The Predator saga has always occupied an interesting space in cinematic and fan culture. Part sweaty action movie, part sci-fi alien-hunter nightmare, it keeps finding new ways to keep audiences on their toes. From John McTiernan’s lean, jungle-set original to the invigorating Prey, the series refuses to stay in one lane. That’s a blessing for us fans, as the franchise treads pure, visceral predator-prey territory while also flirting with sci-fi spectacle and unexpected tonal shifts. And now, with the new film Predator: Badlands hitting theaters, the franchise’s ability to adapt is on full, bloody display with Dread Central’s own Matthew Jackson calling it “a near-perfect cinematic organism designed with maximalism in mind.”
Predator: Badlands transports the traditional Predator primal hunt onto a wide, unforgiving landscape. The film stars Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, and this time, the hunter is the protagonist. Young Predator “runt” Dek, cast out by his clan, must prove himself worthy by embarking on a treacherous hunt on the savage planet Genna. Along the way, he forges an unlikely alliance with Thia, a damaged synthetic created by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. Together they traverse alien terrain, battle grotesque creatures and internal enemies alike, challenging the longstanding hierarchy of Predator society.
Looking to catch up on the Predator franchise before checking out Badlands? Or maybe just refresh your memory before you go? Well, we’ve got you covered with a full franchise rundown. Now is also a great time to check out any films you may have missed, as every prior Predator entry is now available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.
Predator (1987)
The one that started it all and spawned countless classic GIFs. A perfect encapsulation of 1980s action-machismo, John McTiernan’s Predator features a muscle-heavy cast of stars that includes Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Sonny Landham, Bill Duke, Richard Chaves, Shane Black, and Jesse Ventura. The movie is equal parts sweaty action and sci-fi nightmare and follows an elite paramilitary team led by Dutch (Schwarzenegger), dropped into a Central American jungle on a rescue mission, only to discover they’re being stalked by a nearly invisible, heavily armed extraterrestrial hunter. Lean and mean, Predator’s blend of humor, horror, over-the-top action, and practical effects, combined with a score for the ages, has made it an undeniable, relentless classic.
Predator 2 (1990)
Predator 2 is what happens when a gritty cop drama crash-lands into the world of sci-fi. Set in a sweltering, crime-ridden Los Angeles, no-nonsense Lt. Mike Harrigan (portrayed by the iconic Danny Glover) gets pulled into a series of brutal, seemingly motiveless killings that soon reveal themselves to be the work of the Predator. Sillier, darker, and more neon-lit than its jungle-set predecessor, Predator 2 expands Predator lore, while trading vines for city streets. However, it made sure to keep the sweaty action component and practical creature effects from the original, resulting in a tragically underseen sequel deserving of way more love.
Alien vs. Predator (2004)
Ok, listen. I know there are plenty of folks out there who would like to forget these versus films ever happened, and will bristle at their inclusion on this list, but they happened. They exist. The early 2000s were a wild time. And the thing is, both this and the next film we’ll be discussing feel way more like Predator films than Alien films. Here, a resourceful guide named Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan) leads an Antarctic excavation team into a buried, ancient pyramid where our two beloved apex species have been colliding for centuries (apparently) as part of a Yautja rite of passage. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, AVP is a bold, bombastic, cinematic experiment that embraces a video game mentality while offering some genuinely surprising (if not silly) moments that expand the lore of both the Xenomorph and Yautja species as well as solidifying their connection to planet Earth.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
Arguably the most maligned and skippable movie in the Predator franchise, AVP: Requiem strips away the spectacle of AVP and instead centers on a small Colorado town. After the Predator craft from AVP crashes due to a Yauta/Xenomorph hybrid (aka Predalien) bursting from the body of a fallen teenage Predator, Xenomorphs and the Predalien spill out into the town, turning malls, restaurants, suburban streets, and maternity centers into a blood-soaked hunting ground. What’s a Yautja society to do now but send in the cleaning crew in an attempt to salvage some sort of secrecy and control over the rapidly spawning Xenomorphs? Directed by The Brothers Strause, AVP: Requiem puts forth some interesting ideas, but ultimately flies a little too close to the sun. Which, is a little ironic considering how famously DARK this movie is. Literally.
Predators (2010)
Recentering the franchise (a little bit), Predators returns things to survival mode with a twist. Directed by Nimród Antal, Adien Brody stars as Royce, a mercenary who winds up leading a ragtag group of killers, soldiers, and survivors (played by Topher Grace, Laurence Fishburne, Walton Goggins, and Alice Braga) who wake up on a mysterious jungle planet only to learn they’ve been shipped to an interstellar game preserve where they’re the prey. Strangers are quickly forced into uneasy alliances as they become hunted in booby-trapped terrain, hoping to have any chance of fighting back against the Predators. While staying true to many elements of previous Predator films, Predators is the first film in the franchise to take the fight off Earth. Even though this may not work for everyone, there’s something to be said for big swings, which is definitely something the Predator franchise isn’t afraid to do.
The Predator (2018)
Clearly running out of title options, The Predator is special in the fact that it marks the return of Shane Black to the franchise, but this time in the director’s chair. It also features a script co-written by Fred Dekker of House, The Monster Squad, Night of the Creeps, and RoboCop 3 fame. Starring Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes, and Jacob Tremblay, The Predator kicks off with a Predator ship once again crash-landing on Earth. Except this time, the military takes possession of the Predator remains, ultimately leading to an ex-soldier suffering from PTSD, a kid, and a motley crew of soldiers and scientists getting pulled into stopping a genetically “enhanced” hunter gone far beyond its original design. While it nods to previous films with its humor and by preserving the Predator’s lethal toys and single-minded mission, it also flips the playbook by making the alien’s biology the prize. Messy and muddled, it’s honestly a bit of a miracle we got any more Predator films after this, so don’t feel bad if you skip it.
Prey (2022)
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, Prey inexplicably dropped on streaming, delivering an energizing burst of creativity the Predator franchise so desperately needed. Set on the Northern Great Plains in 1719, it follows Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young Comanche hunter-in-training who witnesses a Predator ship land. Doubted by her friends and family alike, Naru uses her grit, cunning, and deep knowledge of the land to fight back and protect her people from the mysterious, deadly, camouflaged hunter.
Rather than reboot the franchise’s gadget-glitz, Prey boils things down to basics. The Predator here behaves like the same ritualistic hunter fans know, but its weapons and tactics reveal earlier, rougher iterations of the tech, reframing the series’ lore in a more primal, mythic key and opening the door for endless future possibilities. Prey also foregrounds Indigenous perspectives (there’s even a full Comanche-language version), so while Prey plugs cleanly into the Predator timeline as a prequel, it is also one of the franchise’s high points, refocusing and delivering something quieter and more innovative.
Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)
Predator fans are truly blessed this year with not one, but two new franchise installments. And, considering that Predator: Killer of Killers is an animated anthology film featuring three brutal, beautifully animated tales (and a concluding segment), it’s actually almost like we get four new installments. In P:KOK, Viking warriors, feudal Japanese warriors, and a World War II pilot all encounter the fight of their lives when the Yautja show up. Once again directed by Dan Trachtenberg, P:KOK leans into the historical-first approach used in Prey, expanding the universe while cleverly building connective tissue to other installments. And a special note to all you animation-averse folks out there, this is indeed an R-rated film, not your typical Saturday morning cartoon fare, by any means.
The entire Predator franchise collection is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+. Predator: Badlands is now playing in theaters everywhere.
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