I Thought I Knew What I Wanted From The Predator Franchise, But Badlands Changed My Mind

The Predator franchise is nearly 40 years old, and somehow, against all logic in reason, after a string of films that have been at best fine and at worst terrible, it’s never been stronger. The last three movies in the series, Prey, Killer of Killers, and Badlands, are three of the absolute best movies in the franchise. It’s a string of success that most modern franchises haven’t had.

Before 2022’s Prey, I’m not sure I would have called myself a “Predator Fan.” I liked the franchise well enough, but I kinda need to call myself a fan now, as I loved Predator: Badlands almost as much as Dan Trachtenberg’s other two movies. In fact, I liked it so much that it’s changed my opinion on what the next Predator movie should be.

Prey Is My Favorite Predator Movie, And I’ve Been Dying For A Sequel

When I wrote the Prey review for CinemaBlend three years ago, I called it the best movie in the Predator franchise, and even after two excellent movies in the series have been released since, that’s a statement I still stand by. Prey is fantastic, a treat for action movie fans, movie monster fans, and character drama fans, all at once.

And so, as everybody who has ever loved a movie has done, I wanted more. Especially after seeing that Prey ended with a sequence, done in the style of a cave painting, that implied that the Predators might return, I’ve been hoping for news of a sequel to Prey. When it was announced that Dan Trachtenberg was returning to the Predator franchise, I was excited. When it was revealed that the new movie wouldn’t be a Prey sequel, but instead a movie that made the Predator the hero, I was a little bummed out.

Predator: Killer of Killers Continued To Tease A Prey Sequel

Of course, even before we got the new Predator: Badlands, we were surprised by yet another film in the series, the animated anthology movie, Predator: Killer of Killers. The movie arguably does some of the most significant worldbuilding in the franchise, suggesting that those that are proven themselves capable of killing the Predator race are captured and transported to the Predator home world in order to be challenged by even greater threats.

Of course, while this movie wasn’t the Prey sequel I had been hoping for, it still continues to tease such a sequel. A mid-credits scene reveals that Naru, Amber Midthunder’s character from Prey, as well as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch, are both in suspended animation, seemingly revealing that the cave painting at the end of Prey told the story of Naru’s abduction.

So while we still haven’t gotten a proper Prey sequel, we’ve continued to be teased with the idea. However, I will admit that the Killer of Killers' tease didn’t get me as excited for a theoretical Prey 2 as I would have guessed. I wasn’t entirely sure why I felt that way. Predator: Badlands helped me understand.

Predator: Badlands Has No Business Being As Good As It Is

I hate to sound like a broken record here, but Predator: Badlands is great. While I think I’d still put Prey at the top of my personal ranking, Badlands may be number two on this list. It is able to turn a creature who previously had been little more than the killer in a slasher movie into a genuine character. And Elle Fanning is, as per usual, amazing.

I didn’t think I wanted a movie where the Predator was a protagonist. I didn’t have much interest in the idea going in, but the movie showed me that sometimes what I didn’t think I wanted was exactly what I needed. It also helped me realize that the thing I thought I wanted might actually be a bad idea.

While all I thought I wanted for three years was a sequel to Prey, I no longer feel that way. This isn’t because I’m looking for a sequel to Predator: Badlands, even though the ending leaves itself open for one, even more so than Prey. I don’t think we need any direct sequels to Predator movies ever.

Now I’m Afraid Any Predator Sequel May Ruin The Rejuvenated Franchise

While there have been seven Predator movies, the fact there has never actually been a sequel to any of them. Part of the reason that Predator: Killer of Killers fits so well in the franchise is that, while it’s the only anthology movie, the entire franchise is really an anthology. Each one deals with different human characters and different Predator aliens. While there’s a chronology to the events and they happen in the same universe, none of them are really connected. They reference each other sometimes, but none of them rely on events that came before to tell their stories.

This is even more true in the case of Dan Trachtenberg’s three Predator movies. They’re set centuries apart. One of them isn’t live-action. One of the main characters in one of them isn’t even alive. And yet, as different as the three films are, each one is incredible.

I have no idea what the future for the Predator franchise, or Dan Trechtenberg’s place in it, is, but if he does keep making Predator movies, I hope he keeps making more original concepts that stand alone because that process has worked remarkably well so far.

Going back to the well to make a sequel to Prey or to Badlands, for that matter, likely means not making some other new, otherwise original Predator movie. Each of these last three Predator movies has been born from simple ideas that were then expanded into creative and thoughtful films. Making a direct sequel by its very nature limits that creativity.

None of this is to say that if Prey 2 does happen, I won’t be the first one in line. If the movie happens, I’ll be there, and I’ll be hoping it's as good as what came before. But Predator, especially right now, is riding high by not relying on sequels, so I hope it doesn’t start.