Disney and twentieth Century have introduced the Predator franchise again as soon as extra with Predator: Badlands. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the movie is ready within the distant way forward for the sequence and follows a younger Yautja named Dek as he goes on a hunt for an unkillable beast to show himself. Alongside the way in which, he groups up with a Weyland-Yutani android, Thia (Elle Fanning), from the Alien franchise.
As is the case each time a franchise returns, there are questions on how a lot “homework” audiences have to do to see the brand new installment. Rewatches of earlier films is a standard approach for followers to arrange for the most recent entry, whereas those that are extra informal observers may need to compensate for the fundamentals.
Predator: Badlands is a novel case. There’s a almost 40-year historical past of flicks to familiarize your self with to be fully caught up, though not all of them ought to be thought-about canon. So, this is what you might want to know and which films to see earlier than Predator: Badlands comes out on November 7.
Predator: Badlands Is A Standalone Predator Film, However Some Franchise Information Might Assist
You might go into Predator: Badlands with none data of the franchise and possibly be okay. The film is ready to date in the way forward for the sequence that there are usually not going to be too many connections to what got here earlier than.
The story is solely standalone, following a brand new character on a brand new planet in a brand new period of the timeline. So, if in case you have by no means seen a Predator film and haven’t got the time or curiosity in catching up on all the things earlier than Badlands, you’ll seemingly be okay. Some Easter eggs could also be missed, however that could possibly be it.
That mentioned, Trachtenberg has been main the cost of the franchise’s revival lately, and he is confirmed with Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers that surprises with main connections to earlier installments can pop up any time. In every case, these moments do not take away from the expertise for somebody not within the know, however they do improve it for these with some background.
It is for that purpose that having some familiarity with what got here earlier than Badlands is sure to amplify your enjoyment. Watching the unique Predator, the sequel Predator 2, the 2022 prequel Prey, and this 12 months’s anthology movie Killer of Killers would seemingly cowl the most important developments.
That is not taking something away from 2010’s underrated Predators or Shane Black’s 2018 relaunch, The Predator. However, these are the movies which have but to be linked to Trachtenberg’s imaginative and prescient for the franchise. They could possibly be skipped in preparation for Badlands for those who’re solely trying to watch the films with the very best likelihood of factoring into Dek and Thia’s journey.
To recap, watching Predator, Predator 2, Prey, and Predator: Killer of Killers earlier than seeing Predator: Badlands is beneficial. If that is nonetheless an excessive amount of, stripping it right down to Predator and Prey could possibly be sufficient to fulfill most issues and offer you a primary data of the franchise.
What About The AvP & Alien Films?
The Predator films won’t reduce it solely, although. The franchise has an extended historical past of connecting to twentieth Century’s different iconic sci-fi sequence, Alien. That continues with Badlands by the presence of Weyland-Yutani and its androids.
There are seven Alien films in the principle canon, however its unlikely that any of them are necessary viewings earlier than Badlands. The timeline disparity eliminates the prospect for many main characters to return, so the movie could possibly be extra necessary to Alien‘s future, somewhat than connecting to its previous.
That mentioned, the primary Alien, the sequel Aliens, and final 12 months’s Alien: Romulus most likely have the very best likelihood of holding some connection to Badlands. They will additionally set the groundwork for Weyland-Yutani’s needs. However with it confirmed that there are not any xenomorphs in Predator: Badlands, a full refresher on this sequence is not wanted.
These franchises have immediately overlapped beforehand by Alien vs. Predator and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. Fortunately, neither film is taken into account canon to the present state of the respective franchises, that means you’ll be able to skip watching them — except you are a completionist eager to be totally caught up.
How To Watch Each Predator Film Earlier than Badlands
No matter which Predator films you select to observe earlier than Badlands, its fairly simple to compensate for the franchise. All it takes is a subscription to Hulu.
Each Predator film is presently streaming on Hulu, in addition to Disney+. That is due to Disney holding full streaming rights to all of the titles, permitting them to exist on one streaming vacation spot, somewhat than be unfold out amongst varied companies — or not being accessible on streaming in any respect.
If you do not have a Hulu subscription of some type, shopping for or renting the films on digital is an alternative choice. The primary 4 films within the franchise can be found on main PVOD companies like Apple, Amazon, and Fandango. The identical is true for the AvP movies in the event that they’re of curiosity.
Nonetheless, Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers are usually not accessible on PVOD. These films have been launched completely as Hulu originals somewhat than getting a launch in theaters. Consequently, Disney has solely made them accessible to observe by the corporate’s streaming companies.
Since they’re among the many titles which are beneficial viewings earlier than Predator: Badlands, a Hulu subscription is critical to get fully caught up. You should buy Blu-ray and 4K copies of Prey, although, giving shoppers a bodily media possibility for it and the earlier movies, even when that does not exist for Killer of Killers.
- Launch Date
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November 7, 2025
- Director
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Dan Trachtenberg
- Writers
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Dan Trachtenberg, Patrick Aison, John Thomas, Jim Thomas
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Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi
Dek