TwoPredatormovies are confirmed for release in 2025. While talking about the anticipatedPredatorsequel,Badlands, withThe Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Studios presidentSteve Asbell revealed that a secretPredatormovie had been made.ThePredatorfranchise began in 1987, with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s formidable team facing the alien hunter, while thePredatorandAlienfranchises later crossed over. Director Dan Trachtenberg took a risk by settingPreyin the past, but it earned a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score, and Trachtenberg earned the studio’s trust. He is now the director of both 2025Predatormovies.
Further hints from Asbell reveal some possible details about the movie, butwhere this secretPredatormovie will fit in thePredator timelineis unclear so far, and the possibility of anyAlienreference is unconfirmed. Asbell said that Trachtenberg had “a bunch of ideas that were really crazy but really cool,” and has confirmed that despite the success ofPrey, the newPredatormovie will not bePrey 2. This only rules out a direct sequel, and based on Asbell’s hints and industry rumors, the secretPredatormovie may be unlike any others in the franchise.
10A Live-Action Standalone Predator Movie
This Would Have Been An Enormous Secret For Predator To Keep
For the secretPredatormovie to be live-action, all the many factors that go into making a movie would have had to be done in total secrecy. If this is the case with the so-far unnamedPredatormovie, it could be Hollywood’s best-kept secret. However, while we cannot rule anything out at this stage,the possibility of the secretPredatormovie being a live-action standalone movie is unlikely, as the live-actionBadlandshas already been confirmed for release in 2025.
Very little is known aboutBadlands, even before a secondPredatormovie was announced. In his interview, Asbell referred to the upcomingBadlandsas “the live-action Predator film,” confirming thatBadlandswould not be animated. Trachtenberg is the director, and it is possible thatPreywriter Patrick Aison could have returned to write the movie. Elle Fanning is starring, but no details have been revealed about her story or character. With all the work involved inBadlands, it is unlikely that the secret movie will also be a live-action standalonePredatormovie.
9A Live-Action Prey Sequel
A Prey Sequel Offers New Possibilities For The Predator
Asbell said in his interview that “after Prey became a success, Dan [Trachtenberg] came back and said he didn’t want to do Prey 2.” This may sound as though the possibility that the secretPredatormovie is a live-actionPreysequel has been ruled out, but that is not necessarily true.
APreysequel could take place in the same period of historybut with different characters and a different location,meaning that the story would center on another human hunter who finds themself facing the Predator. APreysequel could be approached in several different ways that do not involve creating a direct and formulaicPrey 2.
Every Type of Predator Variant Seen In The Movies (And Beyond)
Here is every Predator variant seen in the Predator movies, comics, novels, and more, from 1987’s Predator to 2018’s The Predator.
The Predator could return to Earth and fight a different group of people, working in an entirely new climate. This would have a similar tone toPrey, with added interest and the potential for the Predator to reveal new and specialist weapons for hunting in a different environment. ThePredatormovies' settingshave included a jungle, a city, and a forest, so bringing the hunter to a new climate is not a far-fetched idea.
8A Live-Action Alien Vs. Predator Movie
The Studio President Thinks It Will Probably Happen
When Asbell was asked if audiences would eventually see anotherAlien vs. Predatormovie, he confirmed, “probably.“However, he immediately clarified that just as Trachtenberg didn’t want to immediately create aPrey 2, anyAlien vs. Predatormovie would only be approached organically. “We’re not just going to bang it out,” Asbell said.
This may come as welcome news for fans who prefer the creativity in a new approach to thePredatorfranchise over a series of similar sequels. While we cannot currently rule out the possibility that the secretPredatormovie is a live-actionAlien vs. Predatormovie, it also seems unlikely.
However, the movie may feature some references to theAlienfranchise, as otherAlienandPredatormovies have previously referenced each other.Preyincluded hidden references to thePredatormovies, and the secretPredatormovie may take the same approach with theAlienfranchise, depending on when it is set.
7An Animated Predator Or Prey Sequel
This Could Explain The Secret Predator Movie’s Early Release Date
Asbell might have revealed an early detail about the secretPredatormovie when he referred toBadlandsas “the live-action Predator movie.” This seems to imply that the secret movie will not be live-action.Rumors have already been circulating that the secretPredatormovie will be animated, but this is currently still speculation, and none of the rumored plot details have been confirmed.
There are many ways in which the team could have made the tight filming schedule work, and one of these is if the secretPredatormovie did not need to be filmed at all.
However, if the secretPredatormovie is animated, that will explain a timing issue. Making two live-action and visual effects-heavy movies within a year is a notoriously difficult task unless Trachtenberg and his team have a trick up their sleeves.
There are many ways in which the team could have made the tight filming schedule work, and one of these is if the secretPredatormovie did not need to be filmed at all.Creating an animated movie could potentially be done anywhere, ruling out location shooting and simplifying logistics issues.
6The Secret Predator Movie Will Go Straight To Streaming
This Is The Same Approach That Prey Took
ThoughPreycould have been a box office success, the movie was released straight to Hulu. WhileBadlandshas been confirmed for a theatrical release, it is likely thatthe secretPredatormovie will not have a theatrical run.When Asbell was asked if the 2025Predatormovie would be released in theaters, he responded “yes, and no.” This was the first hint that there would be more than onePredatormovie arriving in 2025.
