Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg has addressed the upcoming action sci-fi movie’s possible connection to 20th Century Studios’ long-running Alien franchise. This comes after one of the movie’s trailers surprisingly featured a Weyland-Yutani logo that was spotted through the eyes of Elle Fanning’s Thia. Her character is described as a synthetic created by the evil corporation from the Alien movies.
Predator: Badlands director clarifies movie’s connection to the Alien franchise
Because of Weyland-Yutani’s inclusion in Predator: Badlands, some fans started speculating that the upcoming movie might also feature the appearance of a Xenomorph. However, according to Trachtenberg, fans shouldn’t expect a full-on Alien crossover.
During a recent interview with Empire, the filmmaker confirmed that Predator: Badlands won’t feature a Xenomorph, teasing that they actually have other reasons to include Weyland-Yutani in the story.
“There’s no Xenomorph in this movie,” Trachtenberg said. “But to me, that makes it more exciting. We’re not involving [the Alien franchise] just to smush the action figures together. There are great, organic story reasons for Weyland-Yutani to be in this film.”
Predator: Badlands is directed and produced by Trachtenberg, who co-wrote the screenplay with Patrick Aison based on the characters by Jim Thomas and John Thomas. Besides Fanning, the movie is also led by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek. It is produced by John Davis, Marc Toberoff, Ben Rosenblatt, and Brent O’Connor.
“Set in the future on a remote planet, the film follows a young Predator, outcast from his clan, who finds an unlikely ally in Thia and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary,” reads the synopsis.
The movie arrives in theaters on November 7, 2025.
(Source: Empire)