Predator: Badlands is now in theaters, making for the third cinematic entry from director Dan Trachtenberg that further explores the world of the Yautja. Traveling to an alien world to restore his honor, the main Predator known as Dek finds himself encountering a terrain that is built to eliminate anything that sets foot on its land. Thanks to coming across a Weyland-Yutani synth named Thia, the Predator protagonist isn’t alone in his journey of redemption, and this fact might be a surprising one. Predator: Badlands is receiving rave reviews and is setting the stage for a major cinematic universe that not only unites the Alien and Predator franchises, it creates compelling protagonists to lead the charge.
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Warning. If you have yet to catch Predator: Badlands in theaters, be forewarned that we’ll be diving into spoiler territory. Thanks to meeting Thia on Genna the Death Planet, Dek discovers a new clan that he never expected to be a part of. On top of the synthetic human, the Predator also stumbles upon a baby Kalisk, the race that Dek was attempting to find in order to regain his honor. Named “Bud”, the blue ape-like creature joins the pair to make a trio as the new clan defeats the Weyland-Utani synths looking to capture a Kalisk themselves to research its regenerative properties.
While Dek doesn’t bring back Bud’s mother as his trophy, he brings back the head of Thia’s villainous sister, Tessa, killing his father and regaining his honor in the process. Even with his mission accomplished, the final moments of the film hint at the arrival of Dek’s mother, with the trio staring down a rather large ship barreling toward their direction. While not yet confirmed, Predator: Badlands is clearly laying the groundwork for a sequel, but in doing so, it has also helped forge a significant cinematic universe thanks to the many moving pieces viewers have witnessed in the past few years.
The Predator/Alien Avengers
Let’s break down the current releases that have arrived within the Alien and Predator franchises that point toward a massive “team-up” style event in the future. To start, Prey introduced us to the story of Naru, a Comanche warrior who defeated a Predator all the way back in 1719. During this film’s post-credits scene, it is alluded to the idea that the protagonist was captured by the Yautja. In the animated anthology film, Predator: Killer of Killers, viewers come to learn that not only does the alien race cryogenically suspend those it deems worthy to fight for their amusement, the movie also highlights that Naru, Dutch, and Mike Harrigan are still alive.
With Dek, Thia, and Bud still alive for future stories, banding all these characters together would be big enough on its own, but there’s another matter we have to examine. The Alien franchise has had a movie and a television series of its own that have been expanding on the Xenomorph lore, introducing a cast of new characters into the mix. Alien: Covenant and Alien: Earth might all feature the xenomorphs, face-huggers, and more, but they are far different stories all around. There’s an even bigger faction that has already linked all the recent projects together.
The Weyland-Utani Factor
Weyland-Utani has long been the biggest corporation in the Alien franchise, with the futuristic company routinely causing serious hassle for nearly every character that appears. In Predator: Badlands, Thia is one of the many synthetic automotans that operate in the service of the faceless organization. Playing a significant role in both Alien: Covenant and Alien: Earth, Weyland-Utani would make for an amazing element to fuse all these characters, stories, and worlds in one major crossover event. How this crossover happens is anyone’s guess, but a straight-up “Alien Vs. Predator” concept might not be the way it goes down.
It seems as though, from Predator: Badlands especially, elements from the Alien and Predator franchises are bleeding into one another. With both storylines seeing a golden age resurgence thanks to Disney’s boosting of the properties, we’re beyond interested in seeing which direction it goes. A cinematic universe has already been created; the ultimate question will be, how big will it become when all is said and done?
What do you think of the Predator/Alien cinematic universe so far? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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