredibly engaging, while the action lives up to what you want from the franchise.
Amber Midthunder was the series’ best protagonist since Arnold Schwarzenegger and she’s someone we want to see more of. Prey was a hit on Hulu and was loved by critics to the point of a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Dan Trachtenberg, who directed and co-wrote the film with Patrick Aison, had successfully brought new life to the franchise and people were clamoring for more. In 2025, Trachtenberg gave them more with the release of two more entries into the series, starting with Predator: Killer of Killers.
Like 2010’s Predators, Predator: Killer of Killers is something of a hidden gem. This didn’t get a theatrical release and is the first animated entry into the franchise. Unfortunately, far too many people tend to overlook animation, though it still drew a strong audience on Hulu. The film also has the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of the series at 95%. It was more of what Trachtenberg did well, while also feeling unique.
The same goes for the other 2025 release, Predator: Badlands. This brought the franchise back to the big screen and, again, tried something different. This time, the protagonist was a Yautja, giving us our first film from the POV of the Predator. The character quickly became popular and his bond with Elle Fanning’s Thia is incredibly charming. The movie blended action with bits of comedy in a way that nobody expected. The end result was a solid box office intake and critical praise.
The Predator franchise is alive and well, with hope for more installments. While The Predator failed to turn things around, Prey and the films since have pulled it off, meaning The Predator can go down as just a lackluster installment rather than the movie that killed a series.
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Image Courtesy of Netflix
