Why There Are 2 Predator Movies Coming Out This Year

Following the unprecedented success of Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey, 2025 will see two completely different iterations of the Predator universe come to life with Predator: Badlands and Predator: Killer of Killers. Following a four-year hiatus for the honor-bound, menacing hunters, the Predator franchise roared back to life with the shockingly excellent Prey, which saw a more primitive version of the iconic alien take on a young Comanche warrior on the plains of America in the early 1700s. The bold new concept reignited interest in the franchise after a series of underwhelming sequels.

Prior to that, the franchise had committed itself to more modern settings with futuristically-armed Predators. While both Predator 2 (1990) and The Predator (2018) saw humans take on Predators on Earth in contemporary times, 2010’s Predators at least mixed it up by placing its modern protagonists on an alien planet for their battle against the trophy-seeking Yautja. The staggering success of the streaming juggernaut Prey inspired its director, Dan Trachtenberg, to take two more audacious swings at Predator lore, both of which arrive in 2025.

Predator: Killer Of Killers & Predator: Badlands Both Release In 2025

The Two Movies Follow Very Different Formats

Both Predator: Badlands and Predator: Killer of Killers will act as stand-alone entries in the Predator canon, with no doubt some Easter eggs, but no major connections to previous movies from the franchise. There are several clues in the Predator: Badlands trailer that indicate it will take place well in the future, and far from Earth. The movie will feature a Predator franchise first, as the protagonist is not its human star, Elle Fanning, but rather a young Yautja hunter on his first hunt who finds himself aligned with Elle Fanning’s character, who is reportedly an android.

Predator: Killer of Killers angles more closely towards Prey in that it features Predators hunting humans on Earth. The animated anthology will feature three different stories (and three very different Predators) who hunt some of humanity’s most lethal warriors throughout history. The anthology will follow a Viking raider and her son, a pair of brothers from Feudal Japan who happen to be a samurai and ninja, respectively, and a WWII pilot who takes on an airborne Predator. Dan Trachtenberg is behind both projects, and they were in production simultaneously following Prey.

Killer Of Killers Will Go Direct To Streaming (Whereas Badlands Is Going To Theaters)

Killer Of Killers Will Drop Five Months Before Badlands

While Predator: Killer of Killers might be animated, if the trailer is any indication, there will be nothing remotely kid-friendly about it. The movie appears to be every bit as bloody and violent as any live-action Predator project, even if the anthology and animated formats are new to the franchise. It will follow in the footsteps of Prey by going directly to streaming. On its June 6th, 2025 release date, it will stream on Hulu (and Disney+ for those with the typical bundled subscription).

With a far more elevated price tag thanks to its live-action nature, Predator: Badlands will get a wide theatrical release, which will come more than seven years after the last live-action Predator movie hit theaters. Its November 7th, 2025 release date puts Predator: Badlands in theaters five months after Predator: Killer of Killers hits Hulu. Assuming the animated anthology is a hit, the sci-fi and horror communities should be ravenous for more Predator content, and the close release windows can capitalize on the renewed interest.

How Predator: Killer Of Killers And Predator: Badlands Are Connected

They Share A Director And Operate Under The Same Rules

Dan Trachtenberg is the director and developer of both Predator: Badlands and Predator: Killer of Killers, so it seems reasonable to expect some similar stylistic beats or action sequences that nod to each other. They are both legitimate parts of the Predator franchise, and therefore should operate within the same physical/power limits when it comes to the Predators themselves. Both are also sure to maintain the Predators’ honor-based code when it comes to their hunting culture, so there will certainly be enough echoes tying the two projects together.

However, it doesn’t appear that there will be much else tethering the two projects, which seems to be by design. Trachtenberg had multiple ideas when developing Prey, and he has now been given the capacity to explore them. Predator: Killer of Killers is almost a fun aside for the franchise, depicting how various human warrior cultures fared when faced with the galaxy’s ultimate hunters. Predator: Badlands, on the other hand, is set to take the franchise in a bold new direction, as even the first trailer hints at the shared universe between the Predator and Alien franchises.

Predator: Badlands

Release Date

November 7, 2025

Director

Dan Trachtenberg

Writers

Dan Trachtenberg, Patrick Aison, John Thomas, Jim Thomas

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  Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi

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