I like the Predator franchise, but I love the Alien franchise. You’ll probably notice more and more of my admiration for this cynical little space dystopia as I continue writing for this fledgling blog. Given my strict religious upbringing and incredibly gore-averse parents, my exposure to either franchise was very limited until my mid-20s, when I finally started watching the R-rated entries and my crippling obsession infatuation with the Alien franchise in particular really took off.
I saw the 2004 Alien vs. Predator film as a kid—the sole PG-13 outlier in a very R-rated pool of films. Despite my current desensitization to horror media, I was actually a surprisingly sheltered, easily spooked little guy who was terrified of the very concept of extraterrestrials. Still, I ended up enjoying the movie despite my fearful misgivings—and the general “Paul W.S. Anderson-ness” of it all. It wasn’t a great movie by any means, but it was my first exposure to either franchise and holds an influential place in my heart. It was probably the first turning point that made me into the huge fan of dark sci-fi and horror that I am today. It was only after diving fully into each franchise that I realized just how lacking and misguided that initial crossover film really was. If they’re going to make another AVP film in the near future, I wanted to examine some of the elements that might make it work better than past attempts.
I decided to write this after watching the new teaser trailer for the upcoming Predator: Badlands and becoming unreasonably excited about seeing a logo show up. There's a close-up shot that very, very strongly suggests Elle Fanning’s character is a Weyland-Yutani android. Other shots in the trailer show what looks like a human colony on an alien planet and the wreckage of an industrial vehicle with a very clear Wey-Yu logo stamped on its side. This is the most explicit confirmation we’ve ever gotten in either franchise’s mainline films that they may indeed share a continuity.
The fact that a main character is an android—one of Alien’s primary identifying features—definitely seems like more than just a simple easter egg. I think you’d agree this is more than just a Xenomorph skull here or a tail-spear there (or an Independence Day alien skull??). This is the first Predator film to take place in the distant future, and I was ecstatic to see that the future of Predator’s world essentially just seems to be the Alien universe. I couldn’t be happier that the rights holders finally seem to be explicitly acknowledging that these two properties can canonically share a universe outside of isolated crossover events. I hope it’s an indicator of future plans.
It’s surprising how cleanly the Predators have always slotted into the Alien universe. Each Predator entry tends to have a simple but distinct setting, usually on Earth during a recognizable historical period. Because of their nomadic nature, the Predators don’t really have a consistent visual style outside of their ship architecture. Their mysterious vibe allows them to thrive in a variety of settings and locations.
By contrast, the Alien franchise lives or dies by its world-building. The retro-futuristic colonies and industrial aesthetic are a key part of the appeal. For instance, one of the main reasons I loved Alien: Isolation so much wasn’t just because of the Xenomorph itself, but because of everything that came with it: the Working Joes, the CRT computers, the industrial plasticity feel of the human world, the bio-mechanical curves of the derelict—it all comes together to form the brand’s identity. Take the Xenomorphs out of that setting and it just doesn’t work as well (side-eyes AVP: Requiem).
One of the reasons I’ve enjoyed many of the AVP crossovers outside of the movies is because the Predators fit so well into the established Alien universe. The 2010 AVP video game is a great example. It’s basically “the Alien universe, featuring Predator.” The Yautja are more or less guests in the Alien world, but their portability makes it easy to slot them in just about anywhere. When AVP media takes place in the space-faring, corpo-dystopian future of the Alien films, the addition of Predators—when done well—enriches both properties. The presence of a mysterious, intelligent hunter race adds another layer of hostility to the already dangerous portrayal of space.
If you ignore the two AVP movies and the continuity mess they bring, the timelines of the mainline films from both series actually fit together surprisingly well. I don’t think the two movies were ever really considered canon to the decision makers at Fox to begin with, especially not in the post-Prometheus era of the Alien franchise with its timeline incompatibilities. There’s an argument they may have been considered canonical to the Predator films, but I think it’s now safer than ever to ignore them either way. And we’re not exactly losing much by doing so.
Those two AVP movies had a lot of problems, but one of the biggest was the modern Earth setting. The Antarctic pyramid in the first was a decently unique environment—probably as close as you could get to a Giger-influenced alien world while still being on modern-day Earth—but it still didn’t quite click. The problem got exponentially worse in the awful sequel, with Xenomorphs bursting into mundane areas like gym swimming pools and hunting supply stores. So much of Alien’s identity is tied to its world that you lose a lot when taking the Xenomorphs out of it. One thing the older AVP films desperately needed was a better melding of the entire brands—not just the titular monsters meeting.
I don’t just want to see a Predator fight a Xenomorph. I want to see Predators stalking Colonial Marines through a Xeno-infested colony on LV-1337 or wherever. I want Weyland-Yutani suits sending their expendable workers after Predator tech. It’s not just the monsters—it’s the worlds, too. Predators make for a very interesting addition to the Alien universe. As intelligent, tactical beings with an honor code, they are fundamentally different from the bestial, hive-minded Xenomorphs in a very complementary way. They fit together so naturally, with Predators seeking the most dangerous game in the galaxy to hunt, and Xenos fitting that role to a tee.
And it’s not like Predator has nothing to offer in that regard. While it’s more limited in its sci-fi world-building, incorporating elements from those films into the Alien universe would only add layers. For example, Predators featured at least one other sentient alien race stranded on the game preserve planet. Sentient aliens aren’t unprecedented in Alien either. In Aliens, Hudson jokes about the Arcturians, implying not just awareness of other intelligent life, but also... uh... cross-species relations. Maybe budget was the reason the retro-futuristic setting of Alien was never used in an AVP film, but I’d love to see it given a proper go.
I hope Badlands’ overt references—alongside passing comments from Alien: Romulus director Fede Álvarez—are signs that we’re finally going to get a proper, canonical AVP movie that understands and honors both franchises. I don’t want to see Predator’s identity completely overwritten by Alien—and while it apparently works within the Alien universe, I hope Badlands is still a solid standalone film that captures what makes Predator unique and fun while blazing its own path.
While they both stand as great franchises on their own, I think these two nasty little space freaks were always destined to be together. We just need someone to finally do it right on film.
And if we’re asking for things—yeah, I’d also love a new AVP game. Barring that, just slap some Predator encounters into a sequel to Aliens: Dark Descent or Fireteam Elite and I’ll be a very, very happy boy.