The newly launched Predator: Badlands is technically a standalone chapter within the long-running hunt-happy franchise, however it seems the film has some surprising ties to the bigger Alien universe, and even just a few winks at another of the greatest sci-fi films of all time. In line with director Dan Trachtenberg, a few of these connections have been intentional; he even made adjustments after seeing Alien: Romulus —however others have been fully unintended, and at the very least one left him doing a double take.
The clearest hyperlink to the Alien-verse is the synths, two main roles performed by Elle Fanning, with all of the telltale indicators of being Weyland-Yutani tech, together with gear, ships, and a base stamped with the franchise’s notorious company emblem. As Trachtenberg defined to EW, there was one connection that wasn’t deliberate, however was a contented accident. He shared with the outlet:
Cam, we didn’t notice had come to us from Alien: Earth, and I am unable to think about his first day, as a result of all the pieces’s so secretive, to go from the set of Alien: Earth onto this different film that he knew was a Predator film. He reveals up, and he is his wardrobe, and it says Weyland-Yutani. I imply, he will need to have been like, What is occurring proper now?
Cameron Brown performs a Drone Synth in Badlands, however beforehand donned the xenomorph go well with for the FX sequence Alien: Earth FX, accessible with a Hulu subscription. So whereas the crossover wasn’t a part of some official franchise blueprint, it does add an oddly excellent connective tissue between two mythologies which were orbiting one another for many years.
Not all of the Easter eggs in Badlands have been completely happy accidents. There’s a quick cameo from MU/TH/UR, the enduring AI mainframe from Ridley Scott’s authentic Alien, however the true curveball got here when actor and stunt performer Cameron Brown arrived on set, unknowingly bridging either side of the enduring sci-fi crossover.
However there are many deliberate nods, too. Trachtenberg confirmed a fast cameo from Prey heroine Naru, and the hulking Again Biter creature from the critically acclaimed animated movie Predator: Killer of Killers additionally makes an look. And if the synth eye-roll impact feels acquainted, it ought to, as a result of Trachtenberg borrowed it straight from Alien: Romulus.
In line with the franchise’s custom of layering mythology, Badlands additionally toys with deeper thematic connections that longtime followers will admire. The choice to middle the story on a younger, outcast Predator named Dek—attempting to earn his place amongst his type—echoes among the outsider narratives seen in earlier movies like Predators and even Prey.
By pairing Dek with Thia, an android marked by her personal displacement and obsolescence, the movie quietly mirrors the perfect of the Alien sequence’ fascination with synthetic intelligence and identification. This unlikely duo of a hunter and machine finds widespread floor not simply in survival, however in company, giving Badlands a richer emotional core than you may anticipate from a franchise greatest identified for backbone trophies and shoulder cannons. It is delicate however efficient, and matches proper in with Trachtenberg’s method to modernizing the Predator mythos with out shedding the thrills the sequence is understood for.
Predator: Badlands has landed on the 2025 film schedule and is now in theaters, so in case you’re into deep cuts and intelligent callbacks, it could be price watching twice.
