Years before franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC Extended Universe brought high-profile crossovers to the big screen, 1990’s Predator 2 established that the Alien and Predator franchises are set in the same universe. That connection comes heavily into play in this fall’s Predator: Badlands, which features Elle Fanning as the Weyland-Yutani android Thia. Now, director Dan Trachtenberg has shed some light on what he plans to do with it. During the Hall H panel for Predator: Badlands at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, the filmmaker discussed the Alien/Predator crossover in his film and explained how it will differ from other shared cinematic universes.
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Trachtenberg said the Weyland-Yutani connection “leads to even more cool ideas.” He emphasized that he wants Predator: Badlands to explore more sophisticated concepts with its crossover elements, feeling that other cinematic universes try to entertain audiences by smashing action figures together. When panel moderator Kevin Smith broached the idea of another Alien vs. Predator movie, Trachtenberg noted “that would be cool.”
When developing Predator: Badlands, Trachtenberg wanted to make a film that didn’t feature any humans. After deciding to pair the franchise’s first Yautja protagonist, Dek, with a robot, it was easy for him to work Weyland-Yutani into Badlands‘ plot. The Alien connections were kept secret until the first Predator: Badlands trailer was released earlier this year.
Trachtenberg is bursting with ideas to explore in the Predator franchise. After making 2022’s Prey, he came up with concepts for three additional projects. Two of those are Predator: Killer of Killers, the animated feature that premiered on Hulu earlier this summer, and Predator: Badlands. The third is a mystery for now, but there have been discussions about what could come next after Badlands.
The two Alien vs. Predator films pre-date Iron Man, but Marvel popularized the idea of the shared cinematic universe in mainstream blockbuster filmmaking. Crossovers are so prevalent in franchises now that Trachtenberg has a point when he says “smashing the action figures” isn’t enough to appeal to audiences. The novelty of that approach has worn off, and filmmakers need to go deeper to make the crossovers worthwhile. It’ll be interesting to see what Trachtenberg has in mind for Predator: Badlands. Based on his comments, Weyland-Yutani isn’t included just for the sake of it. The corporation likely has a meaningful role to play in the narrative, especially since Thia is a co-lead. The nature of her mission and what she’s after should be a major focus.
Trachtenberg seems to have put a lot of thought into Predator: Badlands‘ Alien connections, which could help establish a foundation for a new Alien vs. Predator film. Perhaps that is Trachtenberg’s third idea, waiting to see how Badlands performs at the box office before it gets a green light. The previous two Alien vs. Predator films weren’t critical darlings, but Trachtenberg could be the one to make something special out of that crossover. With Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers, he’s established he has a strong understanding of what makes the Predator franchise work, and he’s introducing some exciting new ideas in Badlands. Whatever he has in mind, it should be exciting.
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