Predator: Badlands May Redefine The Franchise’s Future (Photo Credit – YouTube)
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Predator: Badlands isn’t just the second Predator film of 2025. It might be the one that pulls the whole franchise together. And the key? That wild Predator: Killer of Killers ending. What started as a simple anthology of Vikings, samurai, and WWII pilots facing off against Predators took a sharp, franchise-altering turn in its final act.
That twist: The three warrior survivors end up on the Yautja homeworld in a death arena, fighting each other for a shot at escape. When Viking fighter Ursa sacrifices herself, the Predators put her in suspended animation and store her in a mysterious archive, one full of champions who’ve killed Predators. Then the camera lingers on a familiar face: Prey’s Naru. Yeah, that Naru. Turns out this isn’t just a victory vault, but a setup for something much bigger.
Dek’s Hunt Might Lead to Predator Royalty
Now here’s where Badlands gets spicy. The new movie follows Dek, a Predator who’s hunting his “ultimate adversary” on an unnamed planet. Sounds generic, until you realize that planet might just house the archive of champions. That means Dek could be going after the toughest prey in Yautja history, including warriors like Naru or even older legends like Dutch, Royce, or Harrigan. This isn’t just a hunt. It’s a reunion.
Plus, Dek’s not alone. He’s teaming up with a Weyland-Yutani android, which brings in some Alien DNA, just enough to widen the mythos without overwhelming the story. If Dek opens that archive, he’s unlocking every past Predator story, and every character who lived to tell the tale.
Dan Trachtenberg’s Master Plan
Dan Trachtenberg is the glue behind this Predator resurgence. He gave us Prey, steered Killer of Killers, and is now helming Badlands. It’s clear he’s not making disconnected stories. He’s been building toward this. Killer of Killers may have seemed like a one-off, but that Naru cameo was a signal: these films are chapters, not footnotes.
And with Badlands hitting just months after Killer of Killers, the timeline practically begs for a continuation. Two movies in the same year is not a coincidence, it’s a crossover in the making.
So yeah, Predator: Badlands isn’t just another sequel. If it connects the dots Trachtenberg’s laid down, it could be the Predator movie fans have been waiting decades for.
