Dan Trachtenberg Shot A Second Secret ‘Predator’ Movie 20th Century Studios Will Release Before ‘Badlands’ Hits Theaters Next Year

Earlier this week, Disney pulled Marvel‘s “Blade” movie from its November 7, 2025 release date and replaced it with Dan Tracthenberg‘s upcoming “Badlands,” his follow-up to 2022’s “Prey.” But apparently that’s not the only “Predator” film on the way from 20th Century Studios…

READ MORE: ‘Badlands’: Elle Fanning To Star In ‘Predator’ Spinoff Film From ‘Prey’ Director

In a new sit-down with THR, studio head Steve Asbell unveiled that Trachtenberg has not one but two “Predator” movies on the way next year. “We’ve actually done two of them,” Asbell revealed in the interview. “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.” As for “Predator” movie #2, Asbell stayed more tight-lipped. “There’s a second “Predator” movie that we have different plans for,” he confirmed. “Dan has actually directed both.” Asbell also confirmed that the secret “Predator” film “will come out before the theatrical one but I can’t say anything about [it] yet.”

So that leads one to presume that the secret “Predator” movie will premiere on Hulu like “Prey” did back in 2022 (a mistake 20th Century Studios corrected for “Badlands” and their other sci-fi horror franchise,  Fede Álvarez‘s “Alien: Romulus“; more on that one’s sequel later). Intriguing stuff, and also great news for “Predator” fans. “Prey” swiftly became a fan-favorite when it hit the streamer two summers ago, earning high marks from critics and rejuvenating a franchise many considered dead.  Now it appears 20th Century is all-in on Trachtenberg’s vision, although from the sounds of things both films may not be what fans expect.

“It is an absolutely bonkers idea,” Asbell said about “Badlands.” “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.” And “Badlands” isn’t a sequel to “Prey” either. “After “Prey” became a success, Dan came back and said he didn’t want to do “Prey 2,”” Asbell continued. “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.” Obviously, ideas cool enough for 20th Century to greenlight two more movies from Trachtenberg, and possibly another cross-over movie between the “Alien” and “Predator” franchise.

When asked if there’s another “Alien Vs. Predator” movie in the pipeline, Asbell responded, “probably,” but “not in the way that it will just be called “Alien vs. Predator” or anything like the original movies.” He continued, “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.” That’s good news. The 2004 and 2007 films are easily the nadir for both franchises; in other words, plenty of room for improvement on any and all levels.

And what about the sequel to “Alien: Romulus”? “We’re working on a sequel idea now,” Asbell said. “We haven’t quite closed our deal with Fede but we are going to, and he has an idea that we’re working on.” But it’s not confirmed how direct a sequel the next film will be. “The two survivors, Rain and Andy, played by Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, were real highlights of the film. And so I always think of it like, ‘Wow, where do people want to see them go next?”” Asbell continued. “We know there’s going to be aliens. We know there’s going to be great horror set pieces. But I fell in love with both of them and I want to see what their story is.”

So there you have it: two “Predator” movies in 2025, an “Alien” sequel further down the line, and maybe even a new “Alien Vs. Predator” film, too.