2025 is shaping up to be something special for fans of the Predator franchise, as it’s been revealed that a secret Predator film is now joining the already-announced Badlands next year. Predator: Badlands has been confirmed for a theatrical release, but what wasn’t known was that Prey director Dan Trachtenberg secretly directed another Prey movie that will also be released next year. In a new THR interview with 20th Century Fox President Steve Asbell, he revealed what led to both films and how they will differ from each other.
When asked if the next Predator movie would get a theatrical release, Asbell said, “Yes, a Predator movie will have a theatrical. I’ll tell you very simply. After Prey became a success, Dan [Trachtenberg] came back and said he didn’t want to do Prey 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.”
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That led to the project moving forward in secret, which will join the Badlands next year. “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-action Predator film with Elle Fanning that just wrapped in New Zealand. That’ll be out theatrically sometime next year,” Asbell said.
As for Badlands, Asbell teased a bit of what fans can expect, saying, “It is an absolutely bonkers idea. It is a sci-fi thing, but it’s not what everybody thinks it is. And I mean, it’s awesome. It is so nuts. But in Dan, we trust.” As for the secret Predator movie, Asbell couldn’t reveal much, saying, “There’s a second Predator movie that we have different plans for. Dan has actually directed both.” Then he added, “There’s a secret Predator movie that will come out before the theatrical one but I can’t say anything about yet.
Asbel had one more nugget to share though, as when asked if there will eventually be another Alien vs. Predator movie, Asbell said, “Probably”, and then elaborated a bit more on what that would be if it does become a reality.
“It wouldn’t be in the way you think. That’s the thing,” Asbell said. “Not in the way that it will just be called Alien vs. Predator or anything like the original movies. If we do this, they’ll be organically created out of these two franchises that we’ve continued with characters that we fall in love with and those characters will combine…perhaps. But we haven’t gotten to that point. And we’re not just going to bang it out.”
Part of the challenge in handling franchises like Predator, Alien, and Planet of the Apes is figuring out how to balance the overall slate and not overexpose any one franchise, and next year is no exception. “Job one was figuring out these franchise movies first and coming up with the right cadence of Avatar, Apes, Alien and Predator specifically. Getting those right was the first part, which we’ve done now. And so that idea is to be able to say, ‘Okay, we know when the Avatar movies are coming. We know now about Predator. There’ll be another Apes in ‘27, let’s just say.’ So knowing where we can plan those franchises, it helps us look to see and ask what kinds of original movies in terms of genre do we want to test the marketplace with?”
Are you excited for two new Predator movies? You can talk all things movies and film with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!