Asbell’s answer seems clear, confirming that the secretPredatormovie will not be released in theaters. This may be surprising, given the overwhelmingly positive critical response toPrey, butwith onePredatormovie already planned for theaters, it may be a smart move. The secretPredatormovie will be released beforeBadlands, allowing audiences to watch both movies without having to choose between them, which might have happened if both had a theater release.
5A “Stealth” Predator Movie
This Would Continue An Approach Started By Prey
Preywas not originally intended to be aPredatormovie, with Trachtenberg and Aison working on a story about a young warrior proving herself. When the story developed to include the Predator, Trachtenberg had deliberately kept the name out of the title, with a plan to surprise audiences by revealinga late trailer forPreythat introduced the Predator.
However, almost immediately, rumors began to circulate that this new movie was a new installment in thePredatorfranchise, and the secret was out. As Trachtenberg has used this strategy before withPreyand10 Cloverfield Lane, audiences might likely see it coming if he were to try and introduce a “stealth"Predatormovie, but it is possible.
Still,it would allow Trachtenberg to focus on telling a story that is different from expectations, which is an approach he values. Asbell even describedBadlandsas “a sci-fi thing, but it’s not what everybody thinks it is,” so anything is possible.
4A Minimal Approach To The Predator Story
This Could Be A Very Different Predator Movie
While the details of the secretPredatormovie are still being kept hidden, the one factor that could offer some details is the timeline.Badlandshas just finished filming in New Zealand, and yet, although the existence of the secretPredatormovie has only just been revealed, it is going to be released beforeBadlands. As it seems unlikely that an elaborate live-actionPredatormovie was filmed in this timeframe, there are other possibilities.
Trachtenberg could have taken a very minimal approach to thePredatorstory, taking the franchise in a completely different direction. The movie could have been shot in a very short period, in a relatively minimal environment, with few actors. If this is the case, then the secretPredatormovie may be more of a survival story, set in either an enclosed space like a hidden research facility, or a situation that could challenge both the human characters and the Predator, like the open sea.
3Short Predator-Themed Animated Movies
This Has Been A Very Successful Approach For Other Franchises
One of the biggest rumors surrounding the secretPredatormovieis that it will take the form of a series of three separate animated short movies, involving the Predator being pitted against historical groups. It is established thatthe Predators love hunting humans, and while pirates and samurai are strong contenders for fighting the Predator, an unnamed third group is rumored.
The premise is exciting, and as this approach has not been done before with thePredatorfranchise movies, this could be one of the “crazy ideas” Asbell mentioned. This anthology approach was extremely successful in Netflix’s cyberpunk seriesLove, Death, & Robots, in which different groups of creators told separate cyberpunk stories.
The Matrix’s animated seriesAnimatrixalso explored the lore of the franchise further, andthePredatorfranchise is certainly a good candidate for an anthologyof its own.If one of the short movies referencesBadlands, this is likely to increase interest inBadlandstoo.
2The New Predator Movie Will Be Different Genre Altogether
The Predator Movies Often Combine Genres
ThePredatorfranchise might immediately be associated with the science fiction and action genres, buteach of thePredatormovies brings another genreinto the story. The originalPredatormovie had elements of war movies,Preyfelt like a period drama at times, andBadlandshas been rumored to take place in a post-apocalyptic future.
The secretPredatormovie will likely bring in other genres too, continuing this franchise tradition. If the rumors about an animated series setting historical groups of people against the Predator are correct, this would set the scene for several genres to appear in just this installment.
The Reason Prey 2 Hasn’t Happened Yet Makes Elle Fanning’s Upcoming Predator Movie Even More Exciting
Predator: Badlands will be the next entry in the long-running sci-fi saga, and the reason it was chosen over Prey 2 makes it very exciting indeed.
Pirates and samurai are two of the three possible groups for the Predator to hunt,which already gives viewers two completely new settings, as well as the potential for interesting new human characters. If thisPredatoranthology happens, each installment might have another genre inside the historical setting — like a pirate horror story.
1Both Badlands & The Secret Movie Were Filmed At The Same Time
The Two Predator Movies Are Not Connected
Trachtenberg was able to film twoPredatormovies in a very short timeframe, and there are a few explanations for the way he was able to do this. While the possibility of an animatedPredatoranthology is looking likely, there is another potential explanation. WhileBadlandsis a standalone movie, without a confirmed connection to the secretPredatormovie, the two movies could have been filmed at the same time and in the same location.
The one thing that is certain is that Trachtenberg doesn’t want to do anything expected when it comes to thePredatorfranchise.
Even sharing a location does not mean that the twoPredatormovies would be connected.Badlandswas filmed in New Zealand, which has a very varied landscape; two live-action movies could be filmed there and look completely different. While the rumors seem to best support an animated installment in thePredatorfranchise, these are still unconfirmed. The one thing that is certain is that Trachtenberg doesn’t want to do anything expected when it comes to thePredatorfranchise.
Source:The Hollywood Reporter
Predator
Predator is an action sci-fi franchise created by Jim and John Thomas, beginning with the original film released in 1987. The franchise follows a warrior alien race known as the Yautja who travel the far reaches of space looking for worthy prey to hunt, constantly bringing them to Earth due to the sheer amount of conflict harbored on it. The series has spun off into comic books and animated features and has even enjoyed several crossover events via film and video games with the Aliens franchise.
