It sounds like fans can get excited about two newPredatormovies in 2025, one in theaters and one on streaming. It was recently confirmed thatPredator: Badlandswould take over the June 06, 2025, release date that Disney had previously saved forBlade.Predator: Badlandsis a post-apocalyptic entry that hails from Dan Trachtenberg, who previously directed the Hulu prequelPrey, and stars Elle Fanning. It also marks the franchise’s return to the big screen afterPreywas sent straight to streaming.
While the Predator will return to theaters, he still has a place in streaming. While speaking withThe Hollywood Reporter, President of 20th Century Studios Steve Asbell revealed thattwoPredator movies will be released in 2025; one is the theatricalPredator: Badlands, but the other is what Asbell describes as"a secretPredatormovie that will come out before the theatrical one.“Asbell did reveal that Dan Trachtenberg directed bothPredatorfilms. Regarding the upcoming “secret"Predatorfilm, Asbell said:
“I’ll tell you very simply. AfterPreybecame a success, Dan [Trachtenberg] came back and said he didn’t want to doPrey 2. And we’re like, “What do you want to do?” And he rattled off a bunch of ideas that were really crazy but really cool. We’ve actually done two of them. Two are coming out next year. One I can’t talk about yet, but the other one is the live-actionPredatorfilm with Elle Fanning that just wrapped in New Zealand. That’ll be out theatrically sometime next year.”
Now, the obvious assumption is that the otherPredatormovie isPrey 2. Despite Asbell saying that Trachtenberg didn’t want to doPrey 2, it was already confirmed to be in development earlier this year alongsidePredator: Badlands.It was also confirmed that Trachtenberg would directPrey 2. WithPreyhaving been a hit on Hulu, it would make sense for a direct sequel or a film closely related to that to be another streaming film. This also sounds similar to Tractenberg’s original plan forPrey, which was to keep the movie a secretPredatorfilm until after it came out. Just like withPrey, the surprise has been spoiled.
Is the Secret Movie a New Alien vs. Predator?
It will be interesting to see how far in advance the streamingPredatormovie comes out beforePredator: Badlands, and how long of a marketing campaign it will have. Will 20th Century Studiospull aCloverfield Paradoxand take out a Superbowl ad announcing a surprise same-day release? They could time it for a bigPredatorpanel at next summer’s Comic-Con, so fans could get a look atPredator: Badlandsbefore the newPredatorfilm drops on Hulu. Releasing twoPredatorfilms in one year is undoubtedly risky, particularly with one being sent to streaming and another being theatrical. Conventional business wisdom would suggest that would not only dilute the brand but also confuse audiences, making them feel they need to watch onePredatormovie on streaming to understand the new one in theaters. However, making the streaming filmPrey 2would create a clear distinction between the twoPredatorfilms in 2025.
Alien vs. Predator 20 Years Later: How the Panned Crossover Saved Both Sci-Fi Franchises
This year is the 20th anniversary of Alien vs. Predator, which might be one of the most essential films in both sci-fi horror franchises.
20th Century is definitely confident in thePredatorfranchise, as it sounds like the studio isreconsidering revisitingAlien vs. Predator. When asked about the prospect of a new AVP, Asbell said,“Probably. It wouldn’t be in the way you think. That’s the thing. Not in the way that it will just be calledAlien vs. Predatoror anything like the original movies.“Asbell also noted that they’d like any potential crossovers to happen more “organically.“Alien vs. Predatorsounds like a concept that would warrant a big-screen theatrical release, so it is unlikely the secretPredatorfilm being developed for streaming is that, but we could get a new crossover relatively soon. WithPredator: Badlandsconfirmed to take place in the future, it might be setting the stage for a crossover withAlien: Romulusin a futureAVPfilm.
