There is a second Predator out there, lurking behind its camouflage cloaking device, ready to pounce on Predator fans.
In a new interview with the Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century president Steve Asbell revealed that in addition to the already announced Predator: Badlands there is a second Predator movie that the studio has ready to release. Both films were shot by Prey director Dan Trachtenberg, with this second, previously unknown project being released sometime before Badlands scheduled November 7, 2025 release date.
Will the next Predator movie get a theatrical release? [Editors note: this conversation took place before Disney dated Predator: Badlands for a 2025 release in theaters.]
Yes. And no.
You’re killing me here.
Yes, a Predator movie will have a theatrical. I’ll tell you very simply. After Prey became a success, Dan [Trachtenberg] came back and said he didn’t want to do Prey 2. And we’re like, “What do you want to do?” And he rattled off a bunch of ideas that were really crazy but really cool. We’ve actually done two of them. Two are coming out next year. One I can’t talk about yet, but the other one is the live-action Predator film with Elle Fanning that just wrapped in New Zealand. That’ll be out theatrically sometime next year.
You’re blowing my mind. Let’s tackle this one at time. One Predator movie is coming out theatrically?
It’s titled Badlands and it is an absolutely bonkers idea. It is a sci-fi thing, but it’s not what everybody thinks it is. And I mean, it’s awesome. It is so nuts. But in Dan, we trust.
Now you said there’s a second Predator movie.
There’s a second Predator movie that we have different plans for. Dan has actually directed both.
So there’s a secret Predator movie—
There’s a secret Predator movie that will come out before the theatrical one but I can’t say anything about yet.
While Asbell doesn’t come right out and say it, he does imply that the second, unnamed Predator film will premier as a streaming film, most likely on Hulu, which is owned by 20th Century parental corporation Disney.
This news does seem to be a mixed bag. Trachtenberg gave the rather moribund Predator franchise a much needed shot of adrenaline with 2022’s Prey, which saw one of the alien hunters facing off against a Comanche warrior woman who is protecting her tribe. So the fact that he made a whole second film in secret while shooting his follow-up Badlands is exciting.
The downside, though, is the news that it will be a streaming release. Outside of a few one-off fan screenings, Prey was also a straight to streaming feature, and once fans saw the film, there was a loud lament that they couldn’t have had a theatrical experience seeing the film. To not be able to see what “really crazy but really cool” second idea that Trachtenberg is bringing to life for the franchise is a bit disappointing. But perhaps that will change once we get more news about this mystery Predator film.
Predator: Badlands, which will star Elle Fanning, recently wrapped production in New Zealand.